Is Primal cheaper? page

[Annieh]

I thought I'd track my grocery spend, in an effort to assess how much it costs to eat this way. On return from holiday last week the cupboards were practically bare, so it was a good time to start.

At the supermarket I spent $156, and fed three of us for one week exactly. Didn't quite expect to make it this far and of course the pantry and fridge are again empty, so back I go tomorrow.

My list is basically meat, veges, fruit, eggs, milk, yoghurt, cream, cheese, nuts, raisins, tea (dh buys his own coffee). A few non primal things for my dh and dd - a loaf of thin sliced white bread, ricies, muesli.

I also want to get some coconut oil, which means popping into another supermarket.

[EyeOfRound]

Meat is really expensive here; I try to buy meat when it's on 30% off sale - just a few days away from going bad, but I've never had a problem as long as I cook it within 2 days. I also try to buy hormone/antibiotic-free - can't afford to pay full-price, but even with the discount, I still paid like $9 for a T-bone this weekend. I usually pay $100-150 a week just for myself.

EDIT: I just recycled all my receipts/paper today, but I'm trying to think what I bought yesterday:

1) Stuff for crust-free pumpkin pie (pumpkin puree, cream cheese, sour cream) - $10
2) Stuff for escargot-stuffed mushroom caps with goat cheese - $10
3) vegetables - plantains, acorn squash, onions, kohlrabi - $15
4) fruit - apples, bananas, strawberries, raspberries, figs - $20
5) meat - bacon, 1 T-bone steak on sale, pork shoulder - $35
6) dairy - whipping cream, cheese curds - $15
7) nuts - $6

[Jena]

In my experience it is not cheaper. Of course depending on how much freezer space you have you can stick up on sale items and save them for later. It's especially more expensive to get organic, which I try to do. It's also less convenient since I am stopping at the store more to get fresh items. Is it worth it? Totally!

[JoanieL]

I probably break even. Because things are more expensive, I make sure nothing goes bad - this is usually an issue with fresh produce for me. Now I'll cook something up and freeze to make sure it doesn't.

Another thing is that I used to order a $20 pizza (plus tip for delivery) every week. So figure I'm saving $100/month not doing that. That money goes toward the higher quality meat, eggs, butter I now buy. I also don't drink beer or wine regularly and hard alcohol is pretty cheap here.

Also, I've found that buying online not only saves in per pound/item price, but here where they have the audacity to sales tax food, I take great satisfaction in screwing the state out of that tax money, and saving it of course. A few months ago I found salmon online for $8.50/lb; the average price here is about $12.50/lb + 4.5% sales tax. I had to buy 20 lbs, but I love salmon and am learning that even a standard renter's fridge freezer holds a lot if you stack it right.

So, it's not cheaper for me, but I don't think it's much more expensive either.

[zoebird]

we spend about $300-350/wk on food (same economy), but we are also buying as best we can -- local for fruit/veg as much as can be, then also raw for yogurt for DS (cow share), and pasture-raised/finished meats/eggs, and sustainably caught fish. We do buy three large bars of dark chocolate ($9) in that as well.

[Annieh]

Our meals were pretty basic this week and I did dig into the freezer as well, so I don't think I can keep to $150 every time. I can't go over $200 though. I do buy free range eggs as I eat so many of them, but other than that I don't worry too much about choosing organic.

[texas.grok]

Even if primal is more expensive, think of how much money you will save on medical bills and having to buy plus size clothing. Besides, how much is it worth to have a higher quality of life by being primal?

[Drumroll]

My grocery bill is higher for sure.

However, I eat out very rarely compared to what I used to. So... I'd say net savings overall.

[Jer37208]

My grocery bill is higher for sure.

However, I eat out very rarely compared to what I used to. So... I'd say net savings overall.

As a chef, I'm pretty used to "costing out a menu" and looking for the value (vs. experience of a dinner). Generally, I've found that going paleo for me plus my lady yielded about a 30% rise in the grocery bill, but as we got more "dialed in" with paleo, we went out for food much less, in fact opting for picnics in or around our local parks. I'd say my primal budget is even.

[Damiana]

I am very fortunate to live in an area where ethnic markets are plentiful, and I've found that produce, fruits, and meats are a lot cheaper there. Of course they're not organic, but the only places that sells organic around here are the upper chain markets like TJ and Whole Foods and I'd only be able to buy 2 pounds of meat for $20. I can get a cart full of vegetables and several pounds of meats for the same price at the ethnic market vs about 6 frozen dinners at a normal supermarket. My grocery bill for a family of 3, me and my parents, run to ~200 a month.