Anyone here doing Paleo? for Questionland Seattle

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Anyone here doing Paleo?

Thinking of switching from Keto to Paleo but one of the things holding me back is the cost of organic meat: it is insane.

Getting organic steaks from the farmer's market at 3 or more times the cost at the grocery store. Unsustainable for my budget.

How does anyone afford all organic meat? Tips, tricks? About cost or Paleo in general? How do you Paleo? How do you Paleo cheap?

Sheree Pennah asked in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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Fnarf

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I'm afraid to ask what "paleo" is. Some kind of all-meat "caveman" diet?

But the secret to eating meat is to eat it in small portions, used to flavor dishes, not just BE the dish. Make stews and soups and salads and side dishes with meat IN them but not. Also, eat lots of non-prime cuts, which often have more flavor anyways. The best tasting part of a cow isn't the filet mignon, it's the brisket, or the cheek, or the tongue. And leave the bone on, and use the bone. Look how poorer countries eat meat: a small bit of lamb shoulder makes a rogan josh; a pinch of beef cheek becomes a cabeza taco; a small amount of ham or sausage makes a salad come alive; the best posole has just a few grams of chicken in it. Oxtail is really good. Beef bones can be had for almost nothing and are the basis of fantastic soups and stews.

If you're looking for a way to eat almost entirely meat, but you want organic, you're going to have to pay. But even then, concentrate on cheaper cuts. Leave the 2" steaks for richer people, and know that your tripe or pulled pork has ten times the flavor.

Fnarf answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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If you have the ability to do so, purchase in bulk directly or as directly as possible from a farm/ranch. If organic is important, make sure the producer and the slaughterhouse and butcher are organically certified. When you purchase directly from the source, it's typically far less on a $/lb basis than you will pay at retail. This is because there are far fewer steps between farm and fork - in beef cattle there can be as many as 18 steps to your plate and at each step, someone's taking margin. If you don't have a chest freezer or can't possibly eat through 400-500 lbs of beef in a year, perhaps you can team up with some friends and share a whole beef. In the Seattle area there are a lot of good producers who sell directly. Tamara and I listed a few of them on the "should I buy in bulk" query.

Carrie Oliver answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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Matt from Denver

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"Regular" meat isn't exactly cheap. Sure, you don't pay much for it at the grocery store or the McDonald's drive-through, but it's supported by your tax dollars. Modern meat production is absolutely dependent on corn, which is not naturally what cattle eat, and the reason for this is because the market is flooded with cheap corn. Why is corn cheap and plentiful? Because of subsidies. You're paying for that, one way or another.

Think also of the hormones and drugs injected into most feedlot-produced meat. I don't know if anyone has produced a study for the long term effects of human consumption of such meat; but if there are health effects, you'll be paying for those in the future.

Switching to organic now will mean more money out of your pocket - there's no denying that. But your question raises questions of my own. How often do you eat meat? If it's every day, you could even out the costs by eating less. Humans really do not need to eat meat every day, or even every other day. And perhaps we shouldn't.

Another question raised is, How else are you spending your money? Do you go out a lot? Do you have a smart phone with a data plan? Do you live in an expensive neighborhood? Do you drink lattes every day? None of these things are any of my business so I don't need an answer, but if you're planning a lifestyle change, it's generally a good idea to examine these things, and evaluate what they are truly worth.

Matt from Denver answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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I'm eating paleo.

I'm eating the product I can't easily market.

If you want to eat paleo cheap, I recommend you find someone that produces the stuff you like and ask them what's their cheapest stuff that they can't move.

That will be cheaper than buying a whole animal, as a whole animal includes desirable cuts. If you will take the stuff that nobody else wants, you ought to be able to get it cheaply.

Heath Putnam Farms answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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Trader Joe's has pretty good prices for meat, and a fair amount of it is organic. I've heard that QFC's meat is expensive, but there are occasional deals so awesome that you can pick up quite a bit of meat for cheap.

If you're really concerned about the origins of your meat, you can invest in a good freezer and buy a large amount of meat directly from the farmer who raised the animal. My family eats a lot of lamb, so we worked out a deal with a local 4H club. In Seattle, where farms are further away and local meat is prized, your results may vary.

Speaking of diets, have you considered the Mediterranean diet? It's easier on the wallet than Paleo, you still get to eat the things you like in moderation, and it's quite tasty. I think most people around the Mediterranean eat more meat than the "official" diet recommends, though.

IsadoraWing answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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AmyS

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In regards to affordable or budget friendly eating, decide what factors are most important to you. There are other less expensive options to Certified Organic meat. Naturally raised can offer similar qualities such as raised w/o hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics. This is often a middle price range & comparable to non branded meats.

Certified Organic meat is generally costly regardless of where it is purchased. However, if that seal of approval is a requirement for you, you might check out a local butcher shop and consider ordering in bulk. Examples of bulk could be, bulk packaged, mixed meat bundles, whole subprimals, or wholes/sides/quarters etc... We do this at our shop. This is a common meat shop practice.

Purchasing a whole, side, or quarter is usually the most affordable per lb price but is an investment. If you are lacking in freezer storage space, you might consider small portions in bulk. Meat bundles are commonly available in as little as 10 or 20 lbs. We have customers who purchase ground beef in bulk 10 lb packages. They then package the meat up themselves, at home, in small portions. They get a wholesale price break for the bulk packaging.

Another option is purchasing whole sub primals and cutting the steaks or roasts yourself. You might consider whole chuck rolls, whole ribeye, or strip loins. Less expensive (but equally tasty) options could be top butt (sirloin), whole knuckle, etc... Choosing larger subs that you can breakdown yourself will save you $'s in your budget.

Hope that helps!

AmyS answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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I'm admittedly not the best person to be answering this, but I just want to throw out there that the two cheapest ways to get meat are:

Hunting, it's hella Paleo, cheap, and you can get all kinds of weird meat that you never/rarely see at the store or farmers market- it does take a rather large initial investment of money for weapons and time for learning and subsequent hunting trips but it's how poor folks eat good meat throughout the world. And if you hunt large game one trip can provide meat for a long time. Plus you get that awesome "I did this" feeling when you eat.

Buying a whole/half/quarter animal, this takes a large initial investment and a large freezer but it's very economical, a half cow can feed a family of four eating a standard american diet for a year, well.

goth jenny answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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BeLikeWater

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I eat paleo. Some days I dip into keto, some days I don't, so don't think that the two are mutually exclusive, they certainly don't have to be. I feel better on Paleo than I have on any other diet. Don't listen to the people saying you don't need that much meat -- if you get rid of grains and legumes and you feel better (which I did and you probably will, because we did not evolve to eat that shit) then you *do* need "that much" meat to make up the difference in both calories and protein. I can only handle one meal a day with eggs (organic, free range, antibiotic free are still a good bang for your buck protein wise) so at the other one or two meals I eat in a day, I eat meat. And a shit-ton of veggies, of course.

I agree with the suggestions to, if possible, buy in bulk directly from a local place and freeze it. Goat, beef, pork, lamb -- all are available in bulk in the greater sound area. You don't have to be perfectly organic to be doing well with paleo. It's okay to compromise a little for the sake of budgeting. I worry about things in this order: no antibiotic, organic, grass-fed (the FDA doesn't regulate this term so be sure to ask if the cows are "corn finished" -- you don't want that). Free range "happy" meat is important to me too but I'm not sure where to place that in the list. Don't worry about no-hormone, that's bunk, although if you're looking for the other things, you'll likely end up with no-hormone meat anyway.

If you can't order in bulk, just keep an eye out at the store for less popular cuts, they'll be cheaper per pound but you'll be getting the same quality meat. Also ask the butcher people when they get shipments in from whatever organic/no-antibiotic meat supplier they use, and what day of the week the meat that was packaged earlier is most likely to be marked down -- if you're eating it that day or the next, this can be a fantastic deal.

BeLikeWater answered in Meat 9 months ago | Report

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