I’ve been eating Whole30-style paleo since 2009, and somewhere along the way, following the guidelines stopped being a massive pain in the butt and just...
Read MoreFive Paleo Dinners To Cook Next Week #25
It wasn’t until I looked at the list of recipes I chose for this week in its entirety that I was struck by this fact:
I’m really into salads right now.
Part of it is that the warmer weather (until that freak snow shower a few days ago!) has me craving cool and crunchy things. And part of it is that I just finished a section of my new cookbook called The Ultimate Salad Bar, and we were taste-testing salad dressings for days. My go-to meal right now (breakfast, lunch, dinner—it doesn’t matter) is fish from a can, like smoked clams or kipper snacks; a pickled egg; homemade sauerkraut; pickled beets; a few olives; and raw carrots, cucumbers, and peppers. I could—and do—eat that every day.
Now, I’m going to get you on the salad train, too! Here are five paleo and Whole30 compliant recipes you could make for dinner next week, along with a recommendation for a magic elixir (!) and caramelized coconut chips because you could surely use a little something salty-sweet right about now.
Dinner Ideas (Whole30 compliant)
Italian Hoagie Salad
Cookup Tips: This taste best when it’s tossed just before eating, but if you wanted to get a jump on it, you could pre-julienne the deli meats.
Recommended Sides: It’s everything you need in one delicious bowl!
Chicken Nanking
Cookup Tips: Start the marinade process during your Cookup and cook the chicken the next day. You can also prep the veggies and sauce in advance and store covered in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
Recommended Sides: You will definitely want to serve this on a bed of Oven-Roasted Cauliflower Rice. You can grate the raw cauliflower into rice during your Cookup, then cook it just before eating.
Golden Cauliflower Soup
Cookup Tips: Make it with Golden Bone Broth to give yourself a super-gut, and/or add some Vital Proteins Grass-Fed Collagen Peptides for a protein boost. Soup is the perfect Cookup recipe—it’s like a hug all week long!
Recommended Sides: To make a complete meal, you’ll need to add some protein. I like this soup with basic pork chops—or brown ground pork with salt and pepper, then sprinkle the meat crumbles on top of the soup.
Thai Yummy Salad
Cookup Tips: This salad is bright, crisp, fresh, and load with irresistible umami. You’ll need to add protein to make a complete meal: roasted chicken, poached shrimp, and cooked salmon are the best choices. (Use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or canned salmon to make it über-easy.) You can make the dressing and cut all the veggies in advance and store them in covered containers or baggies, then when it’s time to eat, just toss and devour.
Recommended Sides: You really don’t need anything else, but if you wanted to make a layered Thai bowl with Oven-Roasted Cauliflower Rice on the bottom, salad in the middle, and a some hot-from-the-stove chicken on top, I wouldn’t stop you. The contrast of hot rice with cool veggies is pretty awesome.
Piña Colada Chicken
Cookup Tips: This recipe takes only about 35 minutes to prepare, so I recommend you make it “to order,” but you can get a jumpstart during your Cookup by making the Jerk Seasoning and cutting up the chicken and veggies. When it’s time to eat, all that’s left to do is stir-fry and simmer.
Recommended Sides: Fill the bottom of a bowl with Oven-Roasted Cauliflower Rice or Zucchini Noodles to soak up the luscious sauce.
Paleo Staple (Whole30 compliant)
Golden Bone Broth
Cookup Tips: Broth is pretty much the definition of Cookup food: Set it to simmer and forget about it for a while. A nice big batch means plenty of healthy soups and mugs o’ love in your future.
Snack (Whole30 compliant)
Caramelized Coconut Chips
Cookup Tips: These take about 5 minutes to make, so make them “to order” when you need a little snack. They’re also awesome sprinkled on Piña Colada Chicken, tossed into Thai Yummy Salad, or floating on the surface of Golden Cauliflower Soup.
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Your Italian Hoagie Salad has become a staple in our house! We make it with our favorite hoagie toppings, which means tomatoes, cucumber, olives, banana peppers, salami and pepperoni. It is so satisfying, and I never thought I’d crave a salad…but I do this one!
I’m so glad it’s a hit! That’s one of the new recipes from my upcoming cookbook. It’s always a relief to know the new ones are keepers. Thanks so much!
I love that you watch Criminal Minds! I watch an episode (maybe more) every night as well and have a crush on all the characters.
Spencer Reid! And Garcia! And Prentiss! I think we should all be best friends 😉
Yay! Golden Cauliflower Soup! I just made it this week and have 2 quarts left! And we made the Czech Meatballs today… so glad to have salad suggestions, as I think my hustand could eat the whole batch of Meatballs in one sitting, but we have plenty of veggies. We both commented today that none of your recipes ever turn out less than tasty. Looking forward to your new cookbook, even though I’m still working my way through the first two. 🙂 Sooo… When do you even find time to read, Mel? You are so disciplined!
Oh, man. Those Czech meatballs are good, aren’t they?! I really love caraway. Hope you have some fun with the salads!
As for reading… I read every night before bed. We say, out loud, around 9:00 every night, “It’s time for bed.” Then I do my nighttime routine and am usually in bed reading by 9:30. Lights out at 10-ish.
Yes, I like discipline 🙂
I can’t wait to make the Italian Hoagie Salad this weekend. Your first two cookbooks absolutely LIVE on my kitchen counter, so I am thrilled to hear that you are writing a third! As a hard-core food geek, I really appreciate the range of ethnic flavors that you have in your recipes. Do you have a release date yet for the new book?
You have to let me know how you like the Italian Hoagie Salad! I love that WF and WF2 are hanging out on your counter; that’s so awesome! Thank you for that super sweet compliment. The new cookbook—Well Fed Weeknights—will be out on November 1, 2016, but we’ll start some exciting pre-sale celebrations and special goodies in September. Can’t wait!
I am drooling right now. I just finished lunch (SB&J Burger leftovers) and I can’t stop staring at that beautiful Pina Colada Chicken! Its definitely going to be “in mah belly” tonight.
WF2 is on the truck out for delivery as we speak and I keep running to the front of the office to see if it has arrived yet. LOL CHRISTMAS!
THANK YOU! You have made my first Whole30 so easy. My Hero.
HOORAY! Have fun with the WF2 recipes! The Piña Colada Chicken is in that book.
You made me hungry for an SB&J Burger!
I made the Chicken Nanking this week and had leftovers for several days. On Friday night I often get Chinese take-out BUT this week I heated up the leftover Nanking and then put it in one of the to-go containers that I’d saved (just for fun !) and had my meal while we watched the movie Sisters . I also made the salmon patties this week and shared the recipe with curios co-workers. Thanks so much for the cookbooks….looking forward to the next one.
OMG! I love that! The take-out container is a touch of genius.
Hey, Great recipes! Have you considered writing some with Low FODMAPs plus AIP plus whole30 versions? Many thanks!
Rather than try to adapt my non-AIP recipes, I recommend that if you need to follow the AIP, you used recipes specifically written for the AIP. They’ll taste a lot better because they’re designed to work without spices, tomatoes, eggs, etc. And there are so many good ones now! My two favorites are AutoImmune Paleo (http://autoimmune-paleo.com/) and Paleo Mom (http://www.thepaleomom.com/).