Welcome to

The Autoimmune Wellness Podcast Season 3: Real Food on a Budget. We’re dedicating this season to discussing an aspect of natural healing that often gets left out of the conversation: affordability. We’ll be chatting with experts and peers from the AIP community about how to best balance money with your health priorities.

This season is brought to you by our title sponsor, The Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA), a holistic nutrition school that trains and certifies nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants with an emphasis on bioindividual nutrition. Learn more about them by visiting NutritionalTherapy.com, or read about our experiences going through their NTP and NTC programs in our comparison article.

Season 3 Episode 8 is our final episode of the season! In this episode, we’re giving the floor to five members of the autoimmune community to hear their number one piece of advice when it comes to saving money on the AIP.

Since these recommendations can be so individual, we wanted to see what was getting the AIP community actual mileage when they put it into practice. Scroll down for the full episode transcript!

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Mickey Trescott: Welcome to the Autoimmune Wellness podcast, a resource for those seeking to live well with chronic illness. I’m Mickey Trescott, a nutritional therapy practitioner living well with autoimmune disease in Oregon. I’m the author of The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, and I’m using diet and lifestyle to best manage both Hashimoto’s and Celiac disease.

Angie Alt: And I’m Angie Alt. I’m a certified health coach and nutritional therapy consultant, also living well with autoimmune disease in Maryland. I’m the author of The Alternative Autoimmune Cookbook, and I’m using diet and lifestyle to best manage my endometriosis, lichen sclerosis, and Celiac disease.

After recovering our health by combining the best of conventional medicine with effective and natural dietary and lifestyle interventions, Mickey and I started blogging at www.AutoimmuneWellness.com, where our collective mission is seeking wellness and building community.

We also wrote a book called The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook together that serves as a do-it-yourself guidebook to living well with chronic illness.

Mickey Trescott: If you’re looking for more information about the autoimmune protocol, make sure to sign up for our newsletter at autoimmunewellness.com, so we can send you our free quick start guide. It contains printable AIP food lists, a 2-week food plan, a 90-minute batch cooking video, a mindset video, and food reintroduction guides.

This season of the podcast, real food on a budget is brought to you by our title sponsor, The Nutritional Therapy Association.

Angie Alt: A quick disclaimer: The content in this podcast is intended as general information only, and is not to be substituted for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Onto the podcast!

Topics:

1. Mitch Hankins, Instinctual Wellbeing [3:46]

2. Sophie Van Tiggelen of A Squirrel in the Kitchen [8:43]

3. Anne Marie Garland from Grass-fed Salsa [15:51]

4. Samantha Jo Teague of the Unskilled Cavewoman [20:56]

5. Kerry Jeffery of Emotional Autoimmunity [24:27]

Angie Alt: Hi everyone! Angie here. Welcome back to the Autoimmune Wellness podcast, season 3. How are you doing, Mickey?

Mickey Trescott: I’m feeling a little bit sad because we’re almost done with this podcast series, and it’s been really fun.

Angie Alt: I know. This was a really new topic for us to explore so in-depth. And it’s been pretty rewarding to talk to all these folks.

Mickey Trescott: I agree.

Angie Alt: So today we have a really fun episode for you guys. As you know, with this season of the podcast we’ve been on a mission to dig into the nitty gritty of how to make eating a nourishing, real foods diet both affordable and sustainable.

Mickey Trescott: Yeah. If you guys haven’t been following along, we covered the following topics in our previous episodes. We talked about sourcing affordable, highest quality meats, vegetables, and fats. Tips and tricks for effective meal planning, batch cooking, and minimizing food waste. Creative food sourcing options, like buying clubs and online shopping. How to minimize waste and reimagine leftovers. Creating a food budget and prioritizing your food spending. And also how to do AIP on an extremely low budget, like fixed income or food stamps.

I think we’ve done a really good job covering these bases. If you guys haven’t heard any of the episodes in this series, make sure to go back and listen to them. There’s a ton of really great info there. Info that I think is new territory for our movement our community. It’s been really fun.

Angie Alt: Right. We hope there’s something there for everybody. So, if there has been one recurring message this season, it has been that not every one of these recommendations is going to work for everyone, obviously. We’re all at different places with our health, our finances, our support systems and even our access based on the areas where we live. We thought it would be a good idea to round out this season of the podcast by devoting a whole episode to chatting with some of the members of the AIP blogging community about their number one money saving tip.

Since these recommendations can be so individual, we wanted to see what was getting the AIP community actual mileage when they put it into practice.

Mickey Trescott: Alright. So let’s move on and talk to our first guest.

So you guys; the first community member that we’re going to chat with today is Mitch Hankins from the blog Instinctual Wellbeing. Mitch, what is your number one tip for saving money on AIP?

Mitch Hankins: There are so many good ones. When my wife and I were kind of going through financial stuff a few years ago, we definitely had to get creative with sticking to an AIP and whole foods diet on a very limited budget. And very quickly, I think the thing we realized that was most helpful was not being afraid to grocery shop hop; or grocery store hop.

Basically, what we ended up doing is just taking note of maybe two or even three grocery stores in our area, and what products did we regularly use from each of those, and finding which store had the best prices for that particular item. Maybe we’d get a certain percentage of things from Whole Foods. And then for us, we’d drive down the road and hit up Trader Joe’s for 30 minutes and grab some things there. Sometimes we’d go to the Asian mart to pick up a few items there, like coconut milk and even some sweet potato noodles and things of that nature.

So, really just learning where we could get the best deals. And then taking advantage of that. One thing I would say; we did live in a pretty large metropolitan area, and I know some people don’t. So one thing you could do if you live in a more rural or smaller town, could be to do that same thing, but online.

I know there’s lots of great shops nowadays online where you can buy AIP products, and even meats. You could meet your local farmers in your area. But again, it all comes back to this putting pieces together of a puzzle, instead of just trying to get everything at one store, and fit that into your budget when it might not work as well.

Angie Alt: I love this tip, Mitch. Because actually my husband and I do it, too. And again, you know, we’re lucky to live in a kind of urban/suburban area. So we have Whole Foods and we have Trader Joe’s and we have all the places. So we can kind of hop around. But it really allows us to take advantage of the lowest price on an item in whatever store. So I totally agree that this is a smart one.

Mickey Trescott: And a lot of stores have rotating sales, too. So by going to multiple stores, you can actually see; you have a greater chance of being able to pick up some of the things they have on sale that are maybe time sensitive. And another thing, is that actually grocery stores make their money by putting certain things on sale, and then keeping other staples at a high price to basically round it out. It’s almost like; it’s not really cheating, but you’re paying for that convenience of getting every single thing at the same store. You’ll notice that certain things are marked down to kind of lure you to shop there, and then other staples are right at the highest price. That’s how they make their money. Great tip, Mitch.

Mitch Hankins: Absolutely. And just one other note on that; I’m glad you brought up the sales thing. Because some grocery stores will have regular, like weekly sales. For instance, during that period of our lives, we would go to our Whole Foods and have rotisserie chicken Wednesday. Because every Wednesday at our particular Whole Foods, rotisserie chickens were $2 off normal.

And then they had a lot of other things. I think for a while they were doing fresh salmon on Tuesdays was like $2 or $3 off per filet. So looking for those recurring deals as well. And maybe scheduling your meal plan, or scheduling your dinners around that can be helpful.

Angie Alt: Yeah. So smart. I did this even before AIP. I really would use; and Mickey and I talked about this in an earlier episode. But I would really use those flyers with the sales to plan my meals. Proactively around what stores were offering what discounts.

Mitch Hankins: Absolutely. That’s a great point.

Angie Alt: Mitch, will you let our listeners know where people can find you?

Mitch Hankins: Absolutely. My blog is InstinctualWellbeing.com. and similarly, uncreatively, my Instagram is also @InstinctualWellbeing. And Facebook is Instinctual Wellbeing. So you can find me and connect with me there. You can also shoot me an email if you really wanted to chat more about budget friendly tips, or anything, at [email protected]. That’s where you can connect with me.

Mickey Trescott: Awesome. Thank you so much for chatting with us today, Mitch.

Mitch Hankins: Absolutely. Thank you!

Mickey Trescott: Next up, we’re going to chat with Sophie Van Tiggelen of A Squirrel in the Kitchen. Sophie, what is your number one tip for saving money on AIP?

Sophie Van Tiggelen: My very first tip I think that eating vegetables and fruit is very important. You need to eat as much vegetables and fruit as you can. Like, try to fill up your plate with at least three-quarters of vegetables. They are a great source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. And the fiber content of vegetables is really important for healthy gut microflora.

So I’m always trying to eat a maximum of vegetables and fruit to have the full spectrum of nutrients. But then the problem is; how can you eat good quality vegetables and fruit on a budget without breaking the bank? So my first tip would be to eat seasonal. For example, there is no point wanting to eat delicious raspberries in the middle of winter. They are super expensive. I would advise you to try to eat fall and winter produce. Like apples, oranges, and pears. So that really helps to reduce your grocery bill.

Then I would say try to take advantage of promotions that you see in stores. And this is great, because it’s going to push you to expand your veggie repertoire, and try new things that you might now have thought about before.

I would also try to avoid fancy or exotic produce. I know that when I’m grocery shopping, I’m always attracted by those exotic and tropical fruits, because they’re all colorful and they look so good. But usually they are very expensive.

Also, I try to avoid special vegetables or unusual vegetables that come from far away. So I would advise here to eat local. It’s less expensive. They come from your neighborhood; the farmers around you. And it’s cheaper to produce them.

You can usually find local produce at your health food store. Here in Colorado, I like either Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage. Or you can also try to find a farmer’s market in your area. That’s a very good way to eat local produce.

To keep your budget low, I would also advise to think about the food return you’re going to get when you buy something. Try to stretch your dollars, and stretch your meals. For example, I love to buy spaghetti squash because I know they will go a long way. And I will be able to use them for several meals. It’s the same for cabbage, collard greens, carrots, broccoli, or sweet potatoes. They are easy to prepare. They reheat well. And you can stretch them for several meals.

Another big one for me is to be smart and to avoid waste. I try to never, ever throw food away. And before I buy something new or start on a new vegetable, I will make sure that I eat everything I have prepared. All these little pieces that are left over in your fridge; every two to three days I will put everything together and reheat the plate and just eat it. Because we can lose a lot of money, also, in the long run by just throwing food away.

Angie Alt: Yeah, these are great tips, Sophie!

Sophie Van Tiggelen: And I have one last point about the quality of the food that you buy. Do you have to buy organic? Let’s face it; it’s not always possible to buy organic. We know it’s better for you because you want to avoid pesticides because they have a negative impact on your health and immune system. But it’s not always possible. So I would advise people to refer to the famous Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 lists, and try to do the best you can. And if you have to buy conventional, that’s just fine. It’s alright. It’s better to eat conventional vegetables than just go to fast food. So yeah, these are my tips.

Angie Alt: This is a lady after our own heart, Mickey.

Mickey Trescott: I know. I love it.

Angie Alt: They’re all so good, and I love the focus on budgeting around the veggies. You know, we tend to think of the meats in this diet as being the big hefty expenditure on the budget, and that’s true. But, you can really get out of control with the veggies, too. Like you were talking about, Sophie. Buying berries out of season. You could practically need a credit card for it!

Sophie Van Tiggelen: Yes, definitely.

Angie Alt: Sophie, will you let our listeners know where people can find you?

Sophie Van Tiggelen: Oh, yes, certainly. Everyone can find me first on my blog, which is A Squirrel in the Kitchen. I’m also very active on Instagram and Facebook. You can find me there. And I would like to mention that I’m very excited about my upcoming second cookbook, which is coming out June 12th. It’s called The Autoimmune Protocol Made Simple. And it’s a whole new set of fresh and appealing recipes for the autoimmune protocol.

Mickey Trescott: We’re so excited about it, Sophie. Thanks so much for talking with us today.

Sophie Van Tiggelen: Thank you.

Mickey Trescott: A final word from our title sponsor this season, the Nutritional Therapy Association. We wanted to take a moment to publicly thank NTA for graciously sponsoring this podcast season; real food on a budget. Producing, editing, and transcribing this podcast is a big job for both us and our team, and their support means we can offer all of this to you guys at no cost.

Angie Alt: We also want to thank them for the quality of both the NTP and the NTC programs...