Saturday, January 28, 2012

paleo template weekly meal plan

prepare yourself for a really long post. it will have pictures, recipes, and long winded explanations. and links. oh yes... i will be adding crazy links. 

ready? no? too bad. 

there's been a lot of talk about paleo and the cleanse we did around these parts lately... and i've never really fully explained why, what, or how. and i figured i should. i've also got a couple friends that i'm trying to convince to go paleo, and part of my convincing is posting my meal plans and recipes online for their ease. (you know who you are...)

the why: one of the main reasons i even know about paleo is because my dad first introduced me to it. being the die hard health nut that he is, he is always doing research on what the best foods for our body are. several years ago he started eating differently, even for him, and we were all skeptical. but he stuck to it and looks and feels amazing. needless to say he got our attention. as a mom and wife i want to be feeding my husband and kids the best fuel for life and i truly believe this is it. after our 21 day cleanse of eating only poultry, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and minimal dairy... we just didn't want to go back. 

the what: read here, here, and here

the how:

i like to start the week out by poaching chicken breasts or boiling a whole chicken, shredding the meat, and keeping it for salads throughout the week. i also reserve the boiled chicken broth for my soups. 

{SUNDAY}
breakfast: egg muffins (makes enough for leftovers) & grapes
morning snack: ants on a log
lunch: fajita salad with lemon olive oil dressing

{lemon olive oil dressing}
cup fresh lemon juice (1 large or 11/2 small lemons) 
3/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce 
2 large cloves garlic, crushed 
Fresh ground black pepper to taste 

afternoon snack: carrots & hummus (regular hummus is made with chickpeas, which is not paleo friendly. make a big batch of this for the week)
dinner: sun dried tomato bake with baked and shredded spaghetti squash

{MONDAY}
breakfast: no-oat oatmeal with chopped apples and raisins
morning snack: smoothie 
afternoon snack: apple cinnamon cookie with green tea
dinner: italian sausage soup (omit the beans)

no oat oatmeal



apple cinnamon cookie

{TUESDAY}
breakfast: chicken sausage & applesauce topped with cinnamon, fresh blueberries, and almond slivers
morning snack: trail mix
lunch: hard boiled eggs, carrots, and avocado
afternoon snack: banana & almond butter sprinkled with unsweetened shredded coconut

coconut chicken & fried "rice"

{WEDNESDAY}
breakfast: leftover egg muffins & oranges
morning snack: banana & almond butter sprinkled with unsweetened shredded coconut
lunch: turkey burger patty w/ avocado & carrots
afternoon snack: macaroons (scroll down for recipe) & tea
dinner: spaghetti w/ spaghetti squash

{THURSDAY}
morning snack: ants on a log
lunch: italian salad

{italian salad}
serves two
four cups spinach
shredded chicken
kalamata olives
sundried tomatoes
mild peppers

afternoon snack: veggie chips & guacamole
dinner: mexican chicken soup (omit beans & tortillas, add 1 small chopped zucchini & 1 small chopped carrot)

{FRIDAY}
breakfast: no-oat oatmeal with berries 
morning snack: smoothie 
afternoon snack: thai banana tapioca pudding

{thai banana tapioca pudding}
3 cups water
1-11/2 cups small tapioca pearls
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 or 2 ripe bananas Asian bananas are sweeter but other work fine, mashed
crushed cashew
roasted seame seeds

boil water
while waiting soak tapoca in cold water, take out most of water
add tapoicoa to boiling water
simmer until tapioca is mostly transparent stir often to prevent sticking
add coconut milk, sugar, salt vanilla one at a time
add bananas and cook on simmer 5-8 minutes
if too thick add coconut milk or water
{roasted nut sprinkle}
blend nuts
add 1 tbsp coconut palm sugar
roast for 2 minutes
sprinkle over pudding

dinner: paleo pizza

paleo pizza
thai banana tapioca pudding
{SATURDAY}
breakfast: crepes with blueberries & decadent fruit dip
morning snack: trail mix
lunch: hard boiled egg, carrots, and avocado
afternoon snack: veggie chips & guacamole
dinner: roasted chicken & roasted broccoli

{roasted broccoli}
1-2 heads pf broccoli, cleaned and florets removed
toss with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper
sprinkle with pine nuts
roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, turn half way through

whew. one more tip that i do always save the leftovers for my husband's lunch the next day. this has been working out pretty well for us... it takes a little creativity and i can find most things at a regular grocery store, trader joe's, or whole foods. 

let me know what you think! i would love some feedback on whether you used my print out, any of the recipes i recommended, or any changes you made. i'm always looking for new recipes and resources too so share those if you have them! 

also, i've been working on this all week to make sure it was ready in time for Saturday... when you might be grocery shopping for the start of the new week. because i'm OCD like that. 

have fun cooking!
tara









4 comments:

  1. this is AWESOME and super helpful as we jump on the paleo train. i've been living on chicken breasts... so excited about some variety!

    you are great.

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    Replies
    1. i know this one has a lot of chicken in it too, but keep checking back as i incorporate mor beef and pork into the mix. i'm also trying to make better use of the crockpot... for us busy mamas. miss you shara!

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  2. This is perfect. I am just starting/learning and I was looking for something with more chicken as opposed to a lot of beef or pork.
    I am going to go read your other posts.
    Thanks for writing all this out!

    ReplyDelete
  3. thanks for sharing! These are some really great ideas!

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