Surving Primally on Parent's Budget page

[runningforme]

So my parents have told me I can be Primal, but that it has to be using what's in the house. I'm not allowed to buy my own food. So far this is what my daily diet looks like:

Breakfast (split into two meals usually): 1/2c cooked quinoa, 1-2 servings of fruit, 1TBS coconut, 1/4c flax, 1 scoop whey, 2 eggs
Lunch: 3-4c lettuce, 1/4-1/2c tuna, 1 egg, peppers, 1tsp butter (conventional), 1c frozen broccoli
Snack: 1-2 eggs, 1-2 servings nuts, 1tsp butter, 1c green beans, 1 carrot
Dinner: ~4oz meat (beef, chicken, or pork when it's around), veggies, 1tsp coconut oil/butter, maybe 1-2 eggs

Some days I'll have a serving of conventional cheese, cottage cheese, more nuts, more eggs, more oil, more vegetables, etc. Really I just eat as I go to try and get enough calories in primally. This is the best I can do, but some times I feel like it's less healthy than when I was eating 4+ servings of grain a day and 250+ carbs with maybe meat 1-2 times a week and dairy almost never. Right now my macro's are split up 48-27-26 (Fat-Carb-Protein) for 1800-2000 calories a day. I've made suggestions to my mom on foods to buy, but we're on a really tight budget. Is it better to eat conventional dairy, butter, nuts, and meat on a daily basis than it is to eat higher carb with more grains, but less conventional foods? Thanks everyone!

[namelesswonder]

What makes you feel that this is less healthy? I think it's better to eat the right types of food, conventional or not. If you can eat more eggs or some other protein in the morning instead of the quinoa and whey, I think that might help in the long run.

[runningforme]

I think just the thought of all the hormones and processing the conventional meat and dairy goes through compared to whole grains not being processed (or not as much).

Thank you! I'll try that out. I do keep a bit of quinoa in, just to get a few extra calories and carbs in the morning before I workout right now, because I'm still in transition and don't want my workouts to suffer too much from lack of carbs.

I forgot to mention that most the eggs I eat are from a friend of mine who raises chickens, so they're home grown :].

[tradawg]

I agree that I'd ditch the whey in the morning for more eggs. And instead of your afternoon snack, have more meat with dinner. You'll get tired of eating eggs 3-4 times a day.

But why would you not be allowed to buy your own food? If it's important to you to eat healthy I would think your parents would be thrilled.

[runningforme]

We don't always have meat around, but I'll eat more when we do. I have been eating very healthy for the past year, but my parents believe it's become an obsession because now I want to eliminate beans and grains. That's why I am not allowed to buy my own food.

[Artichoke]

The thing about grains is, in the US corn is a GM crop unless organic.

[Warmbear]

If you are budget crunched then there are things you may be able to do. Get access to a CSA or what we here call a good food box. It is a weekly box of fresh veggies bought in bulk and divided among all the participatants, costs me 16 Bucks a week.

Grow your own food if possible. Hunt for your own meat, foraging for wild foods. Depending on where you are some animals are not on seasons such as varmints. (Squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, pigeons etc)

Look up any local freegans or the local freecycle community. They can show you how to do the urban foraging thing in your area.

Get a Job with a food supplier of some sort in the area and they usually give discounts on food.

Come up with like ideas based on your situations.

Hope this helps.

[runningforme]

Thanks warmbear!

[AMonkey]

Eggs, dairy, cheap vegetables (potatos, brocolli). For meat try liver. Getting muscle meat is expensive though.

[Bess58]

Hello and welcome! We could make better suggestions if we knew a bit more about you. How old are you? Guy or girl? Why are you still living with your parents? Going to school / university?

I think the homegrown eggs are a very good start, whish I could get those. Learn to love eggs! I had 7 yesterday and not much else (elder lady and still overweight, so don't need so much food). Also I eat conventional food most of the time, although that might be a tad better here in Germany (no GM food allowed in the European Union). I agree with the others not to sweat that point much.

There is another current thread about the main thing being to get rid of sugar and flour. Avoid that and bad oils/processed food, and you should be golden as long as you are young (which I suppose you are) and don't have major health problems. Take care of specifics as soon as you are financially independent.