Now that the holiday indulgences are nearly eaten up, we’re back to our mostly-paleo meal preps for the new year. Maybe I’ll write a post about why we love ancestral eating someday. In this post, I’m just going to share a few of our favorite recipes to cook up big batches on the weekends and eat all week.
I should preface this that we aren’t strictly paleo. We still enjoy a decent amount of high-quality grass-fed, organic, raw-if-possible dairy in our diets. We also eat gluten-free bread and white rice to fill in the carb gaps, and sprouted oats sometimes too! And of course, there’s always room for special treats around the holidays, date nights, or the occasional Friday night pizza–because life would be dull without those.
Our Favorite Paleo (ish) Meal Preps
- 8-Ingredient Paleo Sweet Potato Chili: I usually double the meat and use beef instead of turkey.
- Simple Ground Beef Stew: I don’t thicken it with anything and also usually add a can (or two, if making a double batch) of tomatoes to stretch it farther.
- Baked chicken breasts or tilapia with homemade taco seasoning: I leave cornstarch out of the seasoning. I slice chicken breasts in half the long way (so they’re thin) and bake about 20 minutes at 400F; ~15 minutes at 400F for tilapia. We usually eat this over white rice cooked in bone broth, with normal burrito bowl toppings–sometimes with sprouted corn tortillas for a treat.
- Salmon with Sweet and Spicy Rub: Coconut sugar is a good paleo sub for brown sugar. I have one very picky husband when it comes to fish, but he loves this recipe. I bake at 400F for 18-20 minutes and serve with roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes.
- Crispy Salmon Cakes: Now, before you turn your nose up at these–I once hated canned fish, too. But these are seriously delicious! I love them topped with a bit more paleo mayo.
- Easy 30-Minute Tuna Cakes: Basically the same as the salmon cakes and so yummy. I halve the mustard in this recipe as I find it too strong.
- Bacon and Vegetable Breakfast Casserole: I sauté the veggies first so the finished product is firmer! Sooo tasty for breakfast or lunch.
- Easy Breakfast Casserole: An equally good option with sausage meat and some sweet potato for extra carbs 🙂
- The Only {Easy} Gluten-Free Quiche Recipe You’ll Ever Need! Perhaps a daring statement, but it is the only quiche recipe we make when we want something cheesy! I make it crustless, cut the cheese to 1 cup and add 1.5-2 cups veggies. My favorite combinations are broccoli and/or mushrooms with raw cheddar, and bell pepper/bacon with goat cheese. Yummm.
- If all else fails: a rotisserie chicken. I’m very late to the party, but I discovered the magic of a hot rotisserie chicken in 2021. Now we buy one almost every week! It’s lovely to bring home an easy hot meal and then you’ve got leftovers for salads/stir-fries/etc for days.
I’m branching out all the time into new recipes and cooking challenges too. This year my goals are: learn how to make a roast chicken at home (we just got a Le Creuset Dutch oven for Christmas–very spoiled and thankful!) and learn how to make a pot roast.
For the moment however, these are our favorite easy paleo (ish) meal preps that we make over and over. They’re toddler-approved, too, if you’ve got a meat-loving little one like we do 🙂
What are your favorite meal prep recipes, paleo or not?
xx Claire