[Treece]

OK, we are convinced we need to revamp our diet (ie way of eating) immediately. All 3 of us (me, dp, and ds 15 mo) have chronic constipation. DS has incredibly painful bm.s. Ok, we've (er I've) looked into this and it is fairly close to our diet anyways (we eat a lot of meat, there are other ways but I can't think rite now). So I have questions.

I'm looking at ways to work it into a $400/mo budget. Is this doable?

How important is organic here? Or would Whole Foods conventional stuff do (I talked to them and they said it has no wax or stuff like that on it)

What about meat, here I am very confused. I know this would probably end up being a large chunk of the budget. The website says to get certain kinds and I am ok with that except that the pastured beef tends to be fairly expensive around here. How important is that aspect?

Are soaked grains very important or could I learn to grind my own? I really don't know which would be better, taste better, and be easier.

Any ideas for lunches for work?

Any other suggestions? I know to exchange everything white for brown That is in the process.

 

[TzippityDoulah]

my best advice is to tackle on area or chunk at a time. if you tried ot take it on all overnight you'd blow your budget by a LONG long shot. work on a few things until you are comofortable with the and move to the next thing.

for instance - the chronic constipation is often associated with milk or gluten sensitivies. and lack of megnesium. maybe a good place to start would finding alternatives to gluten and milk? (or perhaps only cultured milk) and research ways ot get magnesium into your diet and see where that takes you. that one is a big one to handle so I would take it slow and steady.

eventually you will get the hang of it and it will feel more natural to you. you'll find out what you feel is most important inyour diet and budget. what mgiht be most important to me might not be for you, and that's totally ok.

hth some

 

[eastkygal]

As far as budget, I think it is very doable. I can feed a family of 3 eaters on a whole chicken for 3 meals - at least. As far as organic goes, yes it's important, but there are options. You can purchase local from farmer's markets... doesn't have to be certified organic... ask the farmer their practices. For me, organic meats aren't available. I use wild game whenever we can get it, and in the meantime I look for my best possible meat options... Gerber chicken, Laura's Lean Beef... brands that don't use antibiotics, hormones, MSG, and other yucky stuff. I have to compromise more than I would otherwise because of location and budget. I believe focusing on the types of foods you are eating and the preparation of those foods will get you off to a good start. Then, you can decide how doable all organic is for your budget. I have found when eating TF purchasing large amounts of organic foods closely resembles purchasing boxed processed, pre-packaged foods in price.

 

[katmann]

You might just start with grains first, and getting in the habit of soaking them (oats, quinoa, millet). They're cheap in bulk, even when organic. And if you want to soak them with a dairy product, you can drain off whey from good quality yogurt and keep it in the fridge, or use buttermilk (but it doesn't keep well). It keeps for months. And then just try to get into the habit of soaking oats at night for porridge the next day, or soaking rice the morning before using it, etc. Beans and legumes can be soaked as well, and I think you can just use water. All of these are super cheap, so you can experiment without blowing your budget.

 

[mbravebird]

One big difference between pastured meats and regular meats is the quality of the fat in the meat, which is really important, particularly for constipation issues. For example, grass-fed beef has more Omega-3's than farm-fed salmon does. Where as regular feed-lot beef has none.

If you find pastured meat from a local sustainable farmer, that will be much better than organic any day. The way I make it affordable is to buy only ground beef, and I have a few meals that I make over and over with ground beef that are pretty affordable overall.

I agree to go one step at a time. You'll just need to assess which is the most important step to start with. Go slow, and you'll be successful. Do you want to start with soaking grains? Fermenting things? Switching to pastured meats? Finding raw milk and adding it to your diet? Culturing your dairy into kefir and yogurt? Adding better fats like coconut oil to your diet? Bone broths(help with magnesium)? I would say start with one of those areas that feels most comfortable and interesting, try some things, and go slow. When you're comfortable with one area, move on to the next.

 

[dogmom327]

Ways I save money

--Buying grass-fed/pastured meat in bulk (1/4 side of beef, whole pig, etc.). I find the best prices on Craig's List. Same thing with pastured eggs.

--Buying produce through a local co-op, CSA or the farmer's market. As Eastkygal pointed out, it doesn't have to be certified organic. Ask questions. Find farmers who use organic practices but without the official certification.

--Find a local co-op to buy bulk grains, oils, etc. Azure Standard, UNFI, etc. are all big companies that allow co-ops to purchase at a discount.

--Make your own yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, kombucha, sourdough, etc.

I do completely agree with the previous posters though that it's best to tackle one thing at a time. Every change you make will improve your health so it doesn't all have to be at once.

 

[Treece]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies. The more I think about this, the more I realize THIS is how (or very close) I ate growing up. Except for some very subtle differences (no soaked grains here, no raw milk just reg stuff, etc.). BUT we always had beef from a local guy, most if not all of our produce came from farmer's markets, etc.