Stick with veggies and fruit and avoid anything boxed or canned. I have been shopping more at whole foods, which is not cheap but most of their produce is organic. As far as restaurants, I try to eat places where I can get a piece of meat or fish and know they will accomodate my dietary needs, like not cooking it in butter. Hope that helps.

Fresh stuff? Your veggies in the produce section at the grocery store have stuff added to them?

I buy my veggies from the plain grocery store, Hispanic markets, small markets like sprouts or fresh & easy, the farmers market.. I'm not overly concerned with buying all my veggies organic or anything so I don't spend much money to buy a cart full
For meat I go to sprouts/fresh & easy, or since I live in a farm town sometimes straight to the farm, or go to the market that sells the fresh from the farm meats (more expensive than going directly to the farm, but I can buy smaller amounts)

In restaurants, I ask lots of questions if I'm not sure how something was prepared. I don't go out a ton, but enough to have probably 6 restaurants to choose from where I don't have to ask them to modify an ingredient or preparation

Fresh stuff? Your veggies in the produce section at the grocery store have stuff added to them?

Silly, I know, but yes - genetically modified foods, pesticides, less nutrients...here's an article I found on it -

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1880145,00.html

Maybe it's a phase I'm going through with conspiracy theories and all, but "fresh" produce at the grocery store isn't "straight from the farm"...it usually has far to go, especially if imported. Then it sits in distribution centers, then in the back of the store before it's finally put out. Ok, so I got grossed out lol

I like your tips though, thanks!

Check with your local store as to where they get it - some fruits and veggies that aren't native to your area are going to have to be trucked...that goes even for places like Whole Foods or fancier markets. My local grocery - even though it is a chain store carries a lot of fruit and veggies that are locally grown (within 50-70 miles) - my friends husband is the produce manager for the area so it isn't just blowing smoke.

Check out farmers markets for homegrown fruits and veggies, honey, grassfed meats - you may have to limit what you eat to what is in season. For example around here if you want Strawberries - you are going to have to get what they have - come May I can got to a Farmers market (or better yet go to a farm and pick my own) and be lousy with strawberries

I don't buy organic chicken and meat unless it goes on sale. I have better luck in the summer time getting organic and grassfed meat at a decent price because of all the farmers markets in my area - during the winter I can still get it - just costs 2x's as much.

With the grocery store I just stick with the other perimeter...eating from the fresh produce section is 100X better then getting a bunch of canned veggies - I do keep fresh frozen veggies in my freezer for in a pinch times - easy to thaw out and toss with some protien for a quick one pot meal.

Eggs - I try and keep a carton of farm fresh eggs around for recipes - but they are quite expensive (almost $5/dozen - trying to find a line on some cheaper ones) and between my husband and I we may go through 2-3 dozen eggs a week...cheaper for us to buy a 18 pack of store eggs for $3 and one farm pack.

As far as going out...a lot of sandwiches can be modified - just ask for no bread...or choose a salad with some protien (a lot of places have a simple olive oil vinagrette available if you want dressing). i have found a lot of places have things like a 6 ounce steak available for about $10 or less and more and more places are offering healthier sides - like broccili or baked sweet potatoes (just don't get them loaded up) - My hubbie and I took our family to a local steakhouse - both my kids got steak and we each got an 8 ounce steak with 2 sides - we choose broccili and baked sweet poato - we split one of the potatoes and took one home and used it in a hash the next morning for breakfast

I don't think eating primal/paleo is especially expensive unless you are exclusively eating organic/local/pesticide free EVERYTHING -- Mark's Daily Apple website has some good info about this. Also, there is the dirty dozen (produce you SHOULD eat organic), and there are fruits and veggies that don't matter as much (like melons or fruits that you peel)...I often go to our local Kroger early in the AM, and get a bunch of natural/organic meat on clearance (like the sell by date is the next day) -- I am pretty picky about meat, but still have some conventional meat. What about buying meat in bulk? We just got a whole deer and a quarter pig, both local.

You should definitely talk to the produce manager at your store. The veggies at mine are from within a 250mile radius, and anything imported you can always check the label to see if it's grown organically or GMOs (a 5digit PLU code starting with 8 is gmo, a 5digit code starting with a 9 means organic. So if a banana has a code that is just 4020, its a standard grown banana, 84020 is a gmo banana, and 94020 is an organic banana. I would eat the 4020 banana because the peel is not edible)

Is this true for all states? I didn't know that GMOs were labeled yet?

As for grocery shopping, I love Trader Joe's! They've got great prices on their organic stuff. If you have one in your area, I recommend checking it out. As for snacks, I love nitrate-free lunch meats with mustard, apples and almond butter, guacamole, dry roasted almonds, etc. There are some phone apps (Like Paleo GoGo) that will give you the most Paleo options at a number of restaurants and fast food joints (like Pei Wei, Chipotle, Carl's Jr.)

You should definitely talk to the produce manager at your store. The veggies at mine are from within a 250mile radius, and anything imported you can always check the label to see if it's grown organically or GMOs (a 5digit PLU code starting with 8 is gmo, a 5digit code starting with a 9 means organic. So if a banana has a code that is just 4020, its a standard grown banana, 84020 is a gmo banana, and 94020 is an organic banana. I would eat the 4020 banana because the peel is not edible)

Is this true for all states? I didn't know that GMOs were labeled yet?

All I know is CA (where I live) does this type of labeling. I've seen 8 labels on tomatoes a couple times

Is dark chocolate allowed on Paleo? Didn't think it was...and moderation is not my friend

Yeah, if you do 80% cocoa or higher. Lower than that, and you'll find too much sugar or dairy in them.

Oh, and as far as eating out, meat and veggies are usually a safe bet, just make sure to ask how they're prepared, and you can normally request no sodium/butter/vegetable oil added, and have it cooked in olive oil.