£7 a day the Paleo way

beanielou

Dont work too hard el.

suki1964

Lentils are great for bulking out mince and full of protein and iron and really won't want a big portion size to feel full

But here in Lidl is an oddity, 250gr is £1.19, 500gr is £2.50, I have loads of small blocks in the fridge and freezer

Get a smaller plate as well. I use a salad plate and leave spaces between the food items and it does me fine. If I see a pile of food it turns me. If Im still hungry later, and I mean real hunger, nothing that a drink won't take the edge of, I will get myself something else. Last night a slice of toast was required, most nights I can talk myself out of it

elantan

building_with_lego wrote: »

The celery addition was just because the three veg together make sofrito, the basis for loads of Italian mince dishes, and I figured it was worth a try. You can't really taste it but it pads it all out a little more.

We are in an affluent area of the South West. It's a local butcher who sells meat from lots of local farmers but the beef is Scottish. I don't think it's steak mince somehow but it's good enough for us. The large slabs are sold at cost. (And if you've come out without any money they let you pop back the next day :rotfl::o)

sounds like a plan, Have never just thought about celery before, and yeah it's great to still be living in a world where a community can still trust each other, you are lucky

greenbee wrote: »

Elderly salad can be used to make generic 'green' soup, and then frozen...

In theory if you buy high-quality meat you should need to eat less of it. Portion sizes for meat should be around 100g - but work your way down gradually, being more creative with adding veg. Stir-fries and curries are a great way of using a little meat and a lot of veg to make something with lots of flavour. I'd also wean yourself off the oxo/bisto - if you're using 3 cubes because you like 'flavour' I suspect it's the salt that is making the difference. As hex suggests you could use marigold stock, or alternatively, go without and add flavour using herbs and spices. It'll take your taste buds time to adjust to more subtle flavours, but they will.

Elderly salad I love it your right the plan is to buy higher quality meat so that we dont need as much, we do buy from the butchers just now and we do buy steak mince ( tbh I thought all mince was steak mince lol) but we are hoping to move back into the grass fed organic locally sourced again, Its my husband that likes as much salt in his food, he has salt with everything nearly, he uses cheap table salt where as I use himalayan salt so dont use nearly qaurter as much, he likes his " flavour" as he calls it with h is m ince, I asked him what he thought of the flavour he said it wasnt enough for him yesterday ... typical, I do tend to prefer to use spices, and will dont use salt when I make a bolognaise, it just seems to be with mince ... spose I should say here in Scotland when we say mince we mean mince and tatties done in a kinda gravy idea, ( i'm sure you all know this just saying incase some dont)

Lolly_willowes wrote: »

A slightly weird tip but sometimes the food magazines will have offers for good online butchers in them where you only need a code. I keep meaning to try them when I free up some freezer space.
Also possibly look into offal. It's intimidating at first but things like chicken livers are super cheap. They do organic on ocado for under £2 so even if you don't like them you haven't wasted lots of money.

now thats a good idea and one i hadnt thought of thanks

elantan

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Followed you over from you diary and just wanted to comment on this.

Although we have our own chickens, in the winter when they dont lay we buy from a local egg farm in the nearest town. They sell eggs either 6, 12 or 30. 30 free range eggs are £3.60. They have an egg vending machine (i think the first in this country) and on Saturdays a young lad sells them (especially handy for those who dont like to use the machine)

If I sell my own eggs as a tray of 30 I charge £4. (I charge £1 per half dozen if selling separately)

It might be worth having a google to see if you have any egg farms near you or trying to find someone like me who has a few chickens of their own who might be able to do a deal if you are prepared to buy 30 a week from them.

Hi EE lovely to see you over here, how have you been? Brilliant idea on the eggs, I did buy from a local farm I just stopped because the farmer understandably has dogs running around and although I wouldnt harm a dog I am not a fan of them and am scared, the farmer said the dog is ok etc... but erm I wasnt taking any chances, it wouldve been fine if the farmer was about but they said just help yourself and leave the money ( nice people and trusting) but every time I tried the farmer was away and the dogs barked, so it was too stressful for me, I will see though if there is another source I can get them from, i'm loving the idea of an egg vending machine, awesome idea

beanielou wrote: »

A gradual reduction sounds good to me.

Aye I think for someone like me that loves food its gonna have to be gradual ... vey gradual lol

Sir_Robin wrote: »

I don't think £7 a day is high for one person my budget has been £7.50 that's including all none fixed expenses and the budget is too tight it's doable but literally no slack for unexpected expenses or treats. I used the "daily budget" app on the iPad for the last month to track every expense so I know where it's going.

I don't think you can get much lower without cooking in huge batches or eating junk meals.

Thanks Robin, I wasnt sure I know I have a long way to go still but i'm sure with hard work and help I will get there ... and maybe help others on the way, might look out for a daily budget app thanks

elantan

Wizzbang wrote: »

I'm curious to know some more background. Whist you have clearly set out some of your aims/ goals/ dreams, I feel there's a lot of vital information missing.

1) Do you have a budget? You indicate years of problem spending, particularly on food but not only. Where have you plucked this figure of £7 per day from? Is it just that it's less than you are currently spending? Do you even know what you are currently spending? I'm afraid you need to start with the cold hard facts - what can you AFFORD to be spending on food? Not wishes or dreams. I'd love to be able to support a local milkman or buy organic meat, but I just can't afford to be able to do so on my budget.

2) Why are you restricting your diet in this way? There seems to be a leaning towards health reasons, but I'm not entirely clear. I would ask if a health professional has advised you to look into changes? If not, then are you doing this because it's the 'latest thing'? Are you friends doing it? Do you follow a lot of bloggers who are doing this? It's a fairly drastic change to make and I have family members who have tried it to escape things like IBS when nothing else has worked. However, it wasn't a long-term fix. I just think you need to be very aware of why you are doing it - it could have long-term health impacts when you restrict your nutrition in this way, particularly on your calcium levels for example from not eating dairy. Usually dietary changes as drastic as this should be done for very clear health reasons, under supervision from a health professional (and not an internet certificated nutritionist, or other such pretty well non-qualified person).

3) VfM4meplse may have the best of intentions in posting here, but how they describe their eating smacks of a person who has an eating disorder. I would advise them to seek help from a health professional and not to carry on in this damaging pattern.

4)Have you looked at cheaper cuts of meat? I see all this talk of steak, but that's about the most expensive type out there. How about pigs cheeks, mutton, tripe, rabbit and so on? That's an obvious way to eat a lot more meat than most people on a budget.

5) As a few others have mentioned, you don't really seem to be bulking out your meat much. For example, if I made a spaghetti bolognaise with 500g high quality mince. I would get 8-10 portions from it by adding chopped peppers, grated carrots, tinned tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, diced courgette and anything else I had to hand that needed using up - even baked beans! Lentils and pulses, if eating them are a cheap way to make expensive meat go further.

6) You mention issues with portion sizes. A portion size for a meat or potato, is what will fit in the palm of your hand. Or a matchbox sized piece of cheese. 2oz per person is the right portion with pasta, rice, quinoa etc. I'm sure you can find more information on this online and there are expensive gadgets and plates out there to help people with real problems controlling themselves, but that's more money spent on something that's not really needed. Just write it down and stick to it.

7) You quote eating 15 eggs per week, per person. That's over 2 eggs per day. Have you had your cholesterol level checked by your Dr because that's a very large amount of eggs to be eating and may not be good for you. When do you eat these eggs? Could you not find something else that would give you a more balanced diet and potentially be cheaper?

8) You are using a lot of expensive supplements. Have these been advised by a Dr? Any normal person should be able to meet all of their dietary requirements from a balanced, healthy diet. Supplements will always be more expensive than the food items that contain them. Can you not look to food sources of the nutrients you are trying to obtain? The plain fact is that after you have consumed the RDA of any vitamin or mineral, you will be weeing out the rest. I bet you have VERY expensive urine!

Hi Whizzbang thanks for joining any advice and help welcome, it may take me a while to reply so please bear with me

1) I got the £7 a day budget on each person from my £400 budget of this month, I would like to reduce this but I am not sure it is entirely possible we will see, I have tracked spends for years, I have budgetted for years, however I have never got on top of the food budget possibly due to food price changes, changes in lifestyle, eating habits people to feed etc but it has whizzed about all over the place, I have never done a daily budget before so this is a new attempt at getting it sorted once and for all.

2) I have eaten Paleo on and off for years, long long long long before it became popular, it started from a recognition of my sugar addiction, I dont have any friends on it, I dont talk to anyone in RL about it with the possible exception of my husband cause we live in the same house, I dont read blogs about eating,

since trying it I have found it is the healthiest most enjoyable way for me to eat, I have energy, I sleep well, my skin is improved, my mood improved, there is plenty of calcium available from food, Spinach is loaded with it, yes I do need to up my spinach level to more than once/twice a week and yes I need to eat other calcium rich foods, I did have kale this evening which is rich in calcium but milk isnt the only source if calcium available, and I do occasionally have a wee bit of cream in my coffee ( not much though), interestingly how did your family members find their time on Paleo?

the idea behind Paleo is that people eat fresh, high quality,additive free, non processed food, now please feel free to correct me if I am wrong but isnt this how we should be eating? Or are we as humans meant to wait till we have an illness or something wrong with our health before we decide to eat healthy and be aware of what we put in and on our bodies?

3) VF4M may have health issues I am not sure, but I did note however VF4M spoke about not eating due to being unable to afford food, this to me would indicate that finances are an issue, there may be more issues I dont know, but if a person doesnt eat because they cant afford to my advice would be to go to a food bank or somewhere were they can ensure they can get food, I do agree that if there is a health related issue surrounding food then yes VF4M should go and seek medical advice.

4) I do eat cheaper cuts of meat, I love beef skirt for example, I prefer that in a stew, I am not opposed to eating cheaper cuts of meat, but am not really aware of how many different cuts there are and what price they are, I was told buying fillet tail was half the price per kg of fillet, I went to buy this at the weekend, turned out it was very expensive so that is one that I will not bother with again. It is a learning process and one that I have no doubt will love/ hate and learn as I progress. oh but pigs cheeks rabbit etc ... erm nope, tried rabbit, tried venison made me really ill, tripe is a no way food as well, I was vegetarian for a long time so I am quite fussy about meat, but things like beef skirt etc will be added.

5) I have no doubt I can bulk out much more, but i was impressed that out of 1kg of steak mince I managed to get 1.8kg to divide, I was fair impressed with myself, but maybe I am just taking baby steps?

6) yep this is something I am learning about, hence the whole shock of 125g of mince... but its a journey and not a sprint so i'm sure I will get there slowly

7) eggs suit me because they are fast and cheap ( sourced cheaper ones today, think i'm down to 14p an egg now ...medium size, gotta be worth a go, as previously stated my cholesterol is 3.5 liver came back good, egfr >59 U&E's good, HBA1C was 40 fasting glucose 4.2 so yeah i reckon I am not too bad, I do keep an eye on my bloods and will be annoying the nurse soon as hubby has been put on a statin and that aint happening to me.

8) The supplements are deffinately something that will be addressed, I didnt realise I spent as much on them, they are for cognitive function, eye sight etc after T.I.A vitd and omega3 those 2 I will keep taking as I live in Scotland and well I dont eat fish at all, and I know there is a global research currently either just finished or still being under taken about Omega 3 and the heart and so far the results are looking good. But I have already stated this is an area that will be changing

Wizzbang wrote: »

Whilst I don't disagree with this information, it is broad and intended for the healthy, general population. If you read down the page it mentions speaking to your GP, esp if you have high cholesterol. The OP indicates they have health problems around high blood pressure, I believe and possibly other things too.

British Heart Foundation has slightly different advice and it is evidence based. Plus, I would suggest from what the OP has shared that they are not eating what would be described as a 'balanced diet'.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2015/may/eggs-and-cholesterol

The point is - everything is fine in moderation. 2 eggs per days is a lot for anyone, every single day. The OP would be better to vary their diet more, to ensure a better range of nutrients from different sources. This would help their health and their budget.

I shall add the caveat that I am a health professional.

2 eggs a day just doesnt seem too much to me, certainly better than a bowl of cereal per day and many eat that I also have sausages etc at weekends ( which isnt strict Paleo I know) . I understand you are a health professional, thats fantastic to hear ( I may need to pick your brains if thats ok) can I ask what area of health you work in? if you dont mind sharing

elantan

Phew that was an essay, thanks everyone for your help much appreciated.

Now for today's eating then I'm heading to bed, these early rises are just no good lol

2 Eggs butter and coffee etc £1.59
Avacado 50p
25g nuts 25p
Gammon steak £2
vegetables 80p
Kale with coconut oil, garlic and salt 32p ( yellow sticker yay)

total for the day £5.46

elantan

suki1964 wrote: »

Lentils are great for bulking out mince and full of protein and iron and really won't want a big portion size to feel full

But here in Lidl is an oddity, 250gr is £1.19, 500gr is £2.50, I have loads of small blocks in the fridge and freezer

Get a smaller plate as well. I use a salad plate and leave spaces between the food items and it does me fine. If I see a pile of food it turns me. If Im still hungry later, and I mean real hunger, nothing that a drink won't take the edge of, I will get myself something else. Last night a slice of toast was required, most nights I can talk myself out of it

Hi Suki,

sorry I missed this wee message, I think having the smaller plates will help as maybe my wee portion of mince wont look just so lonely lol , I have added lentils to the soup before but never to anything else, Lentils are not strictly paleo either so whilst I will have some I do try not to have too many, but some surely cant be bad for you

beanielou

Good total for today.
Sleep well.

elantan

You too Beanie, How are things with you anyway?

beanielou

elantan wrote: »

You too Beanie, How are things with you anyway?

Am ok, thanks.
Could be better , could be worse...........

Need to think of some ways to raise some cash.