£7 a day the Paleo way

elantan

maddiemay wrote: »

I am really interested in what you are trying to achieve, like LessonLearned I have some health issues, am a couple of years older than she is, and as yet not doing as well.

I haven't yet costed much out, but will try to do this when I meal plan.

Regarding grass fed butter, I am not sure this achievable in the UK in winter months, dairy cattle, unlike some beef herds, cannot live outdoors, options:- buy New Zealand produce (against my ethics, nothing against the people, but I buy British when ever possible) or buy small producer butter in the Summer and freeze a big enough stockpile to get you through.

I get locally produced, relatively small flock FR eggs, mixed size, but all large for £1.35/6 they are so delicious and the lady has a regular following ignoring all the other supposedly FR eggs on her once weekly market stall.

Nuts, seeds and ground almonds - it is worth stalking the specials from Holland & Barrett and Grapetree, I have a very cold storage area so rarely need to fridge these for longevity.

Good luck with your task, I will follow if that is OK?

Mojisola wrote: »

Dairy cows will be fed mostly silage during the winter with some small additional rations.

I think I am trying to achieve a realistic food budget that suits our way of eating, I say think as I have a feeling this challenge will grow and develop into more.

I am also overweight (no doubt partly due to portion size as I have already learned since starting) so will be looking at losing weight, but I want to do it in a healthy affordable way, with nutrition being at the centre of consumption.

I like the Paleo style of eating, I have tried many different ways but out of all the ways I have tried Paleo is for me the most comfortable, however, I also recognise that I am not a strict Paleo eater, I had rolls on Sunday which were provided for me by Mr El, I have explained to him many times that bread is not Paleo ( although you can make Paleo bread) but he seems to buy rolls anyway, ofcourse I dont have to eat them ... but I do, and this is something I am aiming on changing.

When I ate strict Paleo I felt the best I had, I had energy, I wasnt sore, I could think clearly etc, the problem was I spent a lot of time going to various farms to buy the goods and paying more money that I would if I bought it from Asna etc.

Now I am hoping to eventually get into strictish Paleo for £7 a day, I am still unsure if this is possible as I am not far off spending this per day already and I am not having the organic veg and only grass fed meat etc.

Grahams dairy are mainly grass fed with silage (as pointed out) in winter, so I tend to stick to Grahams butter, and will have to learn how to make ghee etc.

I have a long way to go and you are more than welcome to join me in my journey, feel free to add anything you think may help either practically, subconsciously, or thought provoking etc

elantan

does anyone know if Musclefood is any good? I see an online deal just now claimiing free range meat products, nothing about grass fed but deff states free range, but that is for meat and not chicken which it doesn't state if it is free range or not, they have a deal on just now which I can access via a work related discount scheme, have heard people in the past say how good it is, but not sure if it is still as good. think I may try it and take it from there

Lolly_willowes

I think most beef in the uk is mostly grass fed with the addition of silege as others have said. We don't have the huge feedlots for beef cattle like they do in the states and if you ask a British farmer about it they'll often look at you like your mad. That's been my experience anyway. British lamb tends to be free range by default also as they often graze land not suitable for tilling. Good luck with your goal.

lessonlearned

Hi Elantan I am back home with a nice cuppa and ready to chat.

Some great advice and tips on here already.

Re muscle foods.....yes I have tried them. The chicken was lovely as were the steaks but the pack I had contained rather too many burgers and those steakette things etc for my liking, although they were nice enough.

Re grass fed......I can understand your wish to avoid your meat being pumped full of chemicals and anti biotics, but as you say it does tend to bump up the price. I guess you just need to shop around for the best suppliers. If you have got freezer space maybe you could bulk buy.

I always buy organic milk. You can really taste the difference, there is always that chemical twang to non organic milk. I buy whole milk because of the vitamin D. Skimmed and semi skimmed milk does not contain sufficient vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat soluable vitamin. Get rid of the fat and you get rid of the vitamin D. If my tummy is bothering me then I switch to lacto free milk for a while, again whole milk if possible rather than semi skimmed.

Organic and grass fed meat and dairy will cost more so the best thing is to try and reduce the amount of meat you eat. Pity you do not eat fish. However, it is not the end of the world. If you like eggs then there are plenty of egg based dishes, omelettes, frittata etc . Lamb is not intensively farmed and do not forget game such as rabbit, pheasant etc. If you buy it in the game season then it is not expensive. The trick is to try and eat with the seasons, food is cheaper when eaten in season and it usually tastes better.

I notice you do not mention much in the way of vegetables......ideally your plate should be one third meat or fish and two thirds vegetables. White potatoes are not classed as vegetables.

Basically a simple golden rule to help you decide the best vegetables are if it grows above the ground then fill yer boots, if it grows below the ground then only eat moderate amounts because root vegetables are not strictly paleo. They have a lot of starch and can upset your blood sugar levels if you eat too many, especially white potatoes.

You mention growing your own.......perfect if you can because then you will be able to grow them organically. If time and or space is short and watering is a problem then I would stick to easy stuff such as fruit bushes and quick growing crops such as salad leaves. And also any luxury type veg you like which are expensive to buy. It all depends how skilled at gardening you are. My gardening skills are a bit Hit and miss but I always seem to do well with fruit bushes etc. Last year my tomatoes were a disaster. :rotfl:

You mention butter.......do you use it for cooking. Do you like olive oil. Have you tried almond butter. Not for cooking but as a spread. Not cheap but packed with protein and absolutely yummy. You can spread it on slices of cucumber or use it as a dip for crudit!s.

To cut costs could you manage the odd vegetarian meal. I aim to eat vegetarian twice a week. Fish two or three times a week (although fish can cost as much as meat). I do try to restrict red meat to once or twice a week.

Mushrooms are protein rich so you could make a mushroom based meal. I make a mushroom/garlic/onion/tomato concoction. I add some cream cheese and a bit of cream to it. I serve it with either courgetti or butternut squash spaghetti. It is very filling and I do not miss the meat. I also do various types of frittata or versions of Spanish omelette. They can be eaten hot or cold, so if you make a big one you can take cold portions to work.

Dishes like mushroom stroganoff are nice. I cannot eat rice so I have cauliflower rice instead. I sometimes have quinoa instead of rice or cous cous.

Re Bisto and or stock cubes. I use them from time to time, I have no problems with them, they do not upset my stomach if used in moderation.

But usually I make my own gravies and sauces, using meat juices as the base. I often cook with alcholol. I think it adds richness and flavour to a dish. To keep costs down rather than use red wine I add a glug of ruby port because it does not go off like red wine does so a bottle of port will last for ages. I also often add a bit of grated dark chocolate to dishes such as chilli or beef stews and casseroles. It really enhances the flavour and it often means you can get away with not using commercial gravy products.

So say I wanted to make a gravy to a roast meat dish. I would use the meat juices as a base, add some water a bit at at a time, then maybe a glug of port and see what it was like. Then if necessary maybe some seasoning. I just taste and adjust as I go along. If you cook it off it will thicken on its own without adding thickeners or if necessary you could always add arrowroot or cornflour. I am not keen on cornflour myself but that is just a matter of taste.

I do not eat any legumes other than a few green lentils now and again.. I just do not like them and my nutritionist did say that I should avoid legumes and soya. So I do not use legumes as a meat substitute. I would rather do without and just eat a vegetarian meal based around eggs or cheese.

Re supplements.....I shop around and look for deals. I find Amazon quite good for vitamins and supplements.

I am not the worlds best baker.......understatement, I am useless. I have tried using nut flours etc to bake with but most of my attempts have been inedible. :rotfl: Luckily I do not have a sweet tooth and rarely bother with a pudding. If I want a sweet treat then I have a bowl of berries with cream or a couple of squares of dark chocolate. I make the odd fruit crumble but I use chopped nuts as the topping.

I think if you can reduce the amount of meat you eat by cutting portion sizes and adding more vegetables and perhaps the occasional vegetarian meal then you should easily manage to keep to £7 a day, especially if you all eat the same meals because then there would be economies of scale. And if you can grow some fruit and veg then you would save even more.

beanielou

Have heard good things about Musclefoods El from people at SW.

Mojisola

elantan wrote: »

does anyone know if Musclefood is any good?

Apart from saying their meat is "responsibly sourced", I can't find anything on the site that gives any information about where the meat comes from or how the animals are managed.

elantan

Hi everyone thanks for the replies, will try to respond here and now ... then add a wee bit about what has happened since I was last here not that long ago ( this challenge seems to get me thinking and excited about the future)

yep I agree Lolly we dont have the feed lot system here ( yet) and that is to be celebrated imo and one thing we need to really protect ( again imo)

Lesson thanks very much for the in depth reply gave me a lot to think about, yep I agree I need to cut down our portions that way we will be able to afford to eat organic etc, I think that is what I am going to aim for, will try with the mince tomorrow , really ot looking forward to 125g of mince, I feel hungry after todays amount of left overs last nights dinner, so I think I need to up my fat intake to help fill me, I use olive oil Avacado oil coconut oil ghee and butter to cook with, I am quite liberal with all oils but think maybe I need to go a wee bit more conny with the butter, I just have it and dont think, maybe I need to start thinking as I noticed it isnt exactly cheap, yes I do use almond butter and make my own butters, I have a Thermomix ( a newly acquired toy) which helps me make butters etc, I do worry about nut sources though as I know alot of the nuts come from the USA who have been known to use fracking water on their crops and use a lot of GM foods as well.

I make my own caluiflower rice which i tend to add mushrooms onions garlic and coconut aminos to and cook it in coconut oil. I love veggies was a vegetarian for years, so will happily fill a plate with veggies and eat it, I will have to expand my veggie list however and seasonally will make a difference, i will have to save up for a watering system for the garden, you just cant beat home grown produce.

Thanks Beanie I have heard that myself, have decided to order a pack on the special deal and take it from there. Mojisola thanks also responsibly sourced is important to me, I used to buy from the local farmer so trying to get my head around online meat purchasing.

Ok so since I was here I went for a walk with Mr El and we discussed this challenge, Mr El isnt too keen but then thats nothing new, I did however also get to thinking about food waste, this was brought to a head when we got back and Mr El decided to make a smoothie ( he reckons thats how he is losing weight) and I had to chuck out some of the wasted salad stuff, this got me to looking at what I have used since I started cooking, in the mix of that was coconut milk, yesterdays recipe called for 90ml but a can has 440 ml on it, Mr El added it to his smoothies, however, I need to add in the cost of any food wasted as a can of coconut milk was still bought in order to make the chicken meal last night, so thankfully this time Mr El used up the coconut milk but that might not happen next time,

With this in mind I am going to have to add in food wasted, with the plan being I dont waste any (I hate food waste)

I have also bought a muscle food pack to try it out, however, I really want to get back to locally produced organic, so I think buying it this time will give me breathing space so I can organise this further purchase. I would consider a vegetable box but am unsure if I would use it or not, I would also love a locally sourced close to pick up or will drop off egg delivery system, we use nearly 30 a week, thats a lot of eggs, at 25p an egg that's £7.50 a week on eggs, now if I can get that down to say £6-6.50 that would be great.

So I have a lot of home work ahead of me and very little time, I am also hungry so will need to look at increasing my fat consumption, and upping my veggie intake, I also need to make some nut balls for handy snacks, and will need to add cinnamon to my coffee as I am a sugar addict and need to try and keep my blood sugars stable so I can get control of my addiction.

Phew there is a lot to get on with ... This is deffinatley more involved than I thought it would be, a simple wee hey lets get on top of the food budget has turned into a much deeper subject than I first expected...

Thanks again for all your help, much appreciated

hex2

I do sneaky bread too - usually white warburtons danish as hot buttered toast on a Sunday morning. I limit my dairy/legumes rather than cut them out because i like cheese, and peas/lentils are cheap.

Muscle foods, I used them when they were Westin Gourmet and thought they were ok - not great, not terrible. We used to struggle to find a value box that wasn't padded with processed stuff. Mixed reviews on the chicken fillets, think I read they are now imported in which case you might as well buy 5kg/£20 in Makro and actually see what you are getting. They were huge, but rather tasteless but as a base protein for curry they were ok.

Heartier get some good reviews but again the offers usually involve processed stuff so I haven't tried them.

Best online butchers i have tried: https://www.neilpowell.co.uk/product-category/beef/

Expensive but excellent

maddiemay

I have not used Musclefoods, but have had 2 packs from Heartier. The first was via an offer on Martin's newsletter, once you have signed up to their own e-mail newsletter they notify you of offer codes.

All the things we have had have been absolutely delicious

This is the last order, cost after code £39.95
Package 1 arriving on 28/02/2018 (1 x Topside / Silverside(Weight: 1kg) 1 x Pork loin joint(Weight: 1kg) 1 x 2 Flatiron steaks 1 x 2 Picanha steaks 1 x 2 Gammon steaks(Weight: 8oz per steak) 1 x Featherblade braising steak 1 x Lamb mince 1 x Sausagemeat 225g 1 x Streaky bacon(Weight: 210g))

Outdoor reared, free range, native breeds as indicated.

maddiemay

I have not used Musclefoods, but have had 2 packs from Heartier. The first was via an offer on Martin's newsletter, once you have signed up to their own e-mail newsletter they notify you of offer codes.

All the things we have had have been absolutely delicious

This is the last order, cost after code £39.95
Package 1 arriving on 28/02/2018 (1 x Topside / Silverside(Weight: 1kg) 1 x Pork loin joint(Weight: 1kg) 1 x 2 Flatiron steaks 1 x 2 Picanha steaks 1 x 2 Gammon steaks(Weight: 8oz per steak) 1 x Featherblade braising steak 1 x Lamb mince 1 x Sausagemeat 225g 1 x Streaky bacon(Weight: 210g))

Outdoor reared, free range, native breeds as indicated