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by JEREMY HENDONFounder of Paleo Flourish Magazine

31 PROVEN WAYS TOSPEND WAY

LESS MONEY ON A PALEO DIET

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I’ve made it my goal in life to help millions of people optimize their lifestyle and their diet so that they can look and feel better and really enjoy life as much as possible.

Perhaps you’re on this journey yourself. But have you ever felt like the better you try to eat, the more expensive it becomes? Like the world is conspiring against you just a little bit to make it harder and pricier to eat well?

I have had that experience for much of my life. I grew up with just my mom, and although she always provided everything we really needed, we never had much money.

And when I got to college and then graduate school, it was the same story. I was always trying to lose weight, but I

would end up eating pizza or burgers as often as anything else, because they were really cheap. Eating healthy seemed like it was just too expensive.

When I decided to go Paleo, I had a bit more of an income, but even so, I couldn’t always bring myself to buy foods that I viewed as too expensive. Fortunately, I never gave up, and after being Paleo for about 9 years now, I realize that it’s a myth that you need to be rich to be Paleo.

Everyone will tell you that Paleo is too expensive, but those people have never really taken the time to figure out just how affordable Paleo can be.

I’ve founded two magazines as well as a popular Paleo website (Paleo Flourish Magazine) that help thousands of people every month to get healthier, lose weight, and actually save money in the process, because I know that it’s not only possible, but necessary.

If you are in the position of spending too much money on eating a healthy Paleo diet, then there’s good news and not-quite-as-good news. First of all, you can eat amazingly well and spend very little money doing so. But…you have to be diligent. Nobody is trying to help you save money - certainly not supermarkets or food manufacturers - so you’ve got to look out for yourself.

If you’re willing to do that, then here are 31 Proven Ways to Spend Way Less Money on a Paleo Diet…

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PROVENWAYS TO SPEND WAY LESS MONEY

ON A PALEO DIET31Not all of these tips will be applicable to everyone. I hope you find most of them useful, though.

1. Don’t Buy Organic. It’s better if your food isn’t covered in pesticides. Nobody disagrees about that. But honestly, it’s

way more important just to eat the right foods (veggies, meats, seafood, fruits, etc.) than it is to eat organic. So if you have to choose between buying meats, fruits, and veggies that are organic or else eating junk (grains, processed sugar, etc.), choose the third option: non-organic meats, fruits, and veggies.

2. Or Maybe...Buy Some Organic. If you can afford to buy some foods organic, but not all, then here is a handy list of

which foods are most likely to be contaminated (and hence the ones that you should buy organic): List of Foods to Buy Organic if You Can

3. Don’t Buy Grass-Fed. Personally, this is something that I can afford and that I budget for. And like organic, I don’t

know anybody who thinks that grass-fed beef and lamb isn’t better than conventional beef and lamb. But again, the differences are actually quite small overall between grass-fed and conventional meats. It makes a difference (in terms of fats and micronutrients), but not nearly as much of a difference as making sure that you stick to eating meats and veggies rather than grains, legumes, and other junk.

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4.Don’t Buy Wild-Caught. I think you can see the theme here? I’m beating a dead horse because most people who tell me that Paleo is expensive talk about organic veggies, grass-fed beef, and wild-caught salmon. My response

is always this: Yes, these things are better and Yes, they’re more expensive. Buy them if you can afford them, but if not, just buy the farmed fish, feedlot cattle, and conventional veggies. You’ll be getting 98% of the benefits of eating a Paleo diet, and you can worry about that 2% later.

5.Buy Frozen. Especially when it comes to vegetables and certain fish, we like to buy it frozen. This saves you money in 2 ways. First, the frozen varieties are often cheaper, and secondly, you waste less, since frozen foods don’t

go bad very quickly. Plus, unless you’re shopping straight from the farm or sea, most frozen veggies and fish are actually healthier and more nutrient-dense.

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6Buy from the Farm. If you live within driving distance of a farm (and most people in the US actually do), then figure out how to buy from your local farms. Especially when it comes to meat, buying local, pastured meat is often cheaper directly from the farm. This is not always true, so price check first, of course.

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7.Buy Whole or Half Pigs or Cows. This sounds like a nightmare, but

if you have a good (and large) freezer, you can buy a whole or half cow or pig for much less than you’d pay for all that meat at the butcher or grocery store. And you don’t have to butcher it yourself in most cases - it will come cut into all the normal cuts. You can often find people you know to split this with you, and the entire thing often comes to $4-5 per pound (including the really expensive cuts).

8.Join a CSA. A CSA is a community supported agriculture. They vary a

lot from one to the next, so you have to check what’s available in your area. Some CSAs will provide you with a box of fresh fruit and vegetables every month, while other CSAs will let you pick what you want to buy directly from the farms and then bring it to you (or close to you). Like buying from the farm, CSAs are not all cheaper than the grocery store, but many are. For non-perishable health foods... While it’s healthier (and cheaper) to stick to meat, seafood, veggies, and fruit, I also know that sometimes you might want a Paleo snack or bake some Paleo desserts. One of the cheapest places we’ve found in the US to purchase those products from is Thrive Market. They buy in bulk direct from health food manufacturers so they can pass on the savings to us. They’re particularly great for saving money on ready-made Paleo snacks (like Epic bars) and baking supplies (like chocolate chips and raw honey). If you buy a lot of non-perishables, then I suggest visiting their website to see if it’ll save you money: http://paleomagazine.com/thrive-market

9.Visit Farmer’s Markets When They’re About to Close. Farmers don’t want to take most of their produce home with them, since they won’t have much chance to sell it before it goes bad. Consequently, it’s easier to negotiate or

find already-marked-down produce at the end of the day.

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10.Don’t be Afraid to Negotiate. This doesn’t apply to your chain supermarkets, but hopefully you’re also shopping at your local farmer’s market. In the United States and much of Europe, we have an aversion to negotiating, but

it can be done civilly and can end up saving you a lot of money over the long run.

11.Make Lists of Foods You Need. If you really want to save

money, then you need to shop from lists. Plan your meals ahead of time, figure out the ingredients you need, and then only buy things at the gro-cery store that are on your list. You probably already know which stores have certain foods cheaper than oth-ers, so keep a list of the stores that you need to go to and the things that you need to buy at each. Lists really help to save you money because they ensure that you shop based on your needs, rather than on your whims.

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12.Don’t be Tempted by Sales. This is counter to the advice that most people give, but unless it’s something that you can freeze or store indefinitely, don’t buy it just because it’s on sale. It feels like it’s going to save you

money, but what happens is that you end up not using things you buy that are on sale, or else you end up using it instead of something else. The goal here is to buy exactly what you’re going to eat and not waste money on food that you’ll eventually throw away.

13.Plan Your Meals. Often, much of the money we spend on food is spent when we don’t know what else to eat. It often leads to eating out or ordering in, both of which are extremely unhealthy and expensive. You

should know what you’re going to eat at least a day ahead of time, and it should be specific. Don’t leave this up to chance, because you’ll end up spending money on junk food.

14.Cook in Bulk. I think this is critical to staying healthy anyway, since most of us don’t have time to cook every meal. Louise and I often cook a huge amount of food at one time and then refrigerate and eat it for days after

that. This saves you money because you buy in bulk and also because you save yourself the temptation of eating out or eating food prepared by someone else. If you don’t have a slow-cooker, go get one now. They’re really cheap and will save you money in the long run. A great cooking implement for those who are not good at planning meals in advance is the pressure cooker.

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15.Shop in Bulk. This isn’t really a

Paleo tip, but if you’re actually trying to save money, it behooves you to shop at least occasionally at a store

like Costco. It’s hard to get wild-caught fish or pastured meat there, but their veggies are much cheaper

on average, and if you can’t afford wild/pastured meat anyway, then the conventional meat at bulk

stores is way cheaper.

If you’re looking for high quality meats at low prices, then US Wellness Meats is a good place to look. They

often also have sugar-free bacon and lots of other healthy options (including organ meats).

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16.Prepare Foods Yourself. This is different than just not eating out (another important tip on this list). What I mean here is that you should also prepare all of your ingredients yourself. So instead of buying pre-made chicken

broth, make it. Same goes for things like condiments such as mayonnaise and dressings. Here’s a recipe for making your own chicken broth using the slow cooker. And here’s one for making your own Paleo mayo.

17.Eat More Veggies. Seriously. I love meat as much as (or more than) pretty much anybody else I know. But veggies are awesome, too. They can be absolutely delicious, since they easily take on the flavor of spices and herbs,

and they’re quite healthy. Best of all? They’re super cheap. I can barely carry back $20 worth of veggies from the farmer’s market. For example, give these easy Paleo vegetable recipes a try: Ginger and Garlic Bok Choy Stir-Fry, Lemon Asparagus Saute with Bacon, and Spinach Almond Stir-Fry.

18.Eat More Organ Meats. Organ meats are the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat, bar none. There are far more vitamins and minerals in organ meats than in any muscle meat or any veggies. Only some seafood comes

close. Liver used to be a favorite dish in the US (and still is in many parts of the world), but it’s somehow fallen out of favor. Luckily for you, things like liver and kidney are often the cheapest parts of the animal, even though they’re also the healthiest. If you’re like me and dislike the way that liver tastes, give my wife’s liver recipes a try - she’s really good at hiding them. This chili recipe is great as is this spicy saute.

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Eat a Lot of Eggs. Unless you’re allergic to eggs, of course. But if not, eggs

are fantastic. Even pastured eggs are relatively inexpensive, and just a few of them will keep you full for quite a while. So many people tell me that they don’t know what to snack on, but hard boiled eggs are both

nutrient-dense and also cheaper than most other snack options.

If you find hard boiled eggs too boring, then try Louise’s tea egg recipe - you might find

yourself wanting them every morning!

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20.Make Your Own Bone Stock. Like organ meats, bone stock is super-nutritious. My wife and I usually have some fresh in our refrigerator and some frozen in our freezer, and we routinely make soups and

stews with it as a base. It’s incredibly easy to make just by putting some bones (beef, lamb, or pork) and water in your slow cooker, adding a bit of apple cider vinegar, and perhaps a few veggies. Set it on low overnight, and you have a huge batch of bone stock in the morning. In addition, you can usually use the same bones to make a second or third batch. And if you live near a farm or are part of a CSA, bones are often as cheap as $1 per pound. Here’s an easy bone broth recipe you can use to make a ton of different bone broths.

21.Eat More Fermented Foods. I’m not going to lie. Fermented foods can be expensive. But they’re worth it, because otherwise, you prob-ably need to spend money on probiotics. After all, where else are you

getting them from if you’re not working in the garden or eating fermented foods? Plus, several fermented foods, such as Kombucha, are really easy to make at home.

22.Eat in Season. There is a lot of reason to believe that it’s healthiest to eat seasonally. Eating season-ally means you eat only foods that would be in season where you live. For the purpose of saving money, eating in season also means that you’ll be buying foods and ingredi-ents that are cheaper, since those foods are plentiful and usually haven’t had to travel as far. If you already shop at a farmer’s market, then eating seasonally is almost the default.

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23.Learn to garden.

I know that not everyone has The space or time to do this. But if you do, the rewards are immense. Saving a bit of

money is only the beginning. Your food will be fresher and certainly more organic. Best of all, working in the dirt provides you with a lot of probiotics that you either wouldn’t

otherwise get or would have to Pay a fortune for.

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24.I n t e r m i t t e n t Fasting. You might scoff at

this, but I actually prefer to intermittent fast. I’m more productive and happier in the mornings when I don’t eat for the first 5-6 hours that I’m awake. If doing this makes you unhappy and feel bad, though, don’t do it. One of the benefits, however, is that you end up eating less. You might think that you’ll make up by eating 2 larger meals rather than 3 medium-sized meals, but studies have consistently shown that you eat less overall when eating just 2 meals.

25.Start Thinking in Terms of Weight. No matter what I

buy now, I always do a quick mental conversion of how much I’m paying per pound. I know that much of the meat we buy is between $6 and $13 per pound, depending on the cut, so even when I’m buying fruits, veggies, fish, or anything else, I think about how much I’m paying per pound. This way of thinking will quickly show you which foods might seem cheap but are actually giving you very little bang for your buck. Like Kale Chips, for instance. I never buy them, but I see them in the store and am astonished at how expensive per pound they are. . If you really want to eat kale chips, then check out this recipe for making them at home (3 different methods).

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Engage in Free Outdoor Activities. Much of Paleo is about more than just

eating well. Exercise and stress management are big

parts of Paleo. You could spend a small fortune on gym fees and things like yoga classes, or you could just enjoy the

outside world. Go hiking. Run around and play ultimate

frisbee. Whatever you like. Sun is super important, and just

being outside makes you more relaxed and healthier.

And it’s all free.

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TSleep More. I think that sleep is the most critical part of simply

getting healthier. But it can also save you money, surprisingly. If you sleep more, then you’ll eat less (and make better food choices), and you’ll also make better choices about everything in your life. This

happens because the part of your brain that makes decisions works much better when you’ve gotten enough sleep. As a result of eating less and making better decisions (such as not engaging in impulsive

shopping), you’ll save more money than you think.

27.

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28. Save Money Elsewhere. We try to save as much money as possible on the food we buy. But at the end of the day, it’s important to us to eat high-quality Paleo food. As a result,

we really try to save money in other areas of our lives (buying less stuff, spend-ing less on rent, etc.), rather than just spending less on food. I’m not going to go through all the ways that you could save money on clothes, rent, transportation, and other expenses, since that will differ from person-to-person, but I encour-age you to think about saving money in those areas and reallocating to food.

29. Cook on Vacation. I know you want to relax on vacation, but don’t you also want to keep feeling great and have lots of energy? If so, then cooking on vacations is a must, and it’ll

save you a bunch of money, too. I used to eat total junk while on vacation, but I finally decided that my vacations were important enough that I wanted to feel great while on them. Now I save money in the process.

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30.Stop Eating Out. Eating out is al-most always less

healthy, and it’s almost always much more expensive. I realize that there are times when we have no choice, but Louise and I recently went 7 weeks without eating out at all. And we were living in New York City, where many people (and our friends) eat probably 75% of their meals away from home. Set a goal for yourself and see how long you can do it for. You’ll save a ton of money that you’d otherwise spend on restaurants, you’ll feel much better, and you’ll get much more experience cooking (hope-fully in bulk), so that you learn how to make things more inexpensively and quickly.

31.Cook! I hope this was obvious from the

start, but the most expensive thing you can do is to not cook. When you don’t cook, you are forced to either eat out at a restaurant or else eat prepared food. In both cases, it’s dramatically more ex-pensive (with the exception of fast-food restaurants) than the food you would have cooked. If you’re cooking all of your own food, then it’s really easy to eat on less than $10-$15 per person per day, no matter where you live, and you can usually get much lower if you really try.

AND FINALLY, THE 2 MOST

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR SAVING

MONEY ON A PALEO DIET

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Always keep in mind that most of the world spends a far higher amount of their income on food. Much of Asia and Africa spends between 30% and 50% of their income on food. Even most of Europe spends 15-20%. In the US, we spend an average of just 6.8% of our incomes.

In addition, eating a high-nutrient, low-toxin diet will almost certainly mean that you spend less money on healthcare and lose less money from missing work. As the saying goes, you can pay now or pay later.

Fortunately, I don’t think that you really

need to pay now or later. If you’re strapped for cash, you can still eat a completely Paleo diet without breaking the bank.

There is no magic. If you want to save money, then you have to work at it, and you have to make a few sacrifices. However, it’s certainly possible to be 100% Paleo and not be broke.

Better quality food tends to cost a little bit more than junk, but the tips above are ways to mitigate that fact. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t expect one tip that is going to make everything easy for you.

REMEMBER WHAT YOU’RE REALLY

SAVING (Not Just Money).

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I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Please let me know what you think of this guide.

Also, let me know what other difficulties or questions you have about health, nutrition, or Paleo.

You can email me at jeremy@paleomagazine.com.

I personally read every email and reply as quickly as possible. I love hearing from you, so

please don’t be shy!

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EMAIL ME WITH COMMENTS

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LEAVE A REVIEWIf you enjoyed this book, I’d really appreciate it if you could leave me a quick review on Amazon.com so other people will know about it too.

Go here to leave a review or click on the Amazon.com image below:http://paleomagazine.com/amazon-save-money-book

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