Going Paleo Part 5: Making it Work for You

I've got news, then I've got good news and I've got bad news. The news is that this is the last post in my quick series to get you started on paleo eating. It's focus is on tips and tricks for making it easy and making it work with your lifestyle. The bad news is that I join the working world in less than 48 hours and cannot devote all my waking hours to trying to new recipes and cooking every meal. The good news is that I have lots of good news.

1. I am joining the working world (income yay!) and get to be a real grown up, rather than in a weird transitory not-student/not-working state. 
2. The inspired chef in me may have to take a back seat, but the ornery planner gets to have her hay-day. 
3. I finally went to HuKitchen, a paleo restaurant in NYC. Not only is it phenomenal, but they are also opening a second location 5 blocks from my home!
4. My mom and I had an awesome weekend in the city and did a lot of cooking. The result? A spectacular brisket recipe (jaw-droppingly good) that I am going to share with you!
5. As I learn more about about fitting a paleo eating style into a busy work schedule, I will share my experiences with you; thus making your life easier at the expense of my foibles. So keep an eye out for these tips to evolve as time goes on!

Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

If you're a "planner," you are going to love this; if you aren't, well then you're going to have to get over it. Planning out your meals for the week on the weekend takes decision making and grocery buying out of your work-week. It requires you to take stock of what you have in your kitchen, what needs to be eaten before it goes bad and keeps you from over-buying at the grocery store.

Use this link to pull up a copy of the template I use. Step 1, if you have plans for the week (or want to make plans) put that on your grid. For example, if you are going to dinner with a friend on Tuesday night, put that on Tuesday for Dinner. If you have a lunch meeting on Thursday, put that on Thursday Lunch. Step 2, decide what you are going to eat at your meals. It doesn't have to be set and stone and you can switch things around as they come up, but fill in all your blocks with meals. Step 3, make your grocery list for the week based on the meals you have just filled in.

TIPS:

• Choose two or three breakfasts for the week and alternate them. 
• Plan to eat leftovers; copy and paste a meal from Monday dinner into Wednesday dinner and just make double on Monday. 
• Base your meals on things you already have in your refrigerator, pantry and freezer; otherwise you may forget to eat them before they go bad. 
• Look at how much of each thing you are eating. If on Wednesday, you have bacon for breakfast, carnitas for lunch and pork chops for dinner, you might want to switch up your proteins. Meal planning is a great way to make sure you are getting variety and a full spectrum of nutrients into your meals. 

#SundayMealPrep

Everyone follows someone on insta who posts what looks like enough chicken breasts, broccoli and rice to feed a small nation followed by #SundayMealPrep. Now, i'm not saying eat something as bland as that, but meal prep can save you a host of time during the week. You can prep as much (making pre-cooked or assembled meals for the whole week) or as little as you want (setting ingredients next to each other in the fridge). These are my recommendations:

• Wash and chop your vegetables - onions, squash, tomatoes, cucumber slices, etc. It's like buying pre-sliced at the store, except you just saved yourself a bazillion dollars. 
• "Rice" a whole head of cauliflower in the food processor and store "rice" in fridge for when you need it in the week; changing up your flavors to match your meals.
• Make a breakfast item or two that can be eaten throughout the week (granola, banana bread, breakfast casserole).
• Assemble a couple of salads. Make dressing and store in fridge either in individual containers or in a big one you can take and leave in the fridge at work. 
• Make sure you have a treat for the week; be it a bar of dark chocolate, pumpkin brownies (i'm making these tonight), or even just your favorite fruit. Life is stressful and you want to have something to reach for on a bad day that isn't going to derail your entire diet. 
• Cook Sunday dinner in your slow cooker (see below); make double or triple the amount you need and either freeze the extra for another week or eat leftovers at another point in the week. 

Make Ahead and Freeze

I'm sure you are thinking that I should stop repeating myself, but making meals ahead of time and freezing them is a great way to cut back on your weekly cooking without having to sacrifice quality and flavor. You can freeze in individual portions or if cooking for a family, double a recipe and freeze half. The classic freezer move is to double a casserole recipe, eat one and freeze one. However, the possibilities for freezing are endless - soups, stews, broths, casseroles, meal portions, vegetables, sausage patties, salmon cakes, meat, pancakes, frittatas, muffins, brownies, cookies, ice cream, cut fruit for smoothies, etc. Start stocking your freezer and you will always have something  on hand. See my post "Making it Paleo: Lamb and Butternut Squash Stew" for a great freezer friendly dish and links to great freezer-friendly containers.

Prepared and Packaged Food

I am fully prepared for and anticipating that my insistence upon making everything from scratch is going to quickly spiral into nonexistence. Back to HuKitchen for a minute - they have an entire prepared foods section where you can purchase things like curried sweet potatoes, meatballs, salmon cakes, salads, etc., by the pound. At places like Whole Foods you can stock up on prepared foods like this as well and keep in your fridge (or freezer) for when you're in a pinch. I foresee many many deliveries and prepared food purchases from HuKitchen in my future. There are also great products out there that can serve as shortcuts. I talked about some of these in Part 3, but will highlight a some key options.

• Coconut Grove Coconut Yogurt - visit their website for a coupon for a free 6 oz yogurt!
• Paleo Granola - either Paleo People or Paleonola or any other brand that is Grain Free
• Chicken Sausages 
• NEATO TIP: Those first three items together + some berries make a great breakfast!
• Deli Meat, Wild Caught Canned Salmon and Salami - this is in italics because it has been a shortcut I've used since day 1. I get Applegate chicken or turkey shredded and then automatically have my protein for my salad, filling for an omelet or protein for the quickest stir-fry ever. Same thing goes for the salmon or salami (just make sure to get gluten-free brands). 
• Pre-sliced and frozen fruit and vegetables
• Larabars, Fruit Strips and Epic Bars/Jerky (or other gluten, refined sugar and soy free jerky - read the labels) for snacks. 
• Applegate farms has gluten-free frozen products, including chicken nuggets! Look out for frozen vegan sides and meals as well as they are generally paleo-ish at the very least. Pair with your applegate farms frozen protein and BOOM your microwave TV dinners are back. Remember however that paleo is grain-free not gluten-free so let's not make those chicken nuggets a regular habit.
• Nut milks and nut butters - IF YOU HAVE TO. I am still refusing at this point because of the massive cost difference in making your own, but do what you gotta do. 
• Desserts - coconut milk ice cream and other paleo compliant treats are pretty widely available. Pick up some if you just really don't want to make your own. 

The Ultimate Kitchen Magician - Slow-Cooker w/ Automatic Cut-off

I know talking about freezing and the slow cooker is getting repetitive, but that's just because they are your greatest allies in the fight against your SAD eating habits (Standard American Diet). The slow cooker is magical and the most skilled magician of its kind is the programmable slow cooker that automatically switches to warming mode (PS Dear Santa...). Fun fact: the product is a slow cooker and Crock-Pot is a brand. Sure, you can make the slow cooker complicated OR you can tap into its power of turning just a few ingredients to an amazing dinner, without you having to lift a finger when you get home from work. Google slow cooker paleo recipes, use some of mine or simply throw some stuff in there, turn it on and see what happens. 

To inspire you I'm going to leave you with a brisket recipe my mom and I made this weekend that was one of those "impress myself" moments. We enjoyed it with a cauliflower mash and roasted broccolini. I will be hard-pressed to order brisket at anything but the best barbecue restaurant in the world knowing now how simply I can make my own. The best part of this recipe is that the spice rub cooked down in the slow cooker with broth, onions and garlic into a bbq tasting sauce without having to dump (or make) a sugar-laden sauce to go on top. Side note - I clearly am not good at naming recipes, get over it and eat it.

Smoky BBQ-less Brisket 

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb beef brisket
Practical Paleo's Smoky Spice Blend 

1-2 tbsp Ghee, Coconut Oil, Bacon Fat or other healthy cooking fat of choice.

1 large onion

6 garlic cloves

2 c beef bone broth 

Directions: 

Pat brisket dry with paper towel and rub with as much spice blend is necessary to cover both sides. Heat cooking fat of choice in skillet on stove. Grease slow cooker with coconut oil or other fat on base and sides. Sear brisket on all sides in pan. Set brisket in bottom of slow cooker. Chop onion into large chunks and set around and on top of brisket. Peel and smash garlic cloves and put in slow cooker with brisket and onions. Pour broth into slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred meat into sauce with forks before eating. Easy and delicious as pie!