The paleo diet is extremely simple: eat meat, fish, fruits, veggies, eggs, and nuts. Avoid dairy, grains, legumes and processed foods. Eat what our paleolithic ancestors would have eaten, being grateful for the fact that we hunt our food with a grocery cart and a bank card instead of with spears and knives.
Of course, just because something is simple doesn’t mean that it feels easy, especially at first.
People who have spent their lives basing their meals around pasta, beans or bread sometimes find themselves at a loss when they start experimenting with a paleo lifestyle. If you can’t eat spaghetti and crusty bread, then what can you eat? Paleo blogs and recipes abound online, but it can be overwhelming to sort through them when you’re making such a major lifestyle change.
Here is one simple way that you can transition to paleo meals – without spending hours meal planning or running to the health food store to buy a half dozen ingredients that you’ve never heard of before.
The Easy Paleo Diet Plate
Mentally divide your plate into three.
• Fill one section with a root vegetable like yams, carrots or turnips. These can be prepared in a variety of ways: roasted, steamed, mashed. Because root vegetables are hearty and filling, they can help ease the transition from rice, white potatoes, and pasta.
• Fill one section with other vegetables. Steam some broccoli, stir-fry some mixed vegetables or make a garden salad.
• Fill one section with protein. Fry up a couple of eggs, grill a steak or bake some fish.
Done!
Yes, it really is that easy.
Using this formula, you can create meals with almost unlimited combinations:
• grilled sirloin, roasted yam, and steamed broccoli
• baked salmon, mashed turnip and roasted cauliflower
• baked pork chop, steamed carrots, and stir-fried mixed vegetables
• omelet (Eggland’s Best eggs and vegetables, no cheese), pan-fried yams and a garden salad
• shrimp, roasted root vegetables and stir-fried cabbage
Finish off with some fruit, like an apple or a bowl of berries, and you have a satisfying, nutritious meal, complete with dessert!
There’s no need to feel limited or to get bored with your food. The paleo diet is filled with fresh, delicious ingredients that can easily come together to create a beautiful meal without having to agonize over menu planning – or hunt wild boar, for that matter.
Related Articles By Cathe:
Eat Like a Caveman: The Paleo Diet
Workout Like a Caveman: Exercise to Complement the Paleo Diet
I understand no pasta or rice…but no white potatoes?? Why would you need to transition from a potato — aren’t they naturally grown in the ground like other vegetables?
Poor potatoes. I think white potatoes — or any other potato (red, golden, etc.) get such a bad rap. When you eat them with the skin on, they are not “bad” for you. It’s when you load them up with all the toppings that they become a nutritional nightmare.
Hi Candice, You’re right – I’ve been eating strict paleo for 7 months now and once in a while I MUST have some potatoes. Never felt it would have any bad effects on me 🙂 I started with the 8 week meal plan in the paleo recipe book (on: timreviews.com/paleo-recipe) which gives you solid foundation. After that it’s easy to create your own paleo plan without problems.
Cindy