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Want to try Paleo but not quite sure what to cook first? We’ve got you covered! Here are 10 super-easy Paleo recipe ideas to help get you off the ground.
1. Frittatas
Eggs are one of the easiest Paleo foods to prepare, and frittatas take “simple but delicious” up to 11. The basic concept is simple: just beat some eggs and pour them into a pan with your favorite vegetables; then bake in the oven until it smells too good to resist!
Here’s a quick and easy recipe for an Italian-themed frittata to get you started. And if that’s not quite your style, try this zucchini and sweet potato frittata instead.
2. Crock-Pot Roasts
Roasts make it easy to stretch a tight budget (especially if you’re feeding a crowd). And slow-cookers make it easy to cram home cooking into even the busiest of schedules. Together, they’re a match made in heaven!
Here’s a quick recipe for balsamic roast beef, and if you’re not feeling the beef today, here’s one just as simple for a pork roast.
3. Roast Chicken
It’s a classic for a reason – affordable, low-effort, and delicious! Many people are intimidated at the thought of cooking a whole bird instead of just the breasts or drumsticks, but it's really not complicated or difficult. Once you do it for the first time, you'll be amazed that you were ever worried about it.
Here’s a very simple recipe for a whole roast chicken to get you started.
4. Baked Chicken
Don’t have a whole chicken handy? No problem: just grab whatever chicken parts you have and make a quick baked chicken recipe.
A few ideas: spice rubbed chicken is great for the heat-lovers, and lemon and thyme chicken has a slightly more delicate flavor, perfect for salads.
5. Chili
A big bowl of chili is just the thing to warm up a cold afternoon. It travels well; it freezes well; it reheats beautifully – is there anything it can’t do? You can adjust the spice level up or down, depending on your tastes, and you can throw in just about any kind of meat you can think of!
Here’s a classic chili with beef and tomatoes, here’s a spicy version with pork, and here’s a recipe for turkey chili (using leftover meat).
6. Coleslaw
Paleo isn’t just about huge hunks of meat all the time: your plate should be at least half-full of vegetables! Per serving, cabbage is one of the cheapest vegetables you can buy, and it’s also very easy to prepare. You can fry it, roast it, throw it in a soup…or make coleslaw out of it!
Here’s a recipe for fruity coleslaw, and here’s one for a buffalo ranch version.
7. Chicken soup
Chicken soup is “soul food” after a long day. It’s a time-honored home remedy for a sniffle or a flu, and it’s an ideal way to use up any vegetables loitering in your fridge about to go bad. Plus, it’s a perfect vehicle for bone broth.
Here’s a very basic chicken soup recipe that you can modify almost infinitely to suit your particular tastes.
8. Roasted Vegetables
The easiest way of dealing with almost any vegetable is to just toss it on a tray with some Paleo cooking fat and roast it until it’s soft and delicious. Roasting more assertive vegetables like broccoli or Brussels sprouts brings out their inner sweetness and makes them much more palatable for kids.
Here’s a basic recipe for oven-roasted cabbage to get you started, but remember: you can apply the same technique to almost anything!
9. Guacamole
Guacamole is a perfect vehicle for healthy fats and all the other good stuff that you’ll find in an avocado. It’s delicious scooped over a salad, used as a dip for raw vegetable slices, or simply eaten straight off the spoon.
Here’s a recipe for quick and easy guacamole.
10. Hamburgers
Burgers don’t have to come on a bun! They’re incredibly versatile and a guaranteed dinner favorite, so it’s well worth your time to find a Paleo recipe.
Here’s a basic recipe for Portobello burgers – with a mushroom stepping in as the bun. And just for fun, here are some fries to go with them.
Did we miss anything? What's your favorite super-simple beginner recipe? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
The diet excludes cereal grains, legumes, dairy, processed oils, refined sugar, alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats. Some paleo-friendly foods include lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
The typical paleo diet focuses on naturally raised meat and fish, as well as vegetables and fruits. It promotes avoiding dairy products and grains. This diet can put you at risk for deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D, which are critical to bone health.
A paleo diet is an eating plan based on foods humans might have eaten during the Paleolithic Era. The Paleolithic Era dates from around 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. A modern paleo diet includes fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds.
Peanuts are technically legumes, which are not paleo compliant, and that means peanut butter is off limits for paleo eaters. All other nuts and seeds are fair game, so if nuts and seeds are the only ingredients, snack away!
Many paleo followers wonder if bananas are paleo because of their higher sugar content. They are considered paleo. One medium banana has 113 calories, 2 grams of fiber and 26 grams of carbohydrates. Bananas are an unprocessed, whole food with a good source of potassium.
While we have said in the past that coffee is not Paleo, we have changed our position based on new research and now we believe that coffee is fine for most people.
Foods that cause inflammation include refined carbohydrates, wheat and other cereal grains, soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages, margarine, shortening and lard, and processed meats. [1,2,6] These types of food can alter our gut health, as well as cause insulin to spike which is what contributes the inflammation.
Over the past few years, the bacon craze has surged in the Paleo community. While bacon is very tasty; unfortunately, bacon is not Paleo. Bacon is high in added salt, nitrates, and other unhealthy chemicals that are injected into the meat to help preserve it.
Popcorn is technically not considered paleo since it's a whole grain. However, most paleo experts agree that it's not a horrible snack to have in moderation, especially when it's prepared fresh and cooked in a healthy fat like coconut oil.
Almond milk and hemp milk tend to be popular choices for the paleo diet, but one overall favorite reigns supreme: coconut milk. Coconut is a fruit, but it can also be considered a nut…and a seed – so coconut milk is technically paleo-friendly three times over!
Why are Oats not Paleo-friendly? Although oats are a non-fattening healthy food for a more mainstream diet, oats do contain anti-nutrients that the Paleo diet aims to avoid such as phytic acid, lectins, and avenin. Not only do oats contain a few anti-nutrients, but they are also often contaminated with gluten.
Generally, unprocessed potatoes of all types can be part of a paleo diet. Similarly to grains, which are off-limits on paleo, potatoes are starchy and rich in carbohydrates.
Strict paleo dieters exclude all grains from their diets — including rice — primarily due to their high phytate content. Although it's technically prohibited, many people still consume small amounts of white rice while following a paleo diet because it's lower in phytates, compared with other types.
Many types of foods will build the base of your new paleo eating plan. Firstly, meat! Beef, chicken, turkey, and pork can all be on your shopping list. If possible, opt for grass-fed and organic cuts.
If you'd like to try a paleo diet, here are a few tips to help you lose weight: Eat more veggies: They are low in calories and contain fiber, helping you stay full for longer. Eat a variety of fruits: Fruit is nutritious and incredibly filling. Aim to eat 2–5 pieces per day.
Featuring lean meat and fish as well as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, the paleo diet excludes the foods that have become popular since farming began to develop around 10,000 years ago, so processed products such as bread, pasta, refined sugar and dairy are all off-limits.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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