Is it expensive to eat the Paleo way?

[Proverbs31Mom]

I am a single mom who has had a lifelong unhealthy eating habits lifestyle ever since I was in elementary school.  I am now 48 years old and have struggled with my bad eating habits and weight for many, many years.  I started reading the book, "It Starts with Food" recommended by a long-time friend of mine who told me about the Paleo way and highly recommended it.  I have 2 children at home still, ages 8 and 13, who have also formed bad eating habits. I really want to eat healthy now that I'm getting older and realizing the impact of my bad eating habits not only on myself but also my children.  I am curious to know if this is expensive to eat healthier with all the organic products and unusual foods that are recommended.  As I stated, I am a single mom and have to watch my finances closely. 

 

My friend loaned me her copy of this book back in June of this year but I never read past the 1st chapter.  She told me the things she had to give up which honestly impressed me that she gave some of these things up as I knew her well enough that these things in her diet were major sacrifices...such as giving up her several lattes every day.  She told me though that she hasn't had one migraine since she started eating Paleo in October of 2012 and this was June, 2013 that she told me this.  This was very impressive to me.  However, not impressive enough that I was willing to give up those things I craved and desired so strongly.  I struggle with seasonal allergies and when I went on a fast several times last year, it was as if I never had allergies but because I gave up everything and only drank water and chicken broth, I couldn't pinpoint what it could be in my diet.  I happened to mention to her about this in June when we were talking that I had to wonder if it was something I was consuming on a regular basis that was causing the allergies to intensify.  It was at this point that she began to share her experience with me about how the Paleo diet was improving her mood, energy levels, and health.  I eat alot of dairy products so I'm interested to see how eliminating these foods from my diet for 30 days will affect my health. 

 

I also welcome comments/suggestions/ideas of how to incorporate the "Paleo way" into my children's  diets as well because they need to be eating healthier as well.  I encourage anyone who can offer any advice, support, ideas, suggestions, etc. I really want to do this and I believe I'm ready.

 

Thank you in advance for your input.

[Proverbs31Mom]

I hope I posted this in the right place--still getting familiar with the website so my apologies if I posted it in the wrong place.

[SadToSexy]

It can be more expensive at first, but you will find new favorites & get into new routines over time, which can save money. It also helps to diversify your shopping. You can find deals at Costco & Trader Joes to help cut costs & eating seasonally (farmer's markets! yay!) keeps the price down, too.

 

As far as kids go, I think the best thing to do is to introduce new things as being a fun treat & to feel around for potential favorites rather than to start taking things away. Letting them help in the kitchen & garden can work wonders in terms of getting them interested as well. If you have the patience to slowly change their diets over time, they may not even notice! 

[ShannonM816]

You don't need any weird ingredients (I'm assuming you mean things like almond flour or coconut aminos or some of the more exotic spices in some of the recipes you can find online) to have a successful Whole30, and you don't need to buy organic anything if it's not in your budget. All you need is veggies, meat, good quality fats, maybe some fruit, and some spices you like to cook with. Check out Gerry C.'s success story -- she was successful even though she's on Social Security.  Whole30 also has this shopping guide with tips for getting the best you can for what you can spend, and this is a fairly common topic in the forums -- here's one thread about it, just as an example.

 

I don't have kids, so I can't help you with that one -- but I know there's a section of the forums just for Whole30 with kids, you can probably find tips there.

 

Don't let budget be the reason you don't at least try a Whole30, especially since you already feel you're having problems with certain foods. In an ideal world, yes, we'd all eat organic everything and grassfed, pasture raised meats, but this isn't an ideal world, so all we can do is do the best we can. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good here. 

[Tom Denham]

This article may help: http://www.whole9life.com/2011/01/paleo-poor-your-guide-to-the-grocery-store/

[bodlon]

I'm on a budget as well -- recovering from a few years of financial awfulness -- so I'm right there with you!

Initially I was also worried about the expense, but over the last few weeks have discovered that I'm actually spending less on food overall now that I've dropped the heavily processed stuff and am focusing mainly on produce and meat.  Several really solid staples -- sweet potatoes, for example -- tend to be fairly inexpensive.  Avocadoes are usually about $1 each around here.  Plus, I can make four meals worth of chicken stew in a slow cooker with $3 in fryer thigh/legs, a can of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and whatever veg I have handy.

 

I probably wouldn't quite be able to do what I'm doing on SNAP, but I might be able to come very close.