Feed the Family for $50

Last Updated on 2011-12-04

I have a lot of friends and clients who have tol me that could never go "Paleo" because it is extremely expensive.  This excuse makes a lot of assumptions about what is Paleo and what is not.  If you are extremely strict, meaning you need to not eat dairy, not eat grain-fed meat, and not eat eggs unless they are from pastured chickens.  I do have a list for that, but the one below is one of my "Super Cheap" lists.  I have several in the book that show how a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 teens) can get by on around $50 a week.  
 

It's not easy and the menu is not varied.  The food is satisfying and nutritious and acceptable to most people.  You could do it even cheaper if your family is cool with organ meats.  Chicken and beef liver, hearts, gizzards, etc are great nutrition for cheap money.  Lard rendered from extremely cheap beef fat (I got grass fed beef fat for $1.50 per pound, not sure if this is just my supplier though).  The lard added to soups and other cooked foods is satisfying!

 

BUDGET ONE:  For When My Kids Play Sports (The Potato Plan)

BUDGET 2:  Straight Paleo (Weight Maintenance or Loss)

Crunch Time Cooking

Last Updated on 2013-02-25

After listening then re-reading a recent program on NPR about how “Crunch-Time” between the end of the school/work day and bedtime makes healthy meals extremely difficult, I felt the need to write this response.  

Our family is typical of many American families of two working parents and two kids in school.  We used to suffer from the same “pressed for time” cooking issues.  Which is how I ballooned to more than 300lbs and my entire family did likewise.  That lead to back problems, fatigue, high blood pressure, and more issues.  Besides just being damn unhealthy.

Point for point.

1.  There’s No Time!  

First, I agree.  So, parents have to feed their kids.  Both parents work full-time but want to provide healthy food for their kids.  Let’s just disregard what the definition of “healthy” is because most Americans don’t believe in my family’s Paleo lifestyle.  Let’s just agree that healthy is fresh, home-cooked, unprocessed food.  

I work about 70 miles away from my home.  My wife is about 20 miles away.  We get home around 6:45pm every night.  I still COULD cook a whole meal by 8pm.  But I don’t.  What I do instead is take 3 hours every Sunday and spend time with my family in the kitchen cooking for the entire week.

I cook casseroles that are full meals with meat, veggies, and good flavor all in one.  Lasagna, chicken broccoli alfredo, taco casserole, Shepherd's Pie,  moussaka, curried veggies, and even a breakfast strata that’s good for any meal.  

I also use my slow cooker or crockpot.  I make pulled pork, beef stew, chili, beef roasts, and more.  I will then make a couple things my kids really like such as a bucket of mash potatoes or creamed spinach or parmesan broccoli and cauliflower.  

I put all this stuff in the fridge.  My kids get home and are hungry around 5:30pm.  They arrange a plate and microwave.  They also take portions of this to school for lunch where they have a microwave available.

For myself and my wife, we often enjoy salads.  I will make a bowl of chicken salad and one of tuna salad.  A couple scoops with some greens or some cole slaw (homemade) and we are all set.

2.  Processed Food is Cheap!  

I have been in the position of having low funds and the need to feed 4 people for a week.  I have done it for $50 (while staying Paleo!).  Forgetting that, the statement that crap food is cheaper is totally true.  And also totally wrong.

I say this because bad food is not doing anything for parents or kids.  It’s making you tired, fat, and hungrier than you would be if you had eaten real, healthy food.  It affects your thinking, your health and your behavior.  It’s a spiral that leads down and down.

Consider the nutritional value of the food you eat.  Simply, what am I getting for my dollar?  Processed food is a VERY bad value.  Better to spend the money on a potato (45 cents), a carrot (21 cents), and a cheap steak (Cubed Steak, 2.75) than an extra value meal ($5).

The same holds true for the frozen fish sticks and chicken nuggets.  I feel bad that schools are forced to serve this stuff.  Most cafeteria staff would agree they could do better with real food.  That’s why my kids take food to school.  Because we eat Paleo, I discourage them from showing it around too much, there’s lots of meat.  

3.  Schedules Mean We Have to Eat Outside the House!

Yes, this totally happens.  Happens to me.  So, I started build “Go Kits”.  It’s a sectioned box of filling awesome food.  I always have 2-3 in the fridge for snacks or when we know we won’t be home for a meal.  

It usually includes some grilled chicken or cooked sausage, nuts, boiled egg, sliced peppers, and berries.  It will cover you until you get home.  My daughter takes them for track meets when the bus stops at fast food places.  She sits there and eats eggs and sausage and peppers.  Much more filling and way better nutritionally.  

You can also make “Go Kits” with anything that’s portable and won’t spoil too fast.  I make these on Sunday with everything else.

Summary

Food is one of the most important things you can do for a child’s or an adult’s health.  Learn to cook large meals one day a week that can then be reheated for lunches and dinners and breakfasts.  Learn to be a little more disciplined and plan ahead.  It changed a lot of things for my family.  

 

Rebel without a Waist

Last Updated on 2011-12-05

I was Fat, Sick, and Headed to a Scary Middle Age.

And then I got better by eating real food.  I also did the same for my family and several clients and friends.  Finally, I wrote a book.  It is the story of my journey from sickness and obesity to a healthy, strong body that I thought was gone forever.  All in just 8 months of research, experimentation, and of course... wicked good recipes!  It also contains the humor and crazy commentary that those who know me are pretty used to.  :)


What is in the Book That I can't Get on the Website?

Plenty!  I include several of the meal plans I have used that keep the family happy, the budget trim, and the nutrition right on the money!  I also include some of my shopping lists and how I to cook these things up when you have almost NO TIME TO COOK!  I include information on how a lazy person can eat the way my family does, both at home and when eating out.  Plus, I include a ton of recipes not published on my site!

A massive and thankful shout out to all my friends in the IPMG!
 

The book is shipping now and the pre-order has ended!  

Number of Copies

Just 1 $17.00 USD Ok, 2 copies $31.00 USD Fine, gimme 3! $41.00 USD

Scientific Support for Paleo Diet

Last Updated on 2012-09-14

I am a consistent Redditor (http://www.reddit.com) and I tire of having people crap all over the diet I eat myself and feed my family.  Standard American Diet eaters, Cardiologists, Personal Trainers, Vegans, Vegetarians, China Study Correlationists, Armchair Quarterbacks and many others will rant and rave about the lack of scientific evidence and how eating bacon will put you in your grave by 40.  

I feel for them because they have been educated to believe what the government says. what educational systems say is true, and to never believe something that is directly contrary to those beliefs.  I get that.  I get that high-fat, high-protein diet is scary because of the cultural pressures we face as Americans.... hell, as Westerners.  

So, I decided to make it easier for all of us and start posting a long, exhaustive list of supporting evidence.  Now, be warned, there have been no detailed, LONG-TERM studies of Paleo Diet eaters directly.  We can look at data for those tribal peoples who still subsist on a Hunter-Gather lifestyle but that's not exactly the same thing.  HOWEVER, naysayers have the same burden of truth because there has never been a research study that proved Paleo eaters are going to have some massive heart problems.  Correlation is not causation.

Excellent Resources but Not Scientific Proof (Not Peer-Reviewed)

An awesome InfoGraphic of the Paleolithic Diet:
http://infographic.paleolithicdiet.com/

The Biggest Mistake in the History of the Human Race, 1987, Discover Magazine
http://discovermagazine.com/1987/may/02-the-worst-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-human-race/?searchterm=caveman%20diet

Weston A. Price Foundation
http://www.westonaprice.org/

Gary Taubes original NY Times article about why we get fat (This guy was the start for me...)
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html?pagewanted=print

Paleo Diet InfoGraphic
http://infographic.paleolithicdiet.com/

William Banting’s Letter on Corpulence from 1869 (Wait, how old is eating Paelo?)
http://archive.supermarketguru.com/Downloads/Banting.pdf