This is Paleo in real life – our real life – with three hungry boys and a very busy schedule!
We have been loving your feedback about sharing our weekly meal plans! To read more about why we’ve been meal planning, how it saves our family time and money, reduces waste, and helps us maintain a Paleo lifestyle, check out our first installment of ‘What We Ate Wednesday’ here!
We look at approaching meals plans in three ways: (1) when we can, we pick out seasonal, local produce and let that spark inspiration for our meals; other times, (2) we’ll take guidance from what we already have in the fridge and need to use up; or (3) we crave a recipe and then ensure we grab the ingredients for it when we do our weekly shopping. Frankly, each week is usually a combo of those steps. Once the plan is in place, any other requests have to wait until the following week. We’ve eliminated a number of additional stops at the grocery store with this method, saving us both time and money. Who doesn’t love that?!
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This week’s dinners were:
Saturday: Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and Tuna Bites with Normandy Vegetables
Since Uncle Andrew was babysitting, we left him with our favorite quick vegetable side dish (incredible when smothered in Tin Star Brown Butter Ghee from OSPS) which when paired with two different seafoods – made for an easy and filling dinner!
—> Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and Tuna Bites (pre-made from our grocery store)
—> Normandy Vegetables from Costco
Sunday: Brunch of Quiche, Savory Waffles and Crab Balls
We knew that we would be out at a sporting event in the evening, so we planned a big brunch at home to fuel us for the day!
—> Savory Waffles and Crab Balls from Real Life Paleo
—> Quiche is from a local gluten-free bakery, Happy Tart
Monday: Orange Sage Chicken with Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
One of our favorites from Real Life Paleo, this chicken is super easy and full of bright flavors. The boys LOVED this broccoli casserole dish and even had multiple servings – of VEGETABLES – highly recommended!
—> Orange Sage Chicken from Real Life Paleo
—> Cheesy Broccoli Casserole recipe from Fed + Fit
Tuesday: Mussels and Chicken Pot Pie
This pairing was Cole’s idea, and although it seemed odd at the time, we encourage the kids to participate in the kitchen so of course we said yes. Who would have known, the combo was incredible! Mussels have so much going for them – if you’ve never had them, try them, try them and you may I say! At $3 per pound and under 15 minutes to cook, we plan to have this super food more frequently!
—> Mussels not Muscles from Eat Like a Dinosaur (we left out the tomatoes)
—> Chicken Pot Pie (adapted from Piggie Pot Pie) from Beyond Bacon
Wednesday: Lengua (that’s tongue!) Carnitas with Turnip Risotto with Mushrooms
Yep, even the boys loved this one! It may sound weird, but it’s really just another muscle, right? We cooked it in the Instant Pot – which is the best thing ever for tougher (read: less expensive) cuts of meat in no time! Organ meats like tongue have unique nutrients your body will love – and tongue (especially if pre-prepared from your butcher) is a great entry point, our kids love it!
—> Lengua Carnitas from Beyond Bacon
—> Turnip Risotto with Mushrooms from Inspiralized (LOVED this!)
Thursday: Beef Short Ribs with Warm Kale Salad and Sautéed Chanterelle Mushrooms
This warm kale salad was just what we needed – perfectly comforting on a cool night! With the collagen-rich short ribs and fresh mushrooms, this meal was healing and delicious.
—> Beef Short Ribs recipe from The Domestic Man
—> Warm Kale Salad with Roasted Fennel and Cranberry Meyer Lemon Salsa recipe from Tasty Yummies
—> Sautéed Chanterelle Mushrooms from The Healing Kitchen
Friday: Mongolian Beef, Sesame Chicken and Thai Fried Rice with Pineapple and Cashews
Another Asian take-out meal for open-gym night! A great way to feed a crowd!
—> Mongolian Beef recipe from our blog
—> Sesame Chicken recipe from Paleo Takeout
—> Thai Fried Rice with Pineapple and Cashews from Real Life Paleo
Friday night’s Asian food night in
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A Look Ahead at Our Christmas-week Menu!
Because of the holiday we won’t be posting our menu next week, but we wanted to share it anyways, so we’re giving you a sneak peak at our Christmas eats!
Monday
Egg Drop Soup from Beyond Bacon
Breakfast Pizza recipe from The Paleo Cupboard guest post on our blog
Tuesday
Meatloaf from Real Life Paleo
Cinnamon Roasted Carrots from The Healing Kitchen
Wednesday
Honey Mustard Chicken and Cabbage recipe from our blog
Thursday Christmas Eve
Gluten-free, organic pizza takeout from ZPizza! while we prep a lot for the next morning’s brunch
Friday Christmas Brunch
Quiche from a local bakery, Happy Tart
Bagels (from Planks Love and Guacamole on the blog), served with smoked salmon and flavored butters
French Toast Casserole recipe made with Paleo Bite’s Ginger Loaf
Caramelized Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts from Simply Scratch
Oysters from The Organic Butcher of McLean (Uncle Andrew is shucking)
CC’s Hash Browns from Real Life Paleo (Stacy’s mom is making, obvs!)
Eggnog from our blog
Make Ahead Christmas Treats to Share
Monkey Bread from our blog (we are working on a new nut-free, egg-free version, check back soon!!)
Chocolate Fudge by TexanErin with added Marshmallows from Real Life Paleo
Candy Cane Cookies from our blog
Biscotti from Beyond Bacon
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Books featured in our meal plans are among our favorites and ones we actually use ourselves.
Real Life Paleo |Eat Like a Dinosaur |Paleo Takeout |The Healing Kitchen | Beyond Bacon
