Part 1 of my blog skims over the Paleo Diet and Part 2 goes over my weekly meal prep. If you just want to see what I cooked and instructions skip to part 2.
Part 1: The Diet
Fad diets have been a part of our society for many years. Especially over the last 20 years where it seems like there is a new diet trend every year. The one that I remember starting this trend is the Atkins Diet which is a high protein diet with very minimal carbs. Other diets that I have heard of and am sure many others on this forum have heard about are the :
- South Beach Diet
- The Zone Diet
- Mediterranean Diet
- Grape Fruit Diet
- Paleo Diet
- Intermittent fasting
- Juicing
The above diets mentioned are only a handful of these fad diets. The good thing is with so many diets out there, people have more options than ever in our lifetime in selecting the diet plan they see fit for them. My favorite one out of the list is the Paleo Diet AKA "The Caveman Diet". People refer to it as the caveman diet because it consists of foods that are not proccesed and the type of food that was available to eat when Cavemen roamed this planet
A few key points about the Paleo Diet is:
- You are allowed to have all sorts of meat since high amount of protein is the core of this diet.
- You can also have moderate amount of foods that are in the carbohydrates group (unlike the Atkins diet where carbs are considered the "kiss of death" and slipping up one day can set you back from all the progress you may have made that week)
- High fat food which are both unsaturated and saturated fats. From my college days the way I was taught to distinguish between these two types of fats are, Saturated fats are SOLID at room temperature while unsaturated fats are NOT SOLID at room temperature. To reiterate this point think of the S in Saturated as Solid. Think of the Un-S in Un-Saturated as Un-Solid. Even if you don't want to follow the Paleo Diet remembering the concept between these 2 types of fats will help you lead a healthier in life. Decades of studies have shown that Un-Saturated fats are healthier than Saturated fats for a person
If you are interested in hearing more about the diet here is a useful link for beginners: https://paleoleap.com/paleo-101/
Part 2: Weekly Food Prep
In the picture you see 4 dishes which has 5 types of meats. All that food can actually be more than a weeks worth of food or it can be a weeks worth of food for at least 2 people. Just depends on your appetite :)
Being in Southern California I will also translate the common terms used for the types of meats in the picture
Top Left:
We have Carne Asada and Pollo Asada meat. Carne Asada is thin slices of seasoned steak with a salty taste to it. Pollo Asada is is seasoned chicken, however the chicken is very tender and flavorful. Not Dry like most chicken people buy at the store. Usually the dark meat of the chicken is used for this, such as the thigh region since its the most juiciest part of the chicken. It can be done with the chicken breast as well. I bought both of these pre-marinated which is a good way to go to save time, especially if your local super market has them at a good price.
Cooking Method: Propane Grill
Top Right:
I hope you all know what this is, but to the select few who might live under a rock , this is BACON!!!!!! I bought the thick sliced bacon as it has more flavor and doesn dry out to the point of losing all the flavor and I like that it has a meatier taste
Cooking Method - Oven ( I sometimes use an Iron Cast Skillet on the stove, but it gets really messy and easy to burn). The oven cooks it really well and even, with minimal mess
Bottom Left
Al Pastor AKA pork. Pork is usually one of the cheapest meats at the super market and this one also came marinated and was ready to cook after buying it
Cooking Method: Stove
Bottom Right
The last but not least, one of my favorite dishes. Is ground turkey with canned artichoke hearts mixed with the meat. I also ended up mixing some of the oil from the bacon into the the turkey
Cooking Method: I used an Iron Cast Skillet and cooked it around 15-20 minutes on medium to low heat letting it simmer while on low heat. Stirring occasionally
I bought the meats at a super market called Stater Brothers which has the best deals in my town for meat. However these meats should be available at most stores. Chain stores are usually expensive unless there is a sale. So if you know of smaller farmers market types of places, check those areas out first to save some money. Regardless all that food cost me approximately 40-50 dollars.