Need advice please!

Fairysoul

Well I want to be paleo but I have one issue. I absolutly cannot afford to buy grassfed beef and so on. I want to be able to but our budget is very limited. So would you say it's not good to eat paleo unless you can buy these things?

IselaCB

I can't buy all organic/grass fed either. But I do what I can so when I see a good deal on grassfed, I buy it. If I don't, I buy what we can afford. Most of our produce are organic, but there are some weeks when I can't do everything so I just try to focus on the dirty dozen. Just do what you can...that's all you can do!

MikeFlyMike

Fairysoul...
Please no. Don't stop based on grass fed etc.
To save money on grass fed, I bought 1/4 cow grass fed. $3 a lb. better than any steak fed on grains for $7-10 a lb at my store.

If you still can't swing it - just know that you need some really good omega 3's if you are eating much cafo.

I look at it like this - it is a scale-able way of life.
1. cut grains
2. cut processed sugar
3. get good fats
4. cut all processed anything
5. supplement with vit d, omega 3 & good multi
6. get organic
7. get grassfed
etc..
Some may argue my ordering - but that is cool because I just made it up and didn't really think about it.
For some that think paleo is too daunting - google, bulletproof diet. He has an infographic that is awesome - you set the dial on where in the continuum you want to be. no one is 100% in compliance with his "perfect model", it is about choices every day.

And I have to add - if you think about the costs of being unhealthy and putting that other "crap" into your body as fake-fuel - its much cheaper to buy grassfed

MikeFlyMike

oh and I forgot..
I can't believe how much cheaper our food bill is once I quit buying stuff in boxes. (do you think about how expensive cereal is etc).
I give money to farmers not corporations.

monkeydharma

Fairysoul...
Please no. Don't stop based on grass fed etc.
To save money on grass fed, I bought 1/4 cow grass fed. $3 a lb. better than any steak fed on grains for $7-10 a lb at my store.

If you still can't swing it - just know that you need some really good omega 3's if you are eating much cafo.

I look at it like this - it is a scale-able way of life.
1. cut grains
2. cut processed sugar
3. get good fats
4. cut all processed anything
5. supplement with vit d, omega 3 & good multi
6. get organic
7. get grassfed
etc..
Some may argue my ordering - but that is cool because I just made it up and didn't really think about it.
For some that think paleo is too daunting - google, bulletproof diet. He has an infographic that is awesome - you set the dial on where in the continuum you want to be. no one is 100% in compliance with his "perfect model", it is about choices every day.

And I have to add - if you think about the costs of being unhealthy and putting that other "crap" into your body as fake-fuel - its much cheaper to buy grassfed

Good list!

Fairysoul

Thanks everyone!

greenlj77

I just do what I can within my means. If something is on sale, I buy it. There is also a weekly farmer's market at work from Spring to fall, which is nice. But as far as grass fed and organic goes I get as much as I am able, within my budget. I can think of no reason to live by "all or nothing".

MoveTheMountain

Just adding my support for everything everyone else has been saying. Do the best you can, and you'll still reap benefits.

mantisladyx

I agree with that and I envy everyone that can buy it, my problem is not buying it......it is getting it, not available in my area at all, I phoned several of the butchers around here and they all say the same thing, well the calf's are started on grass, and finished off with grain, or I get they can't survive the winter, they have to be grain fed.....our local grocery store has labels on the beef saying it's corn-fed as if that is a good thing. I have to find a company that will ship the meat to me, and then I have to pay shipping on top of everything else, so I do what I can at the moment and don't have a choice either until I find the right butcher. But most importantly it does not stop me from cutting out the grains and sugar for everything else.

caribougal

I'm not sure you're "in need" exactly, but my local CSA sponsors families "in need" who want to eat organic but can't afford it. Each CSA member can volunteer an extra $18 per season towards the fund to sponsor families into the CSA. So... ask around. You may find inexpensive ways to access good local produce.

As mentioned above, save up now for a big meat purchase in the fall to buy a quarter or half a cow, half a pig, etc. Meat for the whole year.

Make friends with the vendors at your local farmer's market. Shop the market in the last hour... sometimes the vendors give 2 for 1 deals or even just give stuff away so they don't have to lug it home.

See if there's something you can barter at the farmer's market. I've never done this, but I have a friend who makes honey, gleans apples in the fall to make cider, makes goat milk soap, etc. She's friends with the vendors at the farmer's market because she used to work for a local goat cheese company, and she trades her stuff for their goodies.

Otherwise, watch for sales and stock up when they happen. I definitely spend more buying the good stuff, but I also know I'm saving a bunch packing my lunch every day rather than eating out, and making breakfast at home instead of stopping at Einstein's bagels on my way to work.

Fairysoul

Thanks everyone, I have already decided that we are going in on half a cow with my sister in law, I am not sure if she still want to do it this year though... Anyways I always hit up the local farmers market!! I apprciate your advice and will keep on trying to get there

Septlondon

I read somewhere, can't remember where, (been doing a lot of reading lately, that if you cant get grass fed, buy other and cut off all the visable fat. Replace the fat with good fats as you cook. The reason being that the fat on the non grass fed meat has the bad omega ratios, but the lean meat is OK.

monkeydharma

I read somewhere, can't remember where, (been doing a lot of reading lately, that if you cant get grass fed, buy other and cut off all the visable fat. Replace the fat with good fats as you cook. The reason being that the fat on the non grass fed meat has the bad omega ratios, but the lean meat is OK.

Indeed. Grassfed meat is much higher in omega3's - which is what we want. When you can get grassfed, enjoy all of that fatty goodness. When you have to buy grain-fed (we all do sometimes), buy the leanest cuts you can, remove visible fat, and then cook in a high-omega3 oil like extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil - or grassfed butter like Kerrygold.

mantisladyx

I read somewhere, can't remember where, (been doing a lot of reading lately, that if you cant get grass fed, buy other and cut off all the visable fat. Replace the fat with good fats as you cook. The reason being that the fat on the non grass fed meat has the bad omega ratios, but the lean meat is OK.

Indeed. Grassfed meat is much higher in omega3's - which is what we want. When you can get grassfed, enjoy all of that fatty goodness. When you have to buy grain-fed (we all do sometimes), buy the leanest cuts you can, remove visible fat, and then cook in a high-omega3 oil like extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil - or grassfed butter like Kerrygold.

just asking a question what a butcher said to me...He said Grass fed beef is much tougher then grain fed....and that is why they don't sell it.
Is that true?

pattyproulx

Yup! As others have said, by lean cuts of meat if you're going conventional. Beyond the omegs 3/6 inbalance, all the crap that those animals ingest usually gets stored in their fatty tissue so it's best to stay away from that if the animals have been treated with hormones or anti-biotics.

IselaCB

I read somewhere, can't remember where, (been doing a lot of reading lately, that if you cant get grass fed, buy other and cut off all the visable fat. Replace the fat with good fats as you cook. The reason being that the fat on the non grass fed meat has the bad omega ratios, but the lean meat is OK.

Indeed. Grassfed meat is much higher in omega3's - which is what we want. When you can get grassfed, enjoy all of that fatty goodness. When you have to buy grain-fed (we all do sometimes), buy the leanest cuts you can, remove visible fat, and then cook in a high-omega3 oil like extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil - or grassfed butter like Kerrygold.

Good to know...thanks!

Zeromilediet

I read somewhere, can't remember where, (been doing a lot of reading lately, that if you cant get grass fed, buy other and cut off all the visable fat. Replace the fat with good fats as you cook. The reason being that the fat on the non grass fed meat has the bad omega ratios, but the lean meat is OK.

Indeed. Grassfed meat is much higher in omega3's - which is what we want. When you can get grassfed, enjoy all of that fatty goodness. When you have to buy grain-fed (we all do sometimes), buy the leanest cuts you can, remove visible fat, and then cook in a high-omega3 oil like extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil - or grassfed butter like Kerrygold.

just asking a question what a butcher said to me...He said Grass fed beef is much tougher then grain fed....and that is why they don't sell it.
Is that true?

Grain fed meat has more fat (not omega 3 as in grass fed), and marbling which makes it a fattier meat. This makes a 'juicier' meat but also a fattier meat--thus the mainstream media and nutritionists claim that red meat is bad for you. It is. If it's grain fed. Grass fed is not as fatty and the fat the animal has is higher in omega 3 fats. Grain fed animals have a negligible amount of omega 3 fats and mostly omega 6. Omega 6 fats compete with omega 3 for fat receptors in our body--this is why too much omega 6 is not good; it barges its way into our body at the expense of omega 3 :-) We need 'some' omega 6 but more omega 3 and our modern diet gives us too much of the 6s.

Grass fed meat takes some getting used to cooking. It's easy to ruin an expensive grass fed roast by using the same cooking techniques as for corn fed beef. I would strongly suggest you google 'cooking grass fed beef' ... it is high in protein and low in fat so temperature and cooking time are different. A good place to start with grass fed cuts is organs (liver etc) to get the best nutrition per dollar. Don't waste a wonderful grass fed roast by cooking it in a slow cooker unless it's chuck/brisket or stewing cuts; coat in olive oil, beef tallow or bacon fat before cooking, and never use a fork to turn.

To your butcher's comment: it's not tougher, just different. It also has a slightly different flavor. I used to raise grass fed beef in a northern climate where we had to grow and store hay for winter feeding, and have heard all kinds of excuses from butchers. They're just that: excuses.