Paleo recipes: Fast enough for busy moms

I've blogged a few times about my husband and I switching to a Paleo diet.  It's more a way of life than a diet diet.   For me, the thing about a change like this is it takes time for me to feel like I'm back in my groove.

To be honest, I nearly gave it up and quit about a week in because I just couldn't figure out what to eat. I literally wandered around the kitchen thinking "there's nothing I can just grab."  No longer can I just grab an eggo waffle or a yogurt for breakfast while I'm putting breakfast on the table for the kids, getting lunches ready, prepping for school and preschool, tripping over toys, cleaning up spilled milk, emptying the dishwasher AND trying to think of what to cook for that night's dinner.  My hubs is so dedicated, he wrote up three lists of fast meals and snacks for me and taped them to the inside our pantry door.  (Love him!)

Now that I've gotten over the new diet hump, I'm on a roll.  I've had to adapt and come up with new meals - ones that are fast enough for me, a busy SAHM of a two and a four year old.  I'm also often in need of paleo meals on-the-go for times when we're at the pool or packing a picnic lunch for the park.

I've come up with a few paleo meal ideas I thought I'd share with other busy moms so there's no excuse to get off track because "there's no Paleo-friend fast foods."

Fast Paleo Breakfast Ideas: 

Banana Smash: Mash up a banana, mix it with a heaping scoop of almond butter, pour some unsweetend coconut flakes over it and mash it all together.

Fruit smoothies:  You know when strawberries start to get a little "ehhh?"  Right when that happens I throw them in a baggie and freeze them and use them for smoothies.  Fruit smoothies are one of my - and my kids' favorite paleo breakfasts.   Mix frozen strawberries (or fresh and some ice), blueberries, a banana and some coconut milk in a blender!  Nothing like drinking your fruit...and these are even kid approved!

Another one of my favorites is an easy take on a tropical smoothie.  Add ice to the blender, pour in coconut milk (enough to cover about half of the ice), add fresh or canned pineapple and a whole banana. 

Hardboiled eggs:  At least once a week I'll hardboil a bunch of eggs and keep them in the fridge for when I need a quick paleo snack.  These are great for when I don't have time to make scrambled eggs, fried eggs, or an omelet.

Fast Paleo Lunches:

BLT Club Lettuce wraps:  Using bibb (or Boston) lettuce as the "wrap", roll up a piece of lunchmeat turkey, add a slice of bacon, some tomato and avocado slices and hard boiled egg. Roll up and eat like a wrap.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad with Prosciutto: Cut a tomato and cucumber into large chunks.  Loosely rip 2-3 pieces of prosciutto on top and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Tuna in a Tomato:  Mix half a can of tuna fish with half an avocado add salt and pepper to taste.   Slice a whole tomato into 8 equal wedges without cutting completely through.  Put the tuna mixture on top of the tomato and drizzle with balsamic.

Smoothies: In addition to the above smoothie recipes, my go-to lunch smoothie always an almond butter banana smoothie because it's filling enough to last me 'til dinner.   Add ice to the blender, cover ice partially with almond milk.  Add a heaping spoonful of almond butter and one banana.  Blend and enjoy.

Leftovers from the night before (unless, your husband is like mine, and steals them all for work!)

 

Fast Paleo Dinner Ideas:

Chicken Lettuce Tacos: Throw four or five whole chicken breasts (they can be frozen or thaw) into a crockpot with a small jar of salsa and a pack of taco seasoning.   Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  Shred the chicken with a fork about an hour before the cooking is done.  Stir and let it continue cooking in the crockpot.  Use bibb lettuce or romaine with the spine cut out to make tacos.  Top the chicken with guacamole (smashed avocado, lime juice, salt and pepper)

Old Bay Steamed Shrimp: Water+Vinegar+Old Bay+Shrimp=1 delicious paleo dinner.  Serve with a side of sweet potato fries and you're set in no time.