The popularity of paleo diets has increased dramatically over the past decade or so. Today, more people than ever are interested in adopting this kind of diet to better their health and to lose weight.
However, embracing a paleo diet comes with its own challenges as well. Paleo recipes require a lot of prep time, and many meals that fit the diet people don’t prefer to eat. If you’re going to commit to this diet and not break, you’ll need to have some strong meals planned out ahead of time.
What are some delicious and easy paleo recipes you can cook up without breaking too much of a sweat? Read on and we’ll walk you through a few favorites that should fit the bill.
1. Roast Chicken
If there’s a classic paleo recipe you’ll want to ensure you fit into your line-up of meals it’s this one. There’s a reason it’s been a staple long before paleo diets were even a trend. It’s easy on your wallet, doesn’t require too much work, and your stomach couldn’t be happier at the end.
Many people get a little freaked out at the idea of cooking a whole bird, but the full involvement of the process is actually what’s easiest about it. It’s actually not complicated at all, as you’ll find when you do it yourself.
The whole process only takes about fifteen minutes to prepare, then you can kick back and relax while the chicken cooks away in the oven.
There are a lot of different ways to prepare a roasted chicken so you’ll need to decide on your own what your preference is. However, some butter, rosemary, and carrots can go a long way in our humble opinion.
This is a great way to get a load of protein and carbs without too much overwhelming effort. Plus, you’ll likely have leftovers to chow down on for tomorrow’s lunch.
Roast Chicken Recipe
Here’s the basic rundown. You’ll need:
- 1 whole chicken,
- 2 tbsp. melted cooking fat;
- 3 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped;
- 2 onions, peeled and halved;
- 4 carrots, chopped
You’ll need to preheat your oven to 400. Put the chicken on its back and use kitchen shears to remove the backbone from the bird. Flip it around and use your hand to flatten the bird out.
In a separate bowl, mix the cooking fat and rosemary. Then apply it to the chicken across the body. Use salt and pepper to your personal preference.
Surround the chicken with carrots and onion, as well as any vegetable options you may prefer. Then pop it all into the oven and cook for one hour. If you have an internal temperature thermometer, you should be able to pull the chicken out once it reads at 165 F.
Serve with freshly squeezed lemon and enjoy!
2. Butternut Sausage Bake
If you’re looking to be a little more adventurous in the kitchen, this butternut sausage bake will hit the spot. You won’t even feel like you’re sticking to any sort of diet at all as it will feel like you’re eating like a king.
The best part of this recipe? It’s more or less one pot, which means there will be minimal clean-up when you’re done with the whole process. That’s more time to enjoy and less time to spend scrubbing.
There is a good amount of prep time you’ll need to face (about an hour) but for how savory and delicious the final product is, that shouldn’t be too much trouble.
Butternut Sausage Bake Recipe
What will you need to make it happen?
- 3 and 1/2 cups butternut squash, cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp olive oil of your choice
- 1 lb sausage of your choosing, we recommend pork sausage
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
- 1/2 onion, quartered
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup coconut milk (preferably from a can)
- 2 1/2 cups kale
- 1 egg
To make this paleo diet dream come true, you’ll just need to take a few simple steps. The first is to take the butternut squash and roast it. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cubed squash with olive oil and salt it to taste.
Lay out the squash cubes on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. They should appear brown and toasty once the process is complete.
While the squash is roasting, you can take care of other businesses. Cook up the sausage with red pepper flakes, add in onions, and put the marinara sauce and coconut milk on top.
Once it’s all simmering, add the kale and stir the whole mixture together. Once the squash is ready to go, mix it into the pot and serve hot!
3. Paleo Pancakes
We’ve focused so much on dinner, what about starting the day off right? One of the hardest meals to get right while on a diet is breakfast.
Just because you’re on the paleo diet doesn’t mean you have to miss out on a lovely pancake breakfast. It’s easy to cook up paleo pancakes using green plantains.
If you’re looking for a shortcut, you can get plantain flour from the store and make this recipe easy to accomplish.
Paleo Pancake Recipe
All you need is:
- flax eggs
- green plantain flour
- baking soda
- salt
- almond milk yogurt
- vanilla
- oil for cooking
Once again, you’ll only need one bowl and one pan, so you can keep things simple. Make your flax eggs, then mix with the flour, baking soda, and yogurt in a bowl. Once mixed, add vanilla and mix further.
Once you have your batter, simply pour onto a skillet as you would a normal pancake. Add some honey or syrup and enjoy!
Easy and Affordable Paleo Recipes
Sticking to any kind of diet is difficult, but it can be a lot easier to stick to yours if you employ some of the above paleo recipes. You can eat well without having to break the bank or make a mess of your kitchen.
Need more amazing meal ideas? Keep scrolling our blog for more.
