Five Paleo Dinners To Cook Next Week – Anniversary Edition

In honor of the one-year anniversary (!) of my cookbook Well Fed Weeknights, this week’s collection of recipes is a roundup of crazy-good meals from the book. It’s a dozen recipes, and I gotta tell you: I love every one of them.

Bonus: All of these recipes can be made in 45 minutes or less!

But if I’ve got you trained to do a Weekly Cookup, do not despair! As you know if you already own Well Fed Weeknights—and really, if you don’t, you should get a copy—each recipe includes Cookup Tips so you can do prep once and save time all week long.

Shameless plug: This cookbook includes 128 complete paleo meals that can be cooked in 45 minutes or less—75% of them take just 30—and they’re also Whole30 compliant. Hey, Real Plans users! As you know, more than 200 recipes from the Well Fed trilogy are included in Real Plans—and now there are about 30 recipes from Well Fed Weeknights included, too. Happy cooking!

OK. Now that the business is out of the way: Thank you for buying our cookbook, making the recipes in your kitchens, sharing your photos, and just generally making me feel like we’re all in this together. I hope you celebrate your commitment to good health (and yummy food) this week with these recipes.

Dinners (Whole30 compliant)

Yucatan Green Chile Sauté

About the Recipe: This recipe was inspired by the crazy-good food we ate on a trip to Tulum and Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It comes together really quickly, so it’s great for a dinner when you’re yearning for something comforting and fast, and the leftovers taste great topped with fried eggs or mixed into a scramble.

Cookup Tips: 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.

Deconstructed Sushi Bowl

About the Recipe: This recipe delivers the contrasting flavors and textures of a fresh maki roll in a friendly bowl. It’s sushi you eat with a fork! And it takes just 35 minutes, fridge to table.

Cookup Tips: Rice and cook the cauliflower and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, prep the other ingredients while you reheat the rice.

Chicken Shawarma

About the Recipe: Shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish, similar to döner kebabs (Turkey) and gyros (Greece), an it’s almost a meat salad if you do it right. To me, it’s the toppings that really make the fun: shredded raw veggies, creamy tahini sauce, maybe a spritz of lemon juice, or a few pickles…

Cookup Tips: Cook the chicken, cut up the veggies, make the sauce, and store everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, reheat the chicken and assemble.

Paleo Pizza Noodles

About the Recipe: These zucchini noodles are topped with a quick, homemade Italian sausage, plus pepperoni, jalapeños, and olives—and they’ll make you feel like you can conquer the world.

Cookup Tips: Spiralize and sweat the zucchini noodles. Precook the ground meat with the spices and pepperoni. Make the sauce. Store everything separately in airtight containers in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and stir-fry the whole shebang.

Fried Chicken Meatballs

About the Recipe: I actually did a bunch of research to find the Colonel’s secret recipe from Kentucky Fried Chicken to figure out the seasonings in the coating. I think it worked! Cooking time? 30-35 minutes.

Cookup Tips: Season the ground chicken and form the meatballs. Prep the fried chicken coating. Wash and cut the collard greens. Store everything separately in airtight containers in the fridge, then follow the directions for cooking the meatballs and greens.

Nigerian Beef Street Fries

About the Recipe: This recipe for Spicy Nigerian Beef on oven-baked fries is just one of 12 meat-and-potato recipes in Well Fed Weeknights. Spicy beef, fresh veggies, crispy fries… what else do you need?

Cookup Tips: Make the spice blend, cut the steak, prep the veggies, and cook the potatoes in advance, then when it’s time to eat, give the meat a quick stir-fry while the fries bake and dig in!

Curry Chicken-Salad Salad

About the Recipe: Don’t be put off by what looks like a long ingredients list! It’s mostly spices, salad fixings, and ingredients you need to make the homemade mayo. This recipe is dead simple; it’s just a bunch of components, but that’s what makes salads taste good!

Cookup Tips: Cook the chicken, make the dressing, toast the nuts and coconut, and cut up the raw veggies; store everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, toss the chicken with the curry dressing and prepare the salad bed.

Greens with Potatoes & Sausage

About the Recipe: These greens slinky, not mushy, and make a nutritious bed for spicy sausage and tender potatoes. Super comfort food that’s ready fast.

Cookup Tips: Boil the potatoes, wash and cut the kale, and mix and cook the sausage. Store everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge, then when it’s time to eat, follow the instructions to bring it all together.

Italian Hoagie Salad

About the Recipe: It’s all the best parts of a hoagie, without the annoying bread.

Cookup Tips: Prep the dressing and place it in a jar. Julienne and slice the remaining ingredients, then toss them together in large, airtight container. Store every- thing in the fridge. Toss the salad with the dressing just before eating.

Banh Mi Bowl

About the Recipe: It’s all the best parts of a banh mi sandwich, without the annoying baguette.

Cookup Tips: Make the mayo and cut all the raw veggies and herbs; store everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, stir-fry the pork and build your bowl.

Condiment (Whole30 compliant)

‘Good Seasons’ Italian Dressing

About the Recipe: It’s the homemade version of the commercial salad dressing we ate every night when I was growing up.

Cookup Tips: Take about 3 minutes to make during your Cookup, and then you can eat delicious salads all week long.

Treat (not Whole30 compliant)

  Sweet & Salty Fudge Bombs

About the Recipe: A little something sweet to celebrate once a while is a good idea.

Cookup Tips: These hold up great in the refrigerator, so you can make them in advance. Feel free to cut the recipe in half; it works just fine that way.

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