I had a lot of questions and comments about what a typical meal plan is like for the Paleo way that I am currently eating. I am of course, more than happy to share with the class. I want to start by saying that I am surprised at just how possible it is to eat this way. I think that it sounds harder at face value than it really is, more so because it means having to give up foods that are a big part of your normal routine. It is more a matter of changing up your routine to new foods than anything. You will find that you become a lot more comfortable with this way of eating as you develop new, different patterns.
Breakfast:
I aim to get 25-30 grams of protein in for breakfast, along with some good fat because it keeps me full.
2 eggs and 2 oz of turkey jerky (I have loved the natural turkey jerky you can get at Costco)
or
1 oz of almonds and 3 oz of turkey jerky
or
3 eggs
Honestly I haven’t strayed far from this in the creative realm because I don’t have much time in the morning. I will occasionally thrown in a handful of blackberries because I love em’.
Lunch:
1 cup of spinach
3 oz of shredded grilled chicken
1/4 cup of salsa
+
a heaping pile of roasted veggies recipe HERE.
I absolutely LOVE these. I make a ginormous batch and eat them with my lunches and dinner.
or
Avocado Chicken Salad
+
a heaping pile of roasted veggies
or
a Paleo-fied salad bar to go, from one of my fave restaurants. Complete with:
Spinach, cucumbers, beets, carrots, eggs, broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, sunflower seeds, fresh pineapple, and occasionally some cottage cheese on top. (There are different avenues of paleo eating, some allow full fat dairy, some don’t) I refrained from eating dairy for the first 30 days, but I added the cottage cheese back in because I need the protein and the calcium.
Dinner:
The interesting thing about the way I’ve been eating is that a lot of the time dinner will come around and I am not all that hungry. My dinners look like my lunches a lot of the time. Other dinner items?
Grilled Chicken/shredded chicken/baked chicken…(you can eat whatever kind of meat you want, but I am not a big meat eater, so…chicken it is)
Crock Pot Coconut Chicken Curry recipe found HERE
Salads with all sorts of veggies and chicken
Eggs
My Paleo Cereal…aka a chopped up apple, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 TBS slivered almonds and some almond milk.
Snacks:
Baby carrots
Fruit mostly berries, but some apples, oranges, and kiwis thrown in there too.
One of my favorite treats has been slicing up bananas and freezing them.
Lots of Almonds (my favorite are the ones dusted/roasted with cocoa powder)
Turkey Jerky
I am a total creature of habit, so this really is the majority of what I have been eating. I’m going to post a list tomorrow of foods that are considered “paleo approved” to help further answer your questions. Just because I am not eating it doesn’t mean it isn’t something that you can eat!
Other questions…
– How do you pronounce “Paleo?”…it’s not Puh-lay-o…it’s Pay-lee-oh. As in…Paleolithic.
– Courtney asked about the picture of my salad in THIS post…about my one month paleo report. She wondered why I was eating chickpeas because garbanzo beans are a legume..legumes are not paleo approved. There are actually no chickpeas in that salad. It is a salad from Chipotle, and I think what you are thinking might be chickpeas are actually chunks of tomato. Or it could be the chicken? The only items on that salad are lettuce, chicken, LOTS of fresh chunky salsa, and guacamole. Yep..it was delicious.
– What are Cherry Pickers? Cassie asked this a few weeks ago. Cherry pickers are an ab exercise that is GREAT for the whole core because it works the back, the abdominal wall, and the obliques. THIS youtube video is a perfect demo!
Any other questions for me about Paleo eating, or anything else? I’d love to hear them! I am also really excited about some companies that are sending me some paleo approved snacks. I’ll keep you updated on them as they come!
Thanks for sharing Megan. I do not eat paleo or plan on it but it is still incredibly interesting to learn about. I am very happy that you have had so much success. 🙂
I need to make that avocado chicken salad. I keep seeing it everywhere and it looks so good!
Thank you!!! Another question, did you keep track of your calories or just go by hunger?
I am actually really interested in the paleo diet! I want to have a lifestyle like that to have an all around good body health. Was it hard to start this way of living? Don’t you crave certain foods?
Yum, the lunch dish looks delicious. So funny how you had to pronounce it to people I got a good laugh out of that 🙂 Thanks for sharing your meal plans.