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Meal planning on a budget


darkbloodangell

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Anyone any hints, tips, tricks or recipes to share.

After almost 1 week on whole30 (both my boyfriend and me) and I quickly realised that the amount of food i bought was nowhere near enough. We are on a pretty tight budget for the foreseeable future (we are not buying grassfed etc as its ridiculously expensive in holland) and I already shop at the local market which is cheaper than the supermarkets. WE always cook a batch for 4 and double up leftovers for lunch but at this rate , I'm not sure I can afford to keep whole30 going with the sheer volume of food we are eating.I can up the veggies but then i find i get really hungry if i dont up the protein.

 

 

Given recommendation is between 1-1.5kg per day for 2 people (1.5-3lbs given the recommendation on theclothesmakethegirl)

Most of our meat is already cheap cuts (chicken parts not fillets, ribs, stewing beef etc) and I hate fish (though i force myself to eat tuna once a week). I guess im looking cheap ways to up the protein of meals without increasing meat content and remaining compliant

 

 

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Ground beef-based anything. I do up taco beef at least weekly - it's delicious on top of a baked sweet potato (and that's a pretty cheap combo, too!). If you like avocado, add that, or you can mix some compliant salsa with homemade mayo for your fat.

 

Turning to your cheapest/best bang for the buck veggies will also help. Cabbage is a great way to get bulk veggies in, and a head of cauliflower will make a TON of cauli rice. Especially if you also shred some broccoli and carrots and finely chop an onion/mince of garlic to add to it. That combo's pretty easy and delicious if you have a food processor to shred it all.

 

Other ideas: pureed veggie soups are great at filling you up, especially if you have bone broth to make them with. Broth is not exactly HIGH in protein, but it certainly keeps me feeling full on meals where I eat less protein.

 

Try briskets - some stores have them as cheaper than other cuts of beef roast. They can be slow cooked to perfection.It's delicious at breakfast with baked sweet potato and topped with a fried egg (which helps to stretch the brisket as it's not the sole protein source for your meal).

 

Hubby made a decent skillet meal last night out of chicken thighs. He cut them into chunks, and sauteed 1/2 chopped onion and a few cloves of garlic, then added the chicken. Right before it was done, he added a chopped tomato and cooked that down, a splash of tomato juice, and some red pepper flakes. For a "we have eaten all of our leftovers and are limited to the last few ingredients in the freezer and veggie drawer" meal, it was really good.

 

My husband and I have been paying LESS for groceries on our Whole30 than we did prior to, despite paying almost $20 per week on sweet potatoes alone. Too many baked goods (gluten free) will do that to you!

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As much as I dislike Walmart, I couldn't feed my family of 5, let alone do whole30 foods, if not for price matching & couponing. I price match sales from 3 competitor stores (plus Aldi and Kroger are 40 minutes farther, so it saves me gas & a drive, too) and then just do all my shopping at Walmart. This gets me canned & veggie staples much cheaper. I'll buy meat there in a pinch, but there is a meat processor not too far that I can usually splurge on local non-processed stuff with my savings.

 

I also try to grow as much as I can when the weather permits. The season is pretty much over for me right now, but I'm thinking about trying sprouting or getting some spinach & cabbage started inside.

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Oh, and since white potatoes are allowed, that's another way you can get more bang for your buck when it comes to filling up on veggies. Obvoiusly you shouldn't have them as your only veggie in a meal, but they're usually the cheapest item you can get by far. What I've been doing is making up a big thing of mashed potatoes (cook in a combination of water and chicken broth/stock, add mayo or ghee when mashing to make them a little more creamy, but not too much because you want them to be nutrition, not crack-like food with no brakes) and combining that with my meals for the week and another veggie.

 

For instance, last night I made a chicken dish (layered sliced onions, 1/2 can water-packed chopped artichoke hearts, a couple of finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chicken thighs, more artichoke hearts, more tomatoes, dried marjoram/salt/pepper, and 2 lemons sliced) and a zucchini one (onion, garlic, 2 zucchini, and a big old bunch of fresh parsley left over from last week) with mashed potatoes. Tonight I've got a crock pot roast that I didn't include any potatoes in - just onions, parsnips, carrots, and mushrooms, so I'll serve roast with veggies and mashed potatoes. That way they help stretch the meals a bit.

 

Roasted/baked/boiled potatoes will also work just as well, based on your preferences. They're definitely cheaper at my store than sweet potatoes, so it might help you out some!

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  • Whole30 Certified Coach

If you are open to "off cuts" of meat you can (a) get higher quality meat for the same price as not as great quality meat or (B) get regular meat pretty cheap :)

 

For example - beef heart, beef tongue are usually inexpensive near me.  At the farmers market I can usually get a whole heart or tongue for 3-5$.  This is for grassfed.  A steak from that same cow... $15/lb.  

 

Do you have "ethnic" grocery stores near you?  The Asian stores near me sell fruits/veggies for so much less than the grocery store.  If you could find a place like this it might free up some $ for more meat :)

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Essentially, buy what's on offer/cheap.  (If you have freezer space buy extra of what's on offer and freeze it)  And don't use the fancy, expensive ingredients. Avocados are quite expensive here, so I stick with olive oil and olives for most of my fats.  Same with vegetables, buy what's in season and cheap and just be creative with what you can get.

 

Unfortunately, hard to give any specifics as I'm not familiar with what's available in Holland.

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