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:

weekly meal plan

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}

⅓ 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 

lunch: waldorf chicken salad

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

dinner: coconut chicken w/ fried "rice"

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}

breakfast: coconut flour pancakes

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 

lunch: waldorf chicken salad

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