The Paleo Mama

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The Paleo Mama Meal Plan #3

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I hope you are enjoying these weekly meal plans. They should be making your life a little easier in the kitchen. I know the challenges of switching to Paleo. It can seem very overwhelming, at first. I try to pick out easy meals to make that are also favorable with kids.

The dinners I picked out this week should fit your budget and make your taste-buds very happy! You have the option of making the meal #1 in the crock pot and, also, I included a meal-on-the-fly in case you find yourself too busy to cook. Just prep them beforehand and grab them when running out the door!

The Paleo Mama Meal Plan #3

**Bookmark this page to reference it throughout the week**

Meal #1 (optional crock pot meal) : Thyme Roast Chicken with Roasted Root Veggies – This recipe is so simple yet so delish! Throw the chicken in the crock pot if you choose and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Thyme Roast Chicken
Thyme Roast Chicken

Meal #2 : Balsamic Chicken and Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts – I rave about this dish to everyone! It’s also *that* dish that I make to impress. It’s the most tasty chicken I have ever had!!! Don’t skip the brussel spouts because you don’t like them OR think your kids won’t eat them. Mine LOVE brussel sprouts! We call them Monster Eggs and pretend we need to eat them before the monster hatches!

Balsalmic Chicken
Balsamic Chicken

 

Meal #3 : Butternut Squash Lasagna – I just love this dish and I also love that it has veggies already in the dish, so no extra side is needed!

Butternut Squash Lasagne
Butternut Squash lasagna

Meal #4 : Salmon with Cherry Tomato Salsa and Asparagus – we make ourselves eat a seafood dish or two every week. It’s good to give kids a taste for fish early in life. Both my kids (4 and 1) devour fish. I will say, they do not like Ahi Tuna, but Salmon, Tilapia and Shrimp don’t last long in our house!

Salmon with Cherry Tomato Salsa
Salmon with Cherry Tomato Salsa

Meal #5: Dinner-on-the-Fly: Meat & Spinach Muffins with a Mason Jar Salad : These muffins have been a long-standing favorite among my family. They are easy to make and so delicious. These are great to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Mason Jar Salads
Mason Jar Salads

The Mason Jar Salad that my friend, Dusti, guest-posted about has been a LIFESAVER for me! It’s a genius way of making salads and they really do keep for up to a week! I included the ingredients in the shopping list to get your started on making your first mason jar salads! You can omit this if you do not want to make it and just throw a salad together for this meal instead.

 Hope you enjoy this week of healthy, Paleo eating!

Print out your shopping list HERE!

***Per Your Requests*** (and because I love you all!)

Breakfast Ideas: If you are stuck and not sure what to make for breakfast, or just getting tired of eggs and bacon, check out my Pinterest page here (for egg-y dishes) and here (for non-egg).

Need snack ideas? Check out this board on my Pinterest page and this one also.

The Paleo Mama’s Weekly Meal Plan #2

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Please forgive me for being a few days late posting this. I was at the Florida Parents Educators Association Convention for the past 2 days with my husband. It was awesome! It’s an annual state convention for homeschoolers… loaded with workshops, exhibits, and encouragement for homeschooling families.

However, I’m making time tonight for you all!!! I want you to have this for the coming up week. The first meal will be Memorial Day themed, followed by 4 other simple, budget-conscious, Paleo meals.

I included two crockpot meals because I know this is a busy week for everyone. Many families are running around crazy trying to wrap up the end of the school year for their kids. I hope this week’s meal plan makes your life easier!

Hope you have a Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to those who have served this wonderful country and for those who have given their lives. I am forever thankful.

Weekly Meal Plan #2

***Bookmark this page so you can come back over the week to find the recipes you need***

Meal 1 (Memorial Day): Spanish Burgers  & Sweet Potato Wrapped Bacon Bites.

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If you are going to a party and you want to impress your friends with some Paleo food, the Sweet Potato Wrapped Bacon Bites are AMAZING! We call them “Little Bites of Heaven” because you just want to savor every bit of it.

There are a few additional things you can add to the Spanish Burgers if you want to get fancy. The recipe has a caramelized onion chile relish and a roasted red pepper sauce you can make to go with them. I know it is Memorial Day and having “Spanish” burgers may sound silly, but they are really good and we use them as our regular burger recipe now. If you don’t like chorizo, you can use ground pork or just some more ground beef.

Meal 2 (Crockpot): Chile Cilantro Lime Crockpot Chicken & Tomato, Avocado, Cucumber Salad

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***see note below on saving the bones and making homemade stock***

I just love easy crockpot meals! Paleo Pot put together a golden recipe with this one! Add in the delicious salad and you have a simple meal for those days when you don’t have time to cook dinner!

Don’t forget to marinate the chicken overnight!

***Save your bones from the whole chicken and make stock according to my method here. Save the stock for meal 5 in this plan***

Meal 3: Salmon Patties with a Creamy Lemon Dill Sauce & Faux-Tato Salad

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This meal is a little bit more intricate. Make this meal on a evening you have enough time for all the prep work. Savor your extra work…it will be worth it. I’m always trying to find more frugal ways to get seafood into my family’s diet!

Meal 4: Green (or Red) Chile Pork Taco-Salad

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With all the veggies in this, no need for a side dish. Pile your salad high and enjoy the simplicity of it! It’s one of our best pork dishes!

Meal 5 (Crockpot): Creamy Chicken Tomato Soup with Almond Bread

We just had this soup tonight for the 10th time, or so, and it’s so delicious. The Almond Bread recipe is another family favorite! We love dipping the bread into soup and stews. The Almond Bread is much like cornbread.

My family enjoys soup on, even, the hottest days! It’s just a healthy, frugal way to utilize all that stock that you are making if you are following my simple recipe.

<<<Printable Shopping List>>>

Are you enjoying these meal plans??? Let me know!

 

Shopping Paleo at BJ’s Wholesale Club

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I did my grocery shopping today at BJ’s Wholesale. I didn’t want to sign up for a membership because I have a Sam’s and Costco membership, but I received a free 2 month membership incentive in the mail and thought I would give it a try.

I have to say…I am quite impressed. They have MUCH more organic produce than Costco even does. I love Costco and find a lot of Paleo items there, but it’s a 20 minute drive for me. BJ’s is right down the road!

Here’s a few things I loved about BJ’s:

***Note: I buy organic when I can find it and when I can afford it into our budget***

  • They are CHEAP! REALLY cheap…even their organic foods are cheap.
  • They have Kerrygold butter!
  • They have a MUCH larger selection of natural household cleaners.
  • They have large quantities…but they also have small quantities. So, if you are single, or it’s just you and your partner, then BJ’s would still be awesome! They had large packages of their meats (5lbs) and smaller packages (2lbs)!
  • LOTS of organic produce!
  • A good selection of healthy snacks for the kids (nuts, fruit leather, Buddy Fruit applesauce pouches, organic yogurt (if you do dairy), cases of olives, and good selection of fruit (some organic).

Here’s a few things I bought at BJ’s and what I spent:

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  1.  Stretch Island Fruit Leather (all fruit), 30 pieces: $6.99 – These are usually $0.50 a piece in the grocery store.  At BJ’s, you can get it for half the price!
  2. Organic Girl Superfoods Green Mix, 1lb: $4.99
  3. English Cucumber, 2ct: $2.79
  4. 1lb bag of Kale: $1.99
  5. Green Pepper, 4ct: 4.99
  6. HUGE bag of Organic Peas: $6.49
  7. Red Pepper, 4ct: $4.99
  8. Bananas, 3lbs: $1.49
  9. Almond Milk, 86oz: $3.49
  10. Organic Celery, 3 hearts: $3.79
  11. Applegate Smoked Turkey Deli cuts, (2) 7oz packs: $7.69
  12. Applegate Forest Ham Deli cuts, (2) 7oz packs: $7.29
  13. Applegate Beef Hot Dogs, (2) 12oz packs, $8.29
  14. Organic Fuji Apples, 5lbs: $8.99
  15. Black Olives, 6 cans: $6.89
  16. Organic Carrots, 5lbs: $4.49
  17. Blueberries, 18oz: $6.99
  18. Ground Pork, 2.5lbs: $4.98
  19. Beef Stew Meat: 5lbs: $17.08
  20. YoKids Organic Yogurt Squeezers, 16 tubes: $5.99 (this is the only dairy my kids get…I freeze them)
  21. Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes, 6 cans: $5.99
  22. Kiwi, 3lbs: $5.49
  23. Buddy Fruit Applesauce Pouches, 12ct: $7.79
  24. Lara Bars, 12ct: $10.99 – *unfortunately, these were the Uber Lara Bars which have brown rice syrup in them…so not 100% Paleo

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Non-Paleo Food Items (yes, I am human) and Household Stuff:

  1. Giradelli Chocolate Chips, 5lbs: $8.99
  2. Veggie Straws: $4.99
  3. Jimmy Dean Turkey Links: $8.99
  4. Basmati Brown Rice: $4.99 – (I buy this to go with my Asian foods at parties where some people don’t get Cauliflower Rice)
  5. Kids Shampoo, 4pk: $5.99
  6. Hydrogen Peroxide, 2pck: $2.29 (I use this for bleaching)

Total Spent: $210.00 – $10 over my weekly food budget

I allot $200 a week to groceries. This covers all household supplies, dog food, cleaning supplies, and anything else. This week, I am using these meats from my freezer: Tilapia, chicken breasts, and Salmon. I, always, buy my meat in larger portions and split them up, then freeze.

What else do you find at BJ’s Wholesale Club that is Paleo-worthy?

 

 

 

Guest Post, The Simple Paleo Life: Paleo Batch Cooking!

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My new friend, Sylvie,  from The Simple Paleo Life has some awesome stuff to share with you all on batch cooking. This is great, practical advice that Sylvie proves to be so much less daunting than what it really is. I know you will love what she has to share!

Save Time in the Kitchen by Batch Cooking

When we first made the switch to the Paleo lifestyle,  one of the things we struggled adjusting to was how much more time it took  to make real food versus boiling water for some pasta and opening a jar of pasta sauce. It felt like hours from prep to dishes.  We soon learned that spending a couple hours on a Saturday or Sunday would make the weekly meal prep a whole lot easier!  It also saves dishes to be washed since I, strategically,  use the food processor in a way that I only have to wash it once or twice during the big cookfest!  This is multi-tasking at its best.  I actually much prefer doing this than cooking one individual meal since I feel the cost-benefit time wise is much more favorable!

Here’s what I made during a day of mad kitchen prep on a weekend :

  • 2 roasted chickens with potatoes
  • braised kale (with bone broth) from our garden
  • steamed broccoli
  • ghee (from grass fed butter)
  • burger patties with hidden liver
  • bacon (vanished same day, oh well)
  • 2 gallons of kombucha started (for upcoming BBQ)
  • chopped carrot sticks for snacks

That sounds like a lot! But so many things can be done simultaneously that it really doesn’t take more than a couple hours!  Here’s what it looked like:

The night before:

  1. Plan what you will be prepping if you haven’t done so earlier in the week
  2. Set your frozen meats out to defrost

The cooking!

Start with the things that will take the longest to prep/cook.

I started by brewing tea for my kombucha (I only have one kettle, one mesh strainer and one big glass bowl so I did this in 3 batches).  Just writing this makes me realize I should get a couple more strainers and bowls to speed up the process!

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While that was brewing and cooling, I got the chickens rinsed off and in the oven with potatoes.  I usually add other root veggies as well.  Use timers, timers  are your friend.  I have my eye on this triple timer for days like this!

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Then I placed the butter in the pan to make the ghee and started the most hands on task: the “hidden liver” burgers.  (Grind liver, add ground beef and spices and fry them up!)

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While keeping and eye on ghee and burgers, wash and cut up carrots for carrot stick snacks during the week!

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Add one more pan with bacon to cook up. Warning: if kids and canines are present, your chances at having leftovers are ZERO.

If you have another burner available use it to steam some vegetables (I usually have all 4 burners going!)

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Braise some kale or collard greens in bone broth.  As the bone broth evaporates the minerals and “goodness” (I believe that’s the technical term) are left behind.

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That’s it!  Several meals and snacks in just a couple of hours!   Sip some booch while you’re doing it and you’ve got yourself a little party! 🙂

What are your favorite tips and tricks to reduce your time in the kitchen?

About The Simple Paleo Life:  Sylvie is a celebrity personal assistant and mom of 3 by day, paleo enthusiast and blogger by night.  She and SAHD hubby, Eric, each lost over 60 lbs with paleo and continue to improve their family’s health with food and lifestyle tweaks.  Sign up for their newsletter at www.thesimplepaleolife.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Monkey Smoothie (or Monkey Popsicle)

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I’ve posted this simple recipe a few times on my Facebook page and I have had such a great response that I thought I should actually write-up a blog post on it.

My favorite thing about this recipe is that it is soooo filling! My kids LOVE when they hear the blender going! Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Monkey Smoothie (or Monkey Popsicle)

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Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend. If using frozen bananas then you may not need any ice cubes. If you are using unfrozen bananas, then throw in 5-8 ice cubes.

2. Top with raw carob nibs and enjoy!!! Makes enough for 2-3 servings so you can enjoy the smoothie now and freeze the rest!

3. POPSICLES: pour into popsicle molds and freeze! Makes 7 popsicles!

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Iced Bulletproof® Coffee

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I did it…I DID IT!!! I made an Iced Bulletproof® Coffee!!! If you don’t know what a  Bulletproof® Coffee is then go read this post right now and check out the Bulletproof Executive website. This is my adaption of the Bulletproof® recipe.

The first time I tried to make this was a complete fail. What was I thinking throwing butter into the blender with ice?!! What a sticky mess! However, I found the key!

I live in Florida and the thought of a hot coffee in the afternoon just makes me start sweating. So, I wanted to try to make an iced Bulletproof® because I love my Bulletproof® and sometimes I just need that mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Sometimes, I just need the extra fat too in the afternoons. Whatever your case may be, you NEED to try this!!!

Iced  Bulletproof® Coffee

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Step 1: In the morning when you are making your coffee, make about 2-3 cups extra and make it a little stronger. Add an extra scoop or two of coffee.

Step 2: When the coffee is ready grab a mason jar and pour 2-3 cups of coffee into it. (Make your morning Bulletproof® at the same time.)

Step 3: Put (at least) 2TB of Kerrygold butter into the mason jar and 1-2 TB of MCT Oil . This mason jar coffee is going to be your Iced Bulletproof. Blend until frothy with a stick blender. If you don’t have a stick blender you can do this in a blender.

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Step 4: Stick your mason jar coffee in the fridge for later or put a lid on it and bring it to work for later.

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Step 5: When you need your mid-afternoon coffee pick-me-up, pour your mason jar coffee over crushed iced (or regular ice).

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Step 6: Enjoy your fatty coffee and the buzz!

***This method worked for me because I had already emulsified the butter with the hot coffee in the morning. Once it cooled, it didn’t not chunk up. There may be tiny, tiny pieces that stick to the side of your jar or cup, but you will not taste any chunky butter.***

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(*‘Upgraded™ and Bulletproof® are trademarks/service marks of Better Baby LLC’*)