Since going "paleo" I have made the effort to prepare for the work week by prepping and cooking over the weekend. That is not a bad strategy for anyone trying to improve the healthiness of their diet. But it's even more important for PALEO people on the autoimmine protocol because it is not as easy to find appropriate food at the corner deli. And nobody likes to come home from work or the gym at 8:00 in the evening and have to start cooking. I almost always pack my lunch and often I pack 2 meals. If I don't work late, I usually go to the gym after work. It seems to work better for me to have food before walking through Grand Central Terminal...... I won't be tempted to buy something that is "off limits." So since making the decision to give paleo AIP an honest effort, I have put time and effort into food prep. Here is what I did last weekend:
• Browsed some recipes, make at least 1 decision about 1 protein main meal. I decided to try curry meatballs using the recipe from PaleOMG
• Went shopping! Bought all nutritious paleo foods..... cauliflower, kale, avocados, salad veggies, coconut milk, wild fish, etc.
• Prepped the cauliflower, washed, broke up into florets. Shredded half of it and prepared cauli rice (should have done the whole head).
• Prepped the kale, washed, stripped from the stems and tore into chunky pieces. Cooked up 1 tray of kale chips. Ate them. Rest of the kale in the frig ready for cooking.
• Threw big bag of frozen chicken and turkey bones into crockpot, covered with water, threw in a few other ingedients and let it slow cook for 14 hours. Resulted in beautiful bone broth.
• Cut 2 sweet potatoes into matchsticks (might be time to invest in mandoline) and made oven baked fries. Love these.
• Made a batch of curry meatballs. Forgot 1 key ingredient. Still delicious. Cannot wait to make them the right way. Used just made bone broth.
• Threw some spices on 3 pieces of boneless chicken breasts, threw them in toaster oven. Sliced up to add to lunch salads.
• Baked a piece of scrod with ground pecans, orange zest and orange slices. Dinner for 2 and lunch for another.
• Hard boiled 4 eggs, for breakfasts. Really good with some of the curry sauce from the meatballs!
• Made big garden salad for dinner and 2 lunches (see chicken note above).
That was alot of work! But over most of the work week, DH and I ate meals of nutritious delicious good for you food. Other than a cup of tea, I have not spent any money on take-out, lunches, snacks, etc.
Bottom line: Time spent over the weekend has made it much easier to eat well over the week and still work and play.
Downside: although it was a good time investment, it did take a good chunk of time. I'm not sure I will always have that much time to do this. Also requires planning and thought, and remembering to pack meals for the next day. Plus I am always shlepping a bag of food to work in addition to all the other things I carry around on a daily basis. It can get heavy. Luckily I don't walk very far.
What will I cook this weekend?