What's your Primal/Paleo weekly Shopping List?

[BlueWolf]

I'm trying to kick start myself into Primal eating... but having a hard time being creative with my foods. I was going great for about 2 weeks, then started getting really bored with the same ole same ole.

Also, a side question... how do you detour around food allergies while Primal eating? I'm highly allergic to tree nuts and peanuts, which seems to complicate things.

So... what is your Primal/Paleo shopping list? What are your main staples?

[crunchy_mama]

We buy meat and eggs in bulk- so that I have around(usually purchase a years worth of chicken at a time in the summer(butchering time)- just bought a whole lamb- purchased part of a beef a few months ago- eggs are a few times monthly. I also buy other dry goods- like nuts- oils- spices-sweetners etc from the coop or bulk online so I only purchase a few times a year. From the grocery store it is mostly just vegetables and some fruit. Still some canned goods that I haven't got a good source for yet like olives and mushrooms- I do eat peanut butter at times as well.

[neverdoingitagain]

[cristeen]

We rarely eat nuts... or rather DH eats them almost daily, but I might eat them a few times a month, if that. They're just not really on my radar.

For shopping, we belong to a CSA, so our fruit/veggies get delivered every Friday, and I plan the next week's meals around what's in the box. That way we're always eating local and seasonal. I go shopping every Saturday and go to the Farmer's Market for eggs, milk and meat, and if I want to make anything special, I'll get specific veggies then (but that's not common - usually only if we're having company). I buy whatever meat is on sale/looks good that week, usually large cuts (whole chicken, leg of lamb, beef roast, pork roast, etc.). I make a couple extra stops for odds and ends (baby carrots for DH's lunches, spices, honey, cottage cheese, etc.), but that's the bulk of my shopping - veggies, eggs, meat.

[phathui5]

Bumping.

[Millie Ivy]

We also belong to a produce co-op. Some local, some USA organic. I get that every other week.

I drive to the farm for raw milk once a week, typically. I buy for several people and am running my own co-op for that.

I hit the farmers market on saturdays for eggs and meat, and some extra produce in season. I've changed up the way I source some of my foods, and may only go to the market 2 times a month since I really only need eggs and meat.)

Stuff I get at grocery stores regularly (but not everything, every week)

Canned tomatoes
canned olives
some other fresh produce, depending on season, and needs. Salad stuff, mushrooms, avocadoes, etc.
canned coconut milk
Kombucha
cheese, butter, occasional sour cream, yogurt
Bubbies pickles (my expensive little weakness, since I suck at LF pickled cukes)
occasionally fresh sausage (sprouts), or lunchmeat
other random canned/bottled goods, like tuna, sardines, olive oil, vinegars, etc

I buy several things in bulk throughout the year
Coconut oil (Tropical Traditions)
Coconut flour (Amazon)
Almond meal (Amazon)
Charlies Soap (not a food, but still )
Herbs, body products, soaps, essential oils, etc- (Frontier, maybe every three months I stock up)
Random Costco stuff- coffee, nuts, raisins, canned goods, whatever is actually a great deal, a couple times a year with family


I do get a couple other things at the grocery store and occasionally in bulk, for my family even if I don't eat them. Like corn tortillas, canned refried beans (really, really need to make a batch, I found a huge ban of dried pintos in the cupboard!) Chebe bread mix and pamelas from amazon, shredded cheese.

Whew, that was a novel.

[Millie Ivy]

Annnnd. Allergies. We have celiac disease, and that's actually pretty easy to handle with primal. And I do eatnuts but it's not an every day staple. Can you do seeds? You could make butters with seeds (sunbutter. mmm) and that could expand your menu some.

But really, I don't eat them daily.

[greenmom4]

Well, I'm (brand) new to this but...

Produce and butter I get through a local co-op. As well as other stuff like pumpkin seeds, and any other thing UNFI sells that I need (coconut milk, maple syrup, etc).

Meat and eggs I get at the farmer's market (this IS the year I'll be buying a whole or half cow, though. It just doesn't make sense anymore for us to not do that)

Coconut oil I buy by the gallon through Tropical traditions

I have a garden and also sprout seeds every week, which helps.

I'm currently "off" dairy, so aside from the butter (which I don't think I can ever give up) and some cream in my coffee, I'm not doing milk, yogurt or cheese or anything. I may eventually add in some kefir, but not right now.

Fish I have to get through the local supermarket.

On a different note - for those that are eating sunbutter - be careful, it has a lot of sugar, if I remember right...

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by greenmom4

On a different note - for those that are eating sunbutter - be careful, it has a lot of sugar, if I remember right...

Thanks for the warning. When I looked at the SunButter at Whole Foods, they had original and organic + others. The organic is just organic sunflower seeds (no sugar or anything else) and the original has a little sugar, salt, and some natural preservatives (if I remember correctly). The lady said that the original is their top seller so we tried that first, but I think our next jar will be the organic to cut out the sugar and so it's, you know, organic and all.

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by BlueWolf

Also, a side question... how do you detour around food allergies while Primal eating? I'm highly allergic to tree nuts and peanuts, which seems to complicate things.

So... what is your Primal/Paleo shopping list? What are your main staples?

Main staples are meat/poultry/fish/eggs and veggies and fat (ghee and coconut milk) and fruit here. And spices of course! I don't have time to go through the whole list atm but I may be back!

As far as allergies goes, my ds has multiple sensitivities, and he avoids ALL nuts/seeds, except coconut. (I would cry w/out coconut honestly, but more b/c it is our replacement for all dairy except ghee...) Anyway, w/out nuts, *if* you want to make baked goods you can just use coconut flour (unless you are counting it as a nut as well.) Otherwise baked goods are sort of out (unless you do egg crepes or spinach/egg bread, etc). But they are really not the bulk of a primal/paleo diet, so it shouldn't be a big deal IMO. I rarely eat nuts/seeds and find more than enough to eat.

For creative ideas, I rec. checking out the current and some of the older paleo/primal/grain free/GAPS/SCD threads--TONS of fabulous, creative recipe ideas. To me, its all about what you do w/ what you have. There are a ton of ways to cook chicken, or beef, or pork, or veggies, etc...it's just trying the recipes out and getting creative to figure out what works best for you and your family...

[Sieren]

Well, I think I can remember most of my typical list becuase I go shopping around the 1st of every month (and then a couple times during the month just for things like berries and veggies).
tomato paste
onions
garlic
lettuce
celery
olive oil
berries
frozen broccoli, cauliflower, spinnich and butternut squash
balsamic vinegar
apple cider vinegar
avocados
mushrooms
kimchee
cheese (for my fiancee)
coconut flakes
coconut oil (usually buy the 54oz jars from vitacost.com with my vitamin orders)
lemon juice
chicken (whatever the local store has available--soemtimes pieces sometimes wholes)
various dried spices (rosemary, parsley, tarragon, cumin, chili powder, crushed red pepper, pepper, RealSalt, oregano, basil...)
eggs (about 8 doz/month from a local farm)
lard
Meat (we order from a local farm once a month--ground beef and pork, steaks, pork chops, bacon, breakfast sausage, brats, roasts...)
Treats: 85%-90% Lindt dark chocolate, cocoa nibs, chicharrones, macadamia nuts

What I REALLy want to do is order like 1/4 a cow and 1/2 a pig and a whole bunch of chickens...but we need to get a big freezer first. I think we could save a LOT of money this way!! However, I'm just feeling kind of intimidated at the logistics of figuring out how long it will last us and will the farm have another bulk order available when we run out? How do you guys who bulk order meat work that out--does your farm butcher year-round or only at certian times? How long does your meat last?

[blueridgewoman]

I'm just going to consolidate the list into one, but we try to get as much food as possible from local farms, etc. Most of our meat and eggs are grassfed/pastured, etc and we buy organically whenever local is not possible.

chicken
ground beef
breakfast sausage (loose)
steaks on occasion
roasts
bacon
fish

Tons of cucumbers (my dd eats them every day)
cabbage
cilantro
garlic
onions, carrots, celery (for stock)
frozen veggies
salad greens
scallions
herbs
other misc veggies

berries
avocados
limes
apples and bananas for dd

full fat greek yogurt (dd)
eggs
butter
hummus

canned tomatoes
olive oil
avocado oil
coconut oil
coconut milk
salsa
tomatillos
bbq sauce
honey
banana chips
chocolate
herbs/spices
black tea
red wine and apple cider vinegar

wine
occasional hard liquor

We eat pretty basically a lot of the time- meat dish of some sort, two servings of veggies for dinner, and lunch is sort of a random array of leftovers, salads, and finger foods that amount to a balanced meal. I try to keep breakfast zero carb for me, but dd often eats soaked oatmeal w/butter and cream and mooches some of my bacon or sausage.