The Mostly Paleo Diet

This week begins our journey with the Paleo or Caveman Diet. Well, mostly. I chose to undertake this diet change to see if it would clear up my eczema, improve our moods and energy levels as a family, and just to better our overall health. Now I say that it is mostly Paleo because, while I will be following it as close as I possibly can, my 20 month old daughter will still be drinking some milk, although we've switched to organic milk and my husband will still be taking cheese or yogurt and crackers in his lunches, in addition to meats and fruits and veggies. We also won't be eating exclusively organic. We'd like to of course, but our budget won't allow it. I use the dirty dozen guide when deciding which fruits and vegetables to buy organic.


The scariest thing about this diet was making it fit into our very small food budget. Now, we went a little over this paycheck ($130 for two weeks worth of food) because we needed to stock up on certain things. But after this, we're hoping to keep our grocery bill below $100 for two weeks. And I will be sharing with you exactly how we do it. Here's what I bought this week:

*Non-Paleo items

Safeway

4 sweet potatoes
1 bunch kale
1 bunch bananas
1 avocado
1 bunch green onions
1 bag of baby carrots
1 head of red lettuce
1 bag mini sweet peppers
4 heads broccoli
2 lbs of strawberries
Frozen hashbrowns
1/2 gallon organic milk*
1 container of yogurt*
Ritz crackers*
2 lbs cheddar cheese*
Uncured bacon

 Whole Foods

 2 mangoes
1 bag brussel sprouts
3 cartons hemp milk
2 cartons almond milk
1 gallon organic milk*
2 cans coconut milk
Ketchup
Sesame oil
Strawberry lemonade
1 lb chia seeds
Peanut butter
3 cans tuna
Uncured pepperoni

Costco

4 pork roasts
Hamburger

Things we already had in our pantry/refrigerator:

Eggs
Ground flax seed
Walnuts
Chicken breasts
Pork chops
Frozen peas
Frozen spinach
Frozen blueberries
Sea bass
Chicken broth
Honey
Coconut Oil
Olive oil
Salsa
Shredded coconut
Canned chicken
Russet potatoes

I will be sharing what we eat on a daily basis for the next two weeks for some meal planning inspiration! Stay tuned!