Practicing Paleo

So if I didn't scare you too much with my previous Paleo post I'm sure you are still asking yourself, "what now?"  I will separate this all into a few posts as follows...


Step 1: Shopping

Step 2: Preparation

Step 3: EAT

Step 4: Live Forever ;)

Step 1: Shopping

1 weeks worth of food from Costco

****UPDATE**** I forgot to mention the best piece of advice I can possibly give anyone when shopping for food (*face palm)

90% of your purchases should be found on the outside perimeter of the store.  Have you ever noticed how all the real food is lining the store walls while all the processed food fills the center?  No, not the bakery!  I mean the fruits, veggies, and meats.  There is almost no reason to venture to the center aisles.  A very good exception is frozen fruits, veggies and meats.  But be sure to check the labels to avoid added sugars and preservatives, if its frozen its doesn't need preservatives, what are they trying to hide?!

Every week I go shopping at several stores.  That may seem like a daunting task but its only because I prefer shopping at Costco and unfortunately I cant get all of my groceries from Costco.  I get the remaining products from our Commissary and a few specialty items from Whole Foods or Down to Earth (a local vegetarian grocers here in honolulu).  This is easily avoided if you just want to get everything at your local grocers but I have crunched the numbers and Costco is saving me money every month.  We are executive members so at the end of the year we also get 2% cash back on all our purchases.


**Don't be overwhelmed with these lists, not all of the following items need to be purchased every week.  Things like nuts only need to be purchased about once a month for my family of 4.  Carrots, lemons and limes, onions, and Almond Butter usually last a few weeks.  I buy milk for Alex (she is obviously not suffering from a dairy intolerance) that is good for about 2 weeks-gotta love organic expiration dates.  Some of the meat goes directly into the freezer and will last me into the next week, and if meat is on sale I will definitely buy extras and freeze that.  In the picture above, the veggie selection at Costco wasn't ideal so I bought more from the Commissary instead.  Every week I go to Costco and the Commissary and only hit up Whole Foods once a month - that trip is always fun since it is combined with a trip to Barnes & Noble across the street.


Costco (assortment varies by stores and season)

Organic Ground Beef - 4lbs
Ground Turkey - 4lbs
Ahi
Organic Turkey Lunch Meat (my Costco occasionally offers a sugar free brand - score!)
Organic Chicken Breasts - about 6 breasts
1 1/2 dozen Organic Eggs
Organic Milk

Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage - 2 heads
Kiki Cucumbers
Mushrooms
Onions
Celery
Carrots
Asparagus

Strawberries
Sliced Mangos
Grapes
Organic Sliced Apples
Oranges
Blueberries
Blackberries
Lemons and Limes
Cherry Tomatoes
Apple Bananas
Melons

Avocados
Raw Almonds
Raw Walnuts
Shelled Pistachios
Olive Oil


Commissary

Cilantro
Jalapeños
Garlic
Green Peppers
Sweet Potatoes

Kiwis

Organic Ground Chicken
Sausage
Bison Burgers

Yogurt - For Beau. Because she loves it :)
String Cheese - Again, for Beau. I cant tell that kid no.

Organic Tomato Paste
Coconut Milk
Coconut Oil
Almond Flour


Whole Foods/Down to Earth

Fresh Ground Almond Butter (seriously yummy)
Frozen Chopped Sweet Potatoes (hassle free, great for breakfast)
Bacon
Turkey Bacon
Unsalted Cashews



So that is the food I buy if I can.  If you really looked at the picture I'm sure you saw the 12 bottles of Naked Juice.  While it seems like a healthy purchase its really not that great.  These varieties are all pretty good - especially the Green Machine flavor - but use fruit juices.  Drinking just the juice of anything removes the majority of the fiber causing the body to absorb the sugars too fast which in turns give a high glucose spike in your blood stream.  No Bueno.  The protein versions are not Paleo and all contain a lot of extra ingredients that aren't necessary like Soy Lecithin.  So why buy it?  Simply because Alex still occasionally struggles with the whole "eat your fruits and vegetables every meal" thing, but she loves these juices.  When a 3 year old doesn't like fruits and veggies, this is an acceptable alternative in my book.  Plus, I am a sucker for that pouty face of hers.

Next: Practicing Paleo Part II