Paleo Meal Plan for the Week + Ribs & Paleo Broccoli Salad

Since the government goes on vacation in August I get August Fridays off, and somehow Monday still comes too fast. So fast. Maybe I'm more meant for a Tuesday - Thursday kind of lifestyle? Wouldn't that be nice. Anyway we had a wedding in town this weekend and it was nice to have all of Sunday to recover meal prep, clean, watch the Wet Hot American Summer TV SHOW (!!!!) and get life together a bit. This is my meal plan for the week:




And here it is all prepped up:

So I'm a goals person. Every summer I set some basic goals and this summer goal #1 was Master Grilling Ribs. I love ribs and am picky about them to the point that I only order them at restaurants if they are recommended by someone I know and trust because I am not about waste money on some chewy meat that does not fall right off that bone. *steps off soapbox*. Welp I can check #1 off the list and here's how it worked (2 disclaimers: I had nothing to do with the completion of this. It was all Harrison. 2, the ribs are not paleo. I cannot give up Sweet Baby Ray's. I just can't, it's not an option. Same goes for the bbq seasonings I use):

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 3 hours

Servings: 3-4

 Ingredients: 

• 1 rack pork baby back ribs (I got mine at Trader Joe's for $12)
• 3 Tablespoons dry rub (we used this, paleo option here)
• 1 cup barbecue sauce (As noted above I use Sweet Baby Ray's. Paleo option here)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Trim the membrane off the ribs. Cut up the ribs into individual pieces and cover with the rub. Place the ribs into a large baking pan (we use this for easy clean up) meat side down, cover with foil, and cook in the oven for 2.5 hours.

Remove them from the oven and drain the cooking juices into a bowl. Place the ribs all directly on the grill for 10 minutes, constantly turning them and basting them with the barbecue sauce AND the cooking juices.

After 10 minutes, put the ribs into another baking dish and put them in the oven on broil for 4-5 minutes on each side. 

Enjoy the ribs which Harrison describes as "fall off the bone-y and kind of wet but also crispy at the same time".  I served these with a broccoli salad that I adapted from my friend Amanda's recipe:

Paleo Broccoli Salad

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 0

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 head of broccoli florets or package of broccoli florets ($3)
• 2/3 cup Whole30 mayo (recipe here - don't let this ingredient scare you off! This takes less than 5 minutes to make!)
• 1 handful craisins
• 1 handful shelled sunflower seeds (optional swaps: any type of chopped nuts)

Toss all the ingredients together. That's it! So easy.

What is your favorite barbecue meal? 

Meatless Monday: Red Pepper Portabella "Burgers" with Goat Cheese

Hi, it's me Lindsay, the worst blogger ever.  My summer got taken over by happy hours, porch beers, cookouts, dog cuddles, and trips. The way a summer should be. Needless to say I've gained more than a few libbies (WHAT! I eat and drink everything in sight for months and gain weight?! Science is nuts). Every few meals I'm like today's the day I get back on track and make something healthy. Here's a recipe that is Harrison-approved and clean but not quite paleo:

Wait but first - is is PortabellA or PortabellO? I always confuse words with A's vs. O's, I spelled Puerta Rico Puerto Rica for years, as well as Costo Rico, and even though I live in DC I stay drawing out of a hat to decide if I live in the nation's capitAl or capitOl.

Servings: 3

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 6 Portabella mushroom caps ($5.00)
• 2 oz Goat Cheese (or to taste, I got a little excessive with the goat cheese and will go for less next time) ($3.50)
• 1 red pepper, diced ($1)
• 1/2 red onion, diced ($1)
• 1 tablespoon bacon grease (or your choice of cooking fat)
• Baslamic vinegar to taste
• (Also pictured: a very lazy salad consisting of tomatoes and arugula topped with balsamic vinegar)

Place all the mushroom caps smoothe side down, remove the stems, and sprinkle crumbled goat cheese into 3 of them (they should be kind of like bowls).

Saute the onion and pepper in bacon grease or your cooking fat of choice for about 8 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps on top of the goat cheese. Drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. Put the 3 empty caps onto the 3 full caps to make sandwiches. 

Coat the veggie frying pan with more bacon grease and heat the "sandwiches" evenly for about 3-5 minutes on each side.  

Enjoy!!

PS Found this article of what to buy and not buy at Trader Joe's. I've been trying to get my sh*t together enough to write something like this!

What's your favorite meatless Monday recipe?

Easy Paleo and Whole 30 Chicken Dinner

Hi! How was everyone's fourth? Mine was awesome! The park across the street from my house puts on an amazzzing bootleg fireworks show so we put on a cookout and enjoyed the show with family and friends. It was pretty much perfect, and as you can tell we 100% committed to the theme (thanks, Amazon)!

Anyway, the other day I had a killer craving for okra (weird I know, but I love okra a LOT) and there was NOT ONE PIECE OF OKRA TO BE FOUND AT TRADER JOE'S so I grabbed a pack of brussel sprouts, a pack of mushrooms, and a bag of frozen asparagus and called it a day.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Servings: 2 (with leftovers for lunch)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, sliced (I use organic/cage free so it's a little pricier at $8)
• 8 sticks of asparagus - do we call these sticks? What is the right term? Stalks? ($3)
• 1 pack of brussel sprouts, halved ($2.50)
• Handful mushrooms, sliced ($1)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Garlic salt to taste
• Sea salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Toss it all together, throw it in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees for 30 mins. Minimal work, maximum healthy meal.

What is your favorite chicken dish?