This Paleo Plan is for my friend Leslie Dietrich. Our children play baseball together and Leslie and I had the pleasure of thrift shopping our way through Waco, Texas last summer when their team was in the Regional Little League World Series Playoffs.
Like me, Leslie has a host of auto-immune disorders. Unlike me, she still eats gluten and grains. Leslie asked me for an eating plan that she could try for one week to see if the symptoms in her hands and other parts of her body would change. One week is probably not long enough (30 days is optimal) for seeing results from a change in diet. So if you want, just repeat this meal plan 4 times, or make your own, using the recipes from this site and Paleo sites such as Everyday Paleo or Paleo Parents.
Please note, this eating plan is not designed for someone who is trying to lose weight, this is not a diet plan. This is an anti-inflammatory eating plan that can be used by some people to improve overall health and wellness. If you do need to lose weight, feel free to refer to Loren Cordain’s book The Paleo Diet or Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution, those 2 books have very specific weight loss plans that utilize the grain free diet as a base for weight reduction.
This post is for people that want to incorporate more nutrient dense foods into their diet by eliminating the grains that are toxic to a large percentage of us. So, eat your veggies. They’re far more nutrient dense than grains. Or as my dear Dad has been saying for the past 40 years, “Eat the rainbow!”
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Sunday
- Breakfast
- Silver Dollar Pancakes
- Turkey or Pork Bacon
- Fresh Berries
- Lunch
- Turkey Club Sandwich
- Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Dinner
- Sesame Salmon Burgers
- Garlic Ginger Bok Choy or Steamed Broccoli
-
Monday
- Breakfast
- 2 slices Paleo Bread
- 3 Scrambled Eggs
- 1 Grapefruit
- Lunch
- Turkey Club Sandwich
- Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Dinner
- Cod Piccata
- Roasted Broccoli
- Cabbage Orange Salad
-
Tuesday
- Breakfast
- Almond Butter Protein Shake
- Toasted Almonds
- Lunch
- Turkey Roll Ups
- Fresh Blueberries
- Dinner
- Cobb Salad
- Mushroom Soup
-
Wednesday
- Breakfast
- 3 Fried Eggs
- Turkey or Pork Bacon
- ½ Avocado
- Lunch
- Leftover Mushroom Soup
- Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Dinner
- Roasted Chicken with Olives and Prunes
- Roasted Butternut Squash
- Steamed Broccoli
-
Thursday
- Breakfast
- Greena Colada (add 1 scoop protein powder)
- Handful of Dehydrated Almonds
- Lunch
- Turkey Club Sandwich
- Veggie Sticks
- Dinner
- Chicken Soup
- Green Salad
- Roasted Acorn Squash
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Friday
- Breakfast
- 3 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 slices Paleo Toast
- Fresh Raspberries
- Lunch
- Leftover Chicken Soup
- Green Salad
- Dinner
- Chili Chicken
- Cauliflower Rice
- Green Salad
-
Saturday
- Breakfast
- Almond Butter Protein Shake
- Lunch
- Leftover Chili Chicken
- Leftover Cauliflower Rice
- Dinner
- Stuffed Peppers
- Grilled Broccoli
-
Snacks
- Fruit
- Green Apples
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Other Fruit
- Veggies
- Veggie Sticks
- Protein
- Turkey Jerky
- Bacon
- Protein/Carbs
- Dehydrated Nuts
- Crackers
Some of the recipes above might not be super strict Paleo, however if you make quick and easy substitutions they can be. All are grain free and primal; they are Paleo friendly as well.
For the snack section of this plan, I have listed the lower glycemic fruits that work best for me. If you like to eat sweeter fruits, feel free to add those in to your plan. However, if you have trouble with sugar, it may be best to stick with less fruit and low glycemic at that.
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What is your favorite Paleo dish and what are your health goals for 2012?
Christiane says
I would love to try out this meal plan since I suffer from a number of immune system problems (allergies, asthma, eczema), but I’m allergic to nuts! Deadly to peanuts, quite allergic to cashews, and almonds I can only eat withouth ichting in my mouth if I take antihistamines beforehand…is it possible to follow your diet without the use of nuts ? Btw, I’m not allergic to coconut (TG!).
Love,
from a 26-year old Norwegian, soon-to-be-driven-crazy by all this itching, sneezing, and low energy
newly paleo kris says
christiane, hang in there! it’s true that nuts are just very convenient snacks and have a good protein/fat ratio, but there is absolutely no reason you can’t eat a paleo style diet without nuts.
if you crave a particular receipe that calls for almonds or other nuts, you might try to substitute them for seeds (sunflower or pumpkin, for example — whatver you can get in stores locally and won’t ruin you financially); i’ve certainly baked pumpkin seed muffins with great success.
if subsituting is not feasible (i imagine money would be an issue in the long run), just enjoy more of the great dessert receipes that call for coconut milk or cream. :)
for the immune-boosting benefits of a paleo diet, all (haha!) that you need to cut out are the starches and sugars that can aid inflamation, plus the chemical junk often found in processed foods.
newly paleo kris says
nice!
after moving house and a period of travelling where i really didn’t manage to focus on good foods as much as i would have liked, i have now cut out grains and sugar again, and enjoy shopping for veggies and spending time in the kitchen feeling good about myself. :)
my “secret” paleo miracle snack that has helped me enormously in situations where i needed stuff for on-the-go, knew i had no time for “proper” cooking, or simply had grown tired of nuts or fruit, are scrambled egg muffins. there are dozens of recipes to be found online, but essentially they are just scrambled egg batter, ideally with lots of veggies added, baked in muffin tins. they are delicious, filling, easily wrapped and fit into any lunchbox, and can be made in lots of varieties.
i think i’ll need to try your paleo and nutty breads next — i think they’ll be great for those times when i just need a quick fix.
Jamie says
Elana,
Thank you so much for this Paleo menu plan. I hope it has helped your friend. Also by posting it here it is helping so many more! I will be trying many of your recipes this week. I logged on looking for a good dessert to make to take to friend’s house tonight and found this wonderful post! Thank you! This site is quickly becoming one of my favorite’s. Would LOVE to see more gluten free/Paleo menus in the future!
Jamie
Molly says
I’ve only recently stumbled upon your site after going paleo. I’m so glad to have found it! I’m wondering if there’s an option to search for “grain free” tagged recipes on your site?
Tracy says
As someone who has evolved from gluten free to Paleo, pretty much right along with you, I LOVE all your Paleo posts. Keep ’em coming.
CJ says
I have to let you know I made your paleo bread (two loafs) intending to give one away to my paleo co-worker… then I got greedy and kept them both. :) Love it with a little slather of sunflower seed butter or almond butter and a date for dessert.
Judy Smith says
This is wonderful! Thank you sooooo much.
barb says
E – This is great! A huge help to have someone else figure this out for the week for a change. Any chance you would consider posting 2 meal plans for each season – so maybe one more soon for winter? Then i would have a nice two week rotation for seasonal paleo eating :)
Thanks for a great site that always inspires me.
Mollie Frances says
Hi Elana,
I have more friends who are trying some version of low carb, sugar free diets- I think people are excited to really make lasting change with their health. I’ve been working on a weekly meal plan, for others but also for myself. It’s a great way to focus and not get overwhelmed.
My health goal for 2012 is to eat more green smoothies and do a few cleanses. You have some great smoothie/juice recipes that I can’t wait to try!
Mollie
The Healthy Apple says
Lovely meal plan; this looks fabulous Elana. Thank you for sharing; I’m surely going to use some of these recipes for my week ahead.
Happy New Year!
xo