Five Paleo Dinners To Cook Next Week #80

I recently re-read The Historian because I wanted to be in that story when we visited Budapest—and we’ve been planning a Danube River cruise with my parents, so my brain is firmly planted in Eastern Europe. I am all about gothic spires and walled monasteries and Vlad Tepeş right now.

Let’s all eat some Vampire-Fighting Stew.

The stew is garlicky goodness that just might double as a tasty weapon, should the need arise. If you have sauerkraut on hand to serve under the stew, all the better—but it’s also delicious atop a bed of sautéed cabbage or even some mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower.

Beyond being prepared for an undead attack, this post includes four more paleo and Whole30 compliant recipes you could make for dinner next week, along with a recommendation for a creamy salad dressing and savory Whole30 compliant olives that are great on their own or tossed into leafy salads. I’m also super into salads right now because I currently have zero cooking mojo.

I hope these recipes inspire your cooking mojo—have fun in the kitchen!

(I should also mention that I’m about 60% into The Weight of Ink, and it’s tremendously good—a rich story with plenty to think about, but also very entertaining. I’ll tell you more about it when I’m finished, but if you’re looking for a good read now, this could be for you.)

Dinner Ideas (Whole30 compliant)

Vampire-Fighting Paleo Pork Stew

Cookup Tips: This tastes even better after a few days in the fridge, so you can make it up to 5 days in advance. It also freezes very well, so think about a double batch. It tastes really great on a bed of shredded cabbage that’s quick-sautéed withe a little olive oil.

Recommended Sides: Mashed Cauliflower, boiled potatoes, sauerkraut, or sautéed cabbage.

Mexican Meatza

Cookup Tips: The Meatza can be baked for the first time in advance, then just before eating, add the toppings and do the second bake. (You might prefer to go the Italian route; you do you.)

Recommended Sides: This tastes really great Crispy (green) Plantains, or a salad with Cumin-Lime Dressing. Plantains can be boiled and smashed during a Cookup, then crisped in a pan just before your meal. The Cumin-Lime Dressing tastes fresh for about a week, so you can make that in advance, too!

Comfort Noodles

Cookup Tips: Prep the zucchini noodles in advance: sweat, rinse, squeeze, and store in the fridge. Then when you’re ready to eat, the Comfort Noodles come together in minutes! And if you make a lot of zucchini noodles, you’ll have them for other meals throughout the week.

Recommended Sides: This is a complete meal in a bowl and really doesn’t need sides. YAY! Although, if you wanted to beef it up a bit, you could add some cooked ground meat, along with the eggs.

Merguez Meatballs

Cookup Tips: Meatball “dough” can be made one day in advance and cooked the next day; cooked meatballs are good for about a week in the fridge, and they freeze well, so a double batch is a great idea!

Recommended Sides: These are nice served on a bed of Oven-Roasted Cauliflower Rice (and both can be baked at the same time, same temp!) and drizzled with Moroccan Dipping Sauce. You can grate the raw cauliflower into rice and store it covered in the fridge to cook just before eating. Moroccan Dipping Sauce tastes fresh for about 4-5 days.

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!

Condiment (Whole30 compliant)

Creamy Italian Dressing

Cookup Tips: Make this during your Cookup and add flair to your meals all week. It’s great on salads, sure, but you can also drizzle it on hot vegetables or a roasted chicken breast, plop it on a bunless burger, and use it as a dipper for roasted sweet potato wedges.

Snack (Whole30 compliant)

Marinated Olives

Cookup Tips: I usually make these on holidays, then one day I thought, “Um… I can eat these any day of the year!” It was a very exciting realization. Mix up a batch in, like, 10 minutes, then add them to tossed salad, salad platters, and snacks all week long. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

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