Hacking the Cost of the Bulletproof Diet On A Budget

It’s easy for the Bulletproof Diet to become expensive. That’s because with food, as with most things, you get what you pay for.

High quality healthy fats and proteins are expensive foods, but often not as expensive as some junk food. The human body isn’t constructed out of rice and sugar, and the free market is well aware of this — economic evidence that the Bulletproof Diet is the best.

It’s all relative, too, to eating out at expensive restaurants (and buying a large latte at a coffee stand every single morning!) all the time. It really adds up! Cooking for yourself at home, even with the highest quality foods you can find, ends up way cheaper than fancy meals out.

That said, there are certain pretty simple tips and tricks to make following the Bulletproof Diet even easier and more affordable.

How To Eat Bulletproof On A Budget

So how do you stay Bulletproof if you’re on a tight budget? A little research shows that you don’t have to spend thousands to be Bulletproof.

Grass-fed Butter
Kerrygold is usually the cheapest grass-fed butter available. It sells for far less than butter from a local farm market most of the time. You can find it at mainstream grocery stores, too. A half pound of Kerrygold sells for over $4.99 at some stores, especially gourmet stores or some Whole Foods. To save a lot of money, take a walk up the street and find the market near you that sells those same half pound packages for under $3. You’ll find Kerrygold for prices like $2.79 hiding in conventional grocery stores like Safeway. Most Trader Joe’s nationally sell it for $2.79.

Grass-fed Ghee
Ghee is a form of clarified butter that has a rich, nutty flavor. Get it here.

Grass-fed Beef
Buy ground beef instead of steak to save money. Also buying in bulk is the key here. Spend more to spend less–most local grass-fed farms will give you a buck or two off per pound for ordering 50 lb. or more of ground grass-fed beef at once. And ordering from Alderspring Ranch will save you even more.

Produce
What needs to be organic and what doesn’t? Heavily sprayed produce: apples, cantaloupe (Mexican), carrots, celery, cherries, cucumbers, grapes (imported), green and red bell peppers, green beans, kale, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, spinach, and strawberries. It’s a good idea to spend the extra money on organic for these.

But it’s pretty safe to save money and go conventional on asparagus, avocado, bananas, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, couliflower, eggplant, grapes (from the U.S.), kiwi, mango, papaya, pineapple, plums, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and watermelon. Avocados are pretty much the safest conventionally-produced food on the market today. Some of the produce on this list is not too Bulletproof, like the fruits (sugar) or the nightshades (lectins), but everything’s listed here for reference. Be certain, however, that any non-organic produce you buy is not GMO.

Cold-smoked wild pacific smoked sockeye salmon
For some reason this product is often either $13-14 or $7-8 for the same exact same 8 oz. pack depending on brand and store. Find a store that sells it for $7-8.

Eggs
Are cheap enough already, don’t try to skimp on eggs. Find a local farm and pay them the $4-6/dozen for quality organic free-range pastured eggs.

Water
Drink bottled water (bottled in glass is best) but when you have the money, an under-sink RO system for $200-300 will save money in the end.

Key Supplements

• Vitamin D-3 cholecalciferol – $15 for 250 ct. 5000 IU lasts a couple months at least.
• Magnesium chelate comes out to about $15 per month if you’re taking 4-6 capsules a day.
• Iodine – $15 will last 1-2 months depending on your needs.
• MCT oil – $33/mo but well worth the fast, convenient energy and brain fuel.
• Upgraded Collagen for $44 per month if possible. Your body won’t get these aminos in many other places.

The last tip is drink Bulletproof Coffee for breakfast. No matter where you buy it, Bulletproof-quality Coffee isn’t going to be as cheap as Costco. The savings comes in when you add butter and MCT to it, and make it your entire (or at least most of) your breakfast. (Plus you save on healthcare costs later by not consuming toxins every day in your morning drink…)

Not consuming other foods every morning is a huge savings here, and yet your body is totally happy with the grass-fed butter and MCT oil while you get the added benefits of autophagy with Bulletproof Fasting. Total cost is around 40-50 cents for the coffee + an ounce MCT oil for $1 + big slice Kerrygold for around 40 to 50 cents. A $2 breakfast that puts you in performance mode, not bad. If you don’t like coffee you can do the same thing with chai, but beware mycotoxins with that as well. If you feel dizzy or tired after it, it’s got mold.

I use these techniques to save money and stay 100% Bulletproof.

Here are some more of our readers’ favorite hacks to inspire you:

• “Grocery Outlet often sells bags of about 8 avocadoes for $4. I’ve found while travelling that taking one of these bags and eating avocados for lunch makes it much easier to stay Bulletproof and save money at the same time.”
• “I’ve found that you can find high-quality pink Himalayan salt for a fraction of the usual price at local Indian markets, which is a great way to diversify your mineral intake and avoid endocrine-disrupting halides like bromine, which is added to a lot of conventional salt.”
• “While conventional salmon isn’t nearly as beneficial as wild, it’s still quite good and better than nothing if you can’t afford wild salmon.  It’s often much cheaper, especially if you look in bargain markets.”
• “If you can’t afford Brain Octane Oil (pure C8 capyrlic acid), opt for MCT Oil (a mix of C8 and C10).  And if you really can’t afford MCT oil right now, you can use coconut oil instead, but you should keep in mind that you would have to take ridiculous amounts of coconut oil to get the same amount of MCTs as MCT oil or Brain Octane, amongst other drawbacks.”  Learn more here.

Oh yeah – and buy your delicious grass-fed meat directly from farms in bulk and your life will be way happier, trust me.

What other budget hacks have you found?