First week of Paleo Survival Guide:
1: This is a must. Purge your kitchen. I am serious. PURGE. Get rid of the cookies hiding in your cupboard, the partially hydrogenated oil-based mayo, milk, bread etc.
2: Get buy-in from your significant other or roommate, if possible. It is much easier to stay the course when you don’t have to fight the urge to nibble the junk they have laying around the house. Cooking is also more interesting and enjoyable when you’re sharing your creations.
3: Make a plan. Especially if you’re busy with work, school, or kickball leagues, taking some time to plan at least some of your meals Sunday evening can mean the difference between success and a downward spiral into a den of twinkies.
4: Grocery shop for the week. This goes along with planning your menus and assures you won’t be wasting food. Grocery shopping guide can be found in your paleo challenge resources, but to make it easy, here is a week one plan for you all to borrow. I don’t usually do breakfast so you’re on your own for that. To simplify, I’ve tried to pick recipes which don’t require elaborate spices or prep technique, but I assure you: the options for paleo meals are endless. Hopefully you already have some of these items around the house.
Grocery List:
Light Olive oil (if you’re making mayo)
1-2 dozen Eggs
Grassfed butter
Balsamic vinaigrette
Pepperoncini or pickles
Almond butter (ingredients should be almonds and salt only)
1 Head of Cauliflower or packaged Saurkraut
Romaine lettuce head
Apple Cider vinegar
Sweet potatos
Celery
3 onions
Mushrooms
2 bell peppers
Ginger root
Any additional veggies you want in your stir fry
3-4 apples
Pint of fresh berries
Tomato
Lemon
2 Limes
Asparagus (frozen from Trader Joes is well priced and cooks well)
Mustard
Bay Leaf
Cinnamon
Garlic
Cumin
Chili powder
Cayenne
Chicken broth
Can of diced tomatoes
1 lb of your favorite deli meat
1 lb shrimp
1 lb ground breakfast sausage
1 lb ground beef or chorizo
1-2 lb pork roast
1 can boneless skinless salmon
Ribeye steak
Sunday prep: 4-6 hard-boiled eggs, bake 3 sweet potatoes (per person), make paleo mayo (see CFF archived MOD posts). This is worth the time if you think you’ll want to make tuna salad, chicken salad, caesar dressing, or deviled eggs with mayo.
Monday:
Lunch- 3-5 Deli rolls (Romain lettuce wrapped around deli meat, pepperocini or pickles, mustard, mayo, hot sauce), almond butter (careful with your portions) and celery sticks. Prep Time: Less than 5 minutes
Dinner- Mexican Frittata: Cook as a traditional frittata (see CFF recipe site) with ground meat of choice (beef actually works well here), can of diced tomatoes, onion, mushroom, pepper, etc but season with 1-2 TBS of cumin, 1-2 TBS of chili powder, 1 tsp of cayanne before adding eggs. Prep time: about 30 min from start to finish.
Tuesday:
Lunch- Left-over frittata, apple
Dinner- Shrimp stir fry. Sauté veggies of choice in frying pan. Add 2 TBS fish sauce toward the end of the veggie cooking time then add shrimp. Add chili sauce or cayenne for some heat. Finish with a TBS of fresh grated ginger and stir over heat before serving. Garnish with lime wedge for a finishing zip.
Wednesday:
Lunch: Deviled eggs (mustard and paleo mayo topped with paprika), bell pepper slices, ½ cup of fresh berries. Prep time 10 minutes
Dinner- Stuffed Sweet potatoes: ground sausage, onions, garlic sauted and stuffed into your reheated baked sweet potato. Topped with fresh diced tomato. Prep and cook time 15 minutes
Thursday:
Lunch- Salmon Salad. Salad fixings of your choice topped with 1 can of drained salmon. Dress with balsamic vinegar and high quality olive oil.
Dinner- Pork Roast, 2 peeled, cored and sliced apples, 1 sliced onion, ½ cup chicken broth, ⅓ cup of apple cider vinegar, 2 TBS grated ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, 3 smashed garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf in crock pot low for 8-10 hours. Prep takes 10 minutes before you leave for work. Serve with raw saurkraut or mashed cauliflower.
Friday:
Lunch- Left-over pork roast or deli roll ups.
Dinner- Pan fried or grilled ribeyes, mashed sweet potato (scoop meat from baked potato, add grassfed butter, salt, and cinnamon), asparagus. Cook time: 15 min
Snacks: Not on grocery list
Partially thawed berries with 2 oz of almonds and cinnamon, deli meat, kale chips, bananas and almond butter, jerky, nuts (be careful with your portions). We recommend not snacking much. Instead, do your best to have three solid square meals a day.