Strictest Possible Budget: Cheap Paleo Budget Breakfasts
Option A: Bulletproof Green Tea: (Or Bulletproof Coffee)
Total Cost per meal: $1.50-$2.50
Make green tea with a tea bag and hot water as normal.
Put 1/3 of a stick (80grams) of unsalted Kerry Gold Butter into the tea (or any other grass fed butter)
Pour 3 tablespoons of Virgin Coconut Oil into the mix or use 2 tablespoons of MCT oil
Blend it together, either in a blender, magic bullet, ninja, or I use a Cuisinart hand blender.
Sprinkle some Cinnamon in and stir.
I've done cardio, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu immediately after drinking it without upset stomach or feeling sick. Best of all it gives me tons of energy and I don't feel hungry for up to six hours afterwards. If you decide to use MCT oil (Medium Chain Triglycerides) make sure you start out with a tiny dose, literally 1/2 teaspoon, and slowly add more throughout a week or two or you will get diarrhea. I started out by using .5 teaspoons of MCT and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.
Option B: Chia Seed Water
Total Cost per meal 25 cents.
Soak 2 tablespoons of Chia seeds with 16oz of water and let sit for 15 minutes. The Chia seeds will expand into tapioca like balls. I usually make it the night before and let it sit out until the morning.
When I'm in Thailand training and have to be up at 7am to run I don't have time or want to eat before hand so I drink Chia seed water before and throughout my workout. It gives me just enough energy to get through the workout without getting light headed.
Option C: Bacon and Eggs
Total Cost per meal: $1.75
Cook 1/4 of a package of Trader Joe's uncured (nitrate free) bacon. I use their "Ends and pieces" which is only $2.99 and is basically just chopped up pieces of bacon instead of nice looking strips. Keep the bacon grease, yes all of it and cook 3-4 eggs in it. You can pour out half of the bacon grease if you want, but keep in mind that you want some fat from it. I often eat it with 1/2 avocado when they are in season, +50 cents to budget.
Optional: Start your morning with 1/2 a teaspoon of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt with some water. This relieves adrenal fatigue. I started doing this first thing in the morning and I love the results.
Paleo on a Budget Shopping List: Breakfast
Organic Green Tea: $4 for a box of 20 at Trader Joe's.
Cage Free Eggs: $2.99 at Trader Joe's
Uncured, Nitrate Free Bacon (Ends and Pieces) $2.99 at Trader Joe's
Kerry Gold Unsalted Butter (Grass Fed): $2.99 at Trader Joe's
Avocados: $3.49 for a bag of 4 at Trader Joe's. When out of season I use their Number Avocado Guacamole in the refrigerated section.
Strictest Possible Budget: Cheap Paleo Budget Lunch and Dinners
Cream of Broccoli and Chicken Soup:
Total Cost of Meal $1.50
I just made this for my first time today and it was incredible and I have enough of it to last me all week. Basically I made my own chicken soup by boiling a big pot of water with two chicken drumsticks and sea salt, black pepper for 3 hours. I added in carrots, 1/4 package of the ends of pieces of bacon and half an onion and let it cook for another hour. Then I took out the bones of the chicken, threw in a bag of frozen broccoli, 1/3 of a stick of kerry gold butter, and let it cook for 10 minutes.
At this point I had chicken soup, tasted it and it was pretty damn good. But to make it creamy I took out the big chunks of bacon and blended the whole thing, I used the Cuisinart hand blender right in the pot but if you don't have one, you can use any blender. I blended it until it was nice and creamy, which was easier than I thought, chopped up the bacon and threw it back in there. It was amazing, my friend Amanda came over for lunch and had some and loved it as well. She's not even paleo.
Ground Beef and Spinach Scramble:
Total Cost of Meal: $4
Brown 1lb of grass fed ground beef, add one package of frozen spinach, salt, and pour in six scrambled eggs with it. This is a super quick, delicious paleo meal. I usually eat about 1/3 of it and save the rest for another meal.
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| Left: Beef, Egg and Spinach Scramble topped with Avocado Salsa Right: Creamed Broccoli and Chicken Soup |
Roast Chicken and Veggies:
Total Cost of Meal: $3
I had no idea how easy it is to roast your own chickens. I used to buy the supermarket rotisserie chickens for $6 all of the time until they started using smaller chickens and charging more for them. Turns out, it's super easy to make your own. Just buy a whole chicken, throw away the giblets, rinse it in water, pat it down with a paper towel until it's dry and then rub it with butter, lots of salt, especially inside. You can stuff some garlic, onion, lemon, apple, thyme, rosemary or whatever you want into the cavity which gives it flavor while it's cooking, but it's optional.
Put it on a pan and roast it in the oven at 425 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or if you want to be more bulletproof and keep more nutrients roast it at 350 degrees for 2.5 hours. That's it. So basically, you just took a whole chicken, rubbed it in salt and butter and threw it in the oven.
For the veggies, I wait until there's about 30 minutes left and then throw broccoli, carrots, and sweet potatoes, sometimes corn or regular potatoes into the same pan as the chicken if there is room. That way the veggies soak up all the amazing chicken juice and seasoning. I eat only 1/4 of the chicken at a time so it lasts 4 meals.
Grassfed Paleo Meatloaf:
Total Cost of Meal: $4
Easy and delicious. In a roasting pan combine 1lb of Grass fed ground beef, a whole egg, chopped or sliced carrots, peas, salt and 1/5 stick of kerry gold, plus 1/4 package of Almond Meal (Ground Almond Flour) and 1/4 jar of Spaghetti sauce. Optionally you can also add in .5 lb of ground pork which makes it taste that much better. Combine it all with your clean hands, and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for a little less than an hour. I eat about 1/3 of the meatloaf of a side of veggies cooked in butter at each meal.
Spaghetti Squash Paleo Gluten Free Spaghetti:
Total cost of Meal: $2.50
Spaghetti Squash is basically pasta and it's a lot easier to make than you might think. Buy your Spaghetti Squash from Trader Joe's, it's only $1.79 each instead of being over $5 at other super markets. They also last for 3-6 months at 50-60 degrees so stock up as they are not available year round. Just keep them in a cool dry place like your garage. Anyways to cook it, it's really easy. Option A. is poke some holes it in and Microwave it for 12 minutes. Option B. is cut it in half, and bake it face down for 35 minutes at 375. Sometimes I butter it first before baking.
Then just brown some grass fed ground beef, onions, garlic, and a can of tomato paste with two cans of diced tomatoes. Salt, oregano, whatever else you normally do for spaghetti sauce. You can even use pre-made stuff in a jar, just ass 1lb of ground beef to it.
Grass Fed Steak: Sweet Potatoes and Veg
Total Cost of Meal: $6.50
Trader Joe's sells 1lb of Grass Fed New York Steak in the Freezer section for $10.99 a pound. I usually buy it and cut it in half, making it around $5 a serving. Having a 16oz steak is a bit too much, even for me. So I save my wallet, by making half at a time and filling myself up with sweet potatoes and veggies instead.
To cook the steak, salt and pepper it and let it sit until room temperature. Very important. Heat up your oven to 400 degrees, I like to stick my pan in there too so it warms up with it unless you're using a cast iron skillet or something without plastic handles you can put directly into the oven. Heat a pan on the stove with gee if you have it, or butter if you don't. The gee is better since it has a higher smoking point, don't use extra virgin olive oil as it smokes too quickly. Sear the steak on both sides for 2-3 minutes so it's brown. Then throw it in the oven for a few more minutes. 2 minutes for rare, or up to 5 minutes for medium. Then let it rest while you cook the vegetables.
Spaghetti Squash Paleo Gluten Free Spaghetti:
Total cost of Meal: $2.50
Spaghetti Squash is basically pasta and it's a lot easier to make than you might think. Buy your Spaghetti Squash from Trader Joe's, it's only $1.79 each instead of being over $5 at other super markets. They also last for 3-6 months at 50-60 degrees so stock up as they are not available year round. Just keep them in a cool dry place like your garage. Anyways to cook it, it's really easy. Option A. is poke some holes it in and Microwave it for 12 minutes. Option B. is cut it in half, and bake it face down for 35 minutes at 375. Sometimes I butter it first before baking.
Then just brown some grass fed ground beef, onions, garlic, and a can of tomato paste with two cans of diced tomatoes. Salt, oregano, whatever else you normally do for spaghetti sauce. You can even use pre-made stuff in a jar, just ass 1lb of ground beef to it.
Total Cost of Meal: $6.50
Trader Joe's sells 1lb of Grass Fed New York Steak in the Freezer section for $10.99 a pound. I usually buy it and cut it in half, making it around $5 a serving. Having a 16oz steak is a bit too much, even for me. So I save my wallet, by making half at a time and filling myself up with sweet potatoes and veggies instead.
To cook the steak, salt and pepper it and let it sit until room temperature. Very important. Heat up your oven to 400 degrees, I like to stick my pan in there too so it warms up with it unless you're using a cast iron skillet or something without plastic handles you can put directly into the oven. Heat a pan on the stove with gee if you have it, or butter if you don't. The gee is better since it has a higher smoking point, don't use extra virgin olive oil as it smokes too quickly. Sear the steak on both sides for 2-3 minutes so it's brown. Then throw it in the oven for a few more minutes. 2 minutes for rare, or up to 5 minutes for medium. Then let it rest while you cook the vegetables.
Paleo on a Budget Shopping List: Lunch and Dinner
1lb Grass Fed Ground Beef $5.99 at Trader Joes Frozen
1lb Grass Fed Steak: $10.99 a lb at Trader Joes Frozen
1lb Grass Fed Steak: $10.99 a lb at Trader Joes Frozen
1 Dozen Cage Free Eggs $2.99 at Trader Joe's (Keep in mind worth paying $6 to get eggs from a local farm where the chickens can run around and eat bugs from the pasture. You can taste the difference.)
1 Whole Roasting Chicken: 5lbs. $5-$10 depending on which one you buy and from where. It may seem like more than buying a Roast chicken from the supermarket but those only weigh 2 lbs, so you get more chicken when you cook it yourself.
Frozen Pesticide Free Spinach: $2.50 for 16oz at Trader Joe's
Frozen Organic Broccoli: $3.50 for 16oz at Trader Joe's. (I only buy organic if there isn't a cheaper pesticide free version)
Spaghetti Squash $1.79 each at Trader Joes. Other supermarkets charge $1.79 per pound, which is a rip off.
Spaghetti Squash $1.79 each at Trader Joes. Other supermarkets charge $1.79 per pound, which is a rip off.
Eating Paleo in Thailand:
I'm getting ready to go back to Thailand, to Chiang Mai to do Muay Thai again for 6 months. I'll write about it more when I get there but my plan is to have bulletproof green tea for breakfast and have normal thai food for lunch and dinner. The only two things I'm going to change is i'm going to ask for no sugar in my food and that they cook everything with either coconut oil or butter. I plan to carry around a small thing of coconut oil or ghee and a note in Thai saying, please no sugar, MSG and please use my oil when cooking, thank you. It should be pretty easy to do. My meals will then basically be Meat, Veggies, and White Rice cooked in healthy oil. I'll also have them put one or two fried eggs on my meal as well to get more fat and protein which usually only costs 60 cents more. Other nights I can go out to the all you can eat thai style bbqs where you boil vegetables in water and grill your own meat. For around $5 it's a great deal and a healthy one too.
I know it's not the best idea to eat rice so many times a day but I figure I'll be doing Muay Thai 6 days a week and the extra carbs won't hurt. White rice is better for you than brown as well in terms of anti-nutrients.
I know it's not the best idea to eat rice so many times a day but I figure I'll be doing Muay Thai 6 days a week and the extra carbs won't hurt. White rice is better for you than brown as well in terms of anti-nutrients.
I'll let you guys know how it goes.
Warm Regards,
Johnny at My Fight Camp.
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