Five Paleo Dinners To Cook Next Week #63

We spent last week in Berlin, visiting one of our favorite people (Hi, Tillie!), immersing ourselves in history, and eating all the food. Currywurst! Nutella! Vietnamese pho! Thai Curry! Roasted pork knuckle and sauerkraut! (And cake… ssshhhh.)

Read all about our Berlin adventures here (including Turkish food at Defne. So good so good so good.).

It’s such a delight to eat food from one country while surrounded by the language of another.

Since I can’t teleport all of you here with me—much as I wish I could—I’ve collected some of my favorite international recipes this week. They’re guaranteed to instantly transport you to another place, at least in your imagination, and they’re all Whole30 and paleo compliant—because I like you and I want you to be happy and healthy.

Dinner Ideas (Whole30 compliant)

Cold Sesame-Cucumber Noodles

Cookup Tips: You can spiralize the cucumber noodles and make the sauce in advance; store them separately in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. To make a complete meal, you need to add protein. Cooked chicken, steak, pork, salmon, and shrimp are all awesome! You might also add a hard-boiled egg or two. (From Well Fed 2.)

Recommended Sides: This is a one-dish wonder! No sides required.

Italian Sausage and Eggplant Strata

Cookup Tips: This tastes better when you don’t eat it right away, so make it during a leisurely cookup, cover it tightly with foil, and slide it into the fridge for 3-4 days. When you’re ready to eat it, reheat in a 300F oven, covered, until hot—or cut it cold into pieces and reheat in a non-stick skillet on the stovetop. It’s also great diced and mixed into an egg scramble. (From Well Fed.)

Recommended Sides: This is really nice with Simple Lemon Spinach or Zucchini Noodles with olive oil and freshly, crushed garlic.

Paleo Gado Gado

Cookup Tips: This is the perfect meal for a weeknight if you cook “generic” protein and veggies (and hard-boiled eggs) during your Weekly Cookup. This recipe uses chicken, but beef, pork, fish, or seafood also works—and any combination of steamed and raw veggies tastes good! You can even make the sauce in advance and store in the fridge for up to 5 days, so when you’re ready to eat, it’s just a matter of assembling the ingredients on your plate.

Recommended Sides: No sides needed!

Çevapçiçi, aka, cute Balkan sausages

Cookup Tips: The meat “dough” can be made 1 day in advance then cooked—or you can cook the çevapçiçi during your Cookup and re-heat just before eating. They’ll stay fresh and tasty for 5-6 days after cooking. They also freeze like champs! The original recipe calls for grilling, but you can also make these little guys in the oven: 425F for 20 minutes or so.

Recommended Sides: These taste great on a pile of Oven-Roasted Cauliflower Rice and do not skip the Ajvar recipe below! On our travels, we also ate these with shopska salat: a chopped salad of cucumber, tomato, onion, and bell pepper dressed with lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. It’s very similar to my Turkish Chopped Salad.

Yucatan Green Chile Sauté

Cookup Tips: This recipe takes just 30 minutes, so you could make it to order. If you want to get a jump on it, rice the cauliflower, prepare the spice blend, and make the sauce in advance; store everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, begin with the “Cook the meat” step. (From Well Fed Weeknights.)

Recommended Sides: You don’t need one, but if you want to add some resistant starch—and extra yumminess—you could make some Crispy Plantains.

Extras (Whole30 compliant)

Ajvar

Cookup Tips: Make this during your Cookup and add zing to your meals for weeks! It’s great on the çevapçiçi, bunless burgers, grilled/roasted chicken, and fish. The original recipe calls for grilling the peppers, but you can roast them in the oven.

Ambrosia Salad

Cookup Tips: This recipe requires a bit of forethought: place a can (14.5 ounces) of full fat coconut milk in the refrigerator, ideally overnight, but 3-4 hours will do. You can make this in its entirety during your Cookup; it will stay fresh for 4-5 days.

WANT TO GET A NOTIFICATION OF MY “5 PALEO DINNERS TO COOK NEXT WEEK” SENT TO YOUR EMAIL EVERY THURSDAY? SIGN UP HERE!

NEED MORE DETAILED MEAL PLANNING HELP? ALL OF THE WELL FED RECIPES ARE AVAILABLE ON REAL PLANS!