AIP on a budget

My first post.... AIP on a budget..... let's be clear here. You will spend more money on AIP. I have doubled my food budget however I have also successfully eliminated 3 prescriptions (one that was over $200/month WITH insurance). There is just no way that eating real whole foods can compete financially with $5 pizzas, $1 menu meals, and spam and eggs for dinner. However, I am cheap. I think that it is from my days of being a single mother on a limited budget. Though now I can afford more things, I don't want to spend all of my money on food. So here are some tips:

1. Set time aside to search the internet. You will be surprised what you can find.

2. Join Amazon Prime. You will save the cost in shipping quickly. (I just joined Thrive Market so I'll get back to you on that one)

3. Buy local. I know you hear this a lot. I googled "honey near me", "farm fresh eggs near me" and so on and found local providers. I can get local raw honey for about 1/3rd the price of buying at any store and free range organic eggs are $2.00/ dozen. I also accidentally found a local beef supplier and buy in bulk. Since I buy all of the time, they discount me even more.....

4. Make it yourself. The cheapest can of organic coconut milk with no additives that I can find is about $3/can. However, I can buy a pound of shredded coconut for $4/lb and get the equivalent of 7 cans of coconut milk.

5. Memorize the "Clean Fifteen" and "Dirty Dozen" https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean_fifteen_list.php I don't buy everything organic. I live in a rural area where the closest Whole Foods is over an hour away and the closest store for me to shop at is a Walmart. Dr. Sarah Ballantyne stated in her book The Paleo Approach that if you can't buy it organic and it has a peel....peel it.

6. Keep it simple. To be honest with you, too many of the online recipes are too complicated and use way too many speciality items.

7. Don't try to recreate all of your non-AIP recipes. I know that this is tempting. Most of them are not as nutrient dense and the ingredients are expensive. Besides they never taste as good as the original. That leads me to my next one...

8. Be adventurous! When I started this, I only had to worry about if I liked it and I am an adventurous eater. However, now I have to make sure that my meat and potatoes loving husband loves it too. I am amazed at what he is enjoying now.

9. Buy ebooks. I have read Dr. Sarah Ballantyne's book The Paleo Approach in the KIndle version and saved an enormous amount. It is worth the read! (However, I don't recommend her cookbook). I also have the digital version of A Squirrel in the Kitchen, Sophie VanTigglen's (asquirrelinthekitchen.com) cookbook Simple French Paleo.... definitely worth it!

10. Ask questions ..... if I don't understand a recipe or find information on a website that I'm not sure of or don't have all of the ingredients...I ask. Sometimes I will even email the author.

11. Add one thing at a time. I didn't go out and buy all organic spices in one setting or purchase my immersion blender right away. I waited for Christmas money, scoped out the one I wanted, and waited for it to go on sale.

12. Eat seasonal. You won't find organic strawberries at a good price in December

13. Pick it yourself. I got my son to get a bunch of his friends to come and go blueberry picking with me. Surprisingly, these millennials loved it plus I made them AIP compliant blueberry cobbler and coconut milk vanilla ice cream when we got home.

14. Grow it yourself. I am fortunate. I live on 3 acres attached to 2 family houses with a total of almost 7 acres. I can grow a lot of my own vegetables. However, you'll be amazed at the few things that you can grow in small gardens or even pots.

15. Can it yourself. It isn't as hard as you think. I started with a dozen jars I purchased at Walmart for $7. Those blueberries also became Blueberry Jam for Christmas presents, as did the peppers I grew in my garden and dehydrated (I don't do peppers because they are nightshades but my sons do) You can even find mason jars at yard sales. I have given so many Christmas gifts that I canned myself and my family loved that they look out for jars for me. I also get them to give me back the jars when they empty them. They love this because they know that they will get them filled with something yummy.

So I hope this helps.