The Paleo diet stands out for emphasizing eating whole foods that our early ancestors might have enjoyed, long before farming transformed how we eat. Rather than overthinking complex nutrition plans, Paleo keeps things straightforward: real food like meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and the good-for-you fats. If you want to shake up your typical meals or just get a feel for what Paleo can offer, I’m here to share handy meal ideas and key tips for getting started and staying on track.
What Is the Paleo Diet?
Paleo, short for Paleolithic, throws it way back to a time when humans were hunter-gatherers. Eating Paleo is all about quality and simplicity—think grassfed meats, wildcaught fish, organic produce, and natural fats you could find in nature. Processed foods, grains, most dairy, and legumes get the boot. The idea is to eat closer to what our bodies originally adapted to, with a hope to boost energy, help manage weight, and encourage better health overall.
No need to stalk your own dinner—just focus on food as close to its natural state as possible. Many folks choose Paleo to tone down inflammation, ease digestive woes, or just find joy in real, hearty meals.
The 85-15 Rule and Paleo Basics
Going Paleo might look tough until you remember there’s wiggle room. The 85-15 rule means you keep about 85% of your eating within Paleo lines and 15% for those times when life just happens. Maybe it’s the occasional meal out, a friend’s birthday, or a favorite treat. This approach keeps it sustainable and prevents guilt trips. A slip here and there won’t break your progress—what matters is your main pattern.
My essential Paleo rules:
- Go for a variety of real foods: Fill your plate with highquality meats, seafood, eggs, fresh produce, nuts, and seeds.
- Skip the processed stuff: Junk food, sweets, sodas, factory foods, and anything with a long ingredient list or chemical names don’t belong.
- Say no to grains and legumes: Bread, pasta, rice, beans, lentils, and peanuts are on the do-not-eat list.
- Keep dairy limited: Most Paleo folks leave out milk, cheese, and yogurt, though you might see some grassfed butter used now and then.
- Pick natural fats: Avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, and fats from grassfed meat are in. Highly processed vegetable oils are out.
- Stick to water: Herbal teas and black coffee are cool too, but sugary drinks don’t make the cut.
Paleo Foods: What’s In and What’s Out?
Knowing what you can enjoy and what’s best to avoid makes meal planning smooth sailing. Here’s your quick reference:
Foods to Enjoy
- Meat: Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb (best if grassfed or pastureraised)
- Fish & Seafood: Salmon, tuna, shrimp, sardines, mackerel (wildcaught if you can find it)
- Eggs: Pastureraised or organic eggs for protein
- Vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, sweet potatoes, carrots, and plenty more
- Fruits: Apples, berries, bananas, oranges, mango, melons, and avocados
- Nuts & Seeds: Almonds, walnuts, macadamianuts, pumpkinseeds, sunflowerseeds
- Healthy Oils: Extravirgin oliveoil, coconutoil, avocadool
- Herbs & Spices: Fresh or dried, but avoid spice mixes with additives
Foods to Skip
- Grains: Wheat, oats, rice, barley, corn, quinoa
- Legumes: Beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy, peanuts
- Most Dairy: Milk, cheese, yogurt (except a bit of grassfed butter if tolerated)
- Processed Foods: Candy, chips, baked goods, cereals, fast food
- Refined Sugars: Table sugar, corn syrup, most sweeteners (some allow a smidge of honey or maple syrup)
- Refined Vegetable Oils: Soybean, canola, safflower, and corn oil
- Artificial Additives: Any ingredient that sounds labmade
Drinks
- Water is the main go-to
- Herbal, green, or black tea
- Black coffee (no dairy or sweeteners added)
- A bit of red wine on occasion
Easy Paleo Meal Ideas (With a Week Sample Menu)
Meal planning doesn’t have to make you sweat. Just focus on simple, colorful plates loaded with protein, veggies, and healthy fats. Here’s a week’s worth of Paleo meal ideas you can mix and match:
- Day 1:
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms, avocado
- Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with mixed greens, bell peppers, vinaigrette
- Dinner: Panseared salmon, roasted asparagus, sweetpotato wedges
- Day 2:
- Breakfast: Paleo banana pancakes (banana, eggs, almondbutter), topped with berries
- Lunch: Beef stirfry with broccoli, snap peas, sesameoil
- Dinner: Pork tenderloin, roasted brusselssprouts, apples
- Day 3:
- Breakfast: Omelet with tomatoes, onions, fresh basil
- Lunch: Tunasalad lettuce wraps, sliced cucumbers and carrots
- Dinner: Baked chicken thighs, cauliflowerrice, sautéed zucchini
- Day 4:
- Breakfast: Mixed berry smoothie (berries, spinach, almondmilk, chiaseeds)
- Lunch: Turkey burgers with lettuce buns, roasted sweetpotato fries
- Dinner: Shrimp sautéed with garlic and oliveoil over spiralized zucchini
- Day 5:
- Breakfast: Hardboiled eggs with walnuts and orange slices
- Lunch: Grilled steak salad—arugula, cherrytomatoes, avocado
- Dinner: Slowcooker beefstew with carrots, turnips, onions
- Day 6:
- Breakfast: Sweetpotato hash, bell peppers, fried eggs
- Lunch: Roasted chicken drumsticks, mixed green salad
- Dinner: Grilled salmon, broccolini, mashed cauliflower
- Day 7:
- Breakfast: Chiapudding (chiaseeds, coconutmilk, berries)
- Lunch: Smoked salmon cucumber boats with capers, dill
- Dinner: Bunless burgers, sautéed mushrooms, roasted butternutsquash
Paleo snacks can be easy, too. Try sliced apples with almondbutter, mixed nuts, beefjerky (unsweetened), or sliced veggies.
Paleo Diet Tips for Sticking With It
Paleo can seem strict at first, especially when eating with others or at restaurants. Some tricks I use to keep things smooth and avoid slipping back:
- Batchcook proteins: Grill or roast enough chicken, steak, or fish for easy additions to several meals.
- Prep veggies ahead: Store washed, chopped vegetables in the fridge—makes for quick salad or snack options.
- Adjust your flavors: Try new herbs or home-mixed spice blends, but doublecheck for additives.
- Turn leftovers into something new: Yesterday’s roast chicken becomes today’s salad or lettuce wrap.
- Pack your own snacks: Keeps you from reaching for nonPaleo options when out and about.
- Stick with what you love: Keep a mental list of favorites for those times you need a quick meal.
FAQs About the Paleo Diet
If you’re just getting into Paleo, you probably have a few questions. Here are answers to the ones I hear most:
What is the 85-15 rule in Paleo?
This simple rule means eat Paleo-approved foods about 85% of the time, and use the other 15% for treats or the occasional meal out. It helps balance the diet and keep it practical for everyday life. No one’s perfect all the time, and that’s okay.
What is not allowed on Paleo?
Paleo leaves out grains (like rice, bread, pasta), legumes (beans, lentils, peanuts), most dairy, refined or packaged foods, added sugars, and industrial seed oils. Anything overly processed or with artificial ingredients gets skipped.
What are the main Paleo rules?
Choose whole foods. Fill up on animal protein, seafood, eggs, mountains of veggies, fruit, nuts, and natural fats. Dodge the processed stuff, grains, legumes, most dairy, sugar, and manmade additives. Stick with water and real seasonings. This eating style is all about variety and satisfaction.
What does a typical Paleo meal plan look like?
A regular Paleo plan means protein every meal, lots of nonstarchy veggies, some fruit, healthy fats (avocado or oliveoil), and maybe tubers like sweetpotato. Snacks are nuts, hardboiled eggs, dried meats without additives, or fruit. For drinks, go with water, herbal tea, or black coffee.
Common Roadblocks and How to Tackle Them
No diet is totally smooth sailing—Paleo has its own hurdles. Here are some common problems and the fixes I’ve learned along the way:
- Feeling deprived? Try using plenty of herbs and citrus to pack in flavor and mix things up.
- Eating with others? Out and about, order grilled meats, ask for extra veggies instead of bread, and watch out for sugar or dairy in restaurant sauces.
- Boredom from samey meals? Add one or two different recipes to your week, or try swapping similar ingredients to keep flavors new.
- Missing those old foods? When cravings hit, keep a stash of berries with coconutcream or salted roasted nuts to snack on.
Switching up to Paleo can feel pretty big at first, but it gets easier. Keeping organized and making meals simple makes a huge difference. You might stumble upon new favorite foods, and sharing meals with others can lift your motivation.
The Bottom Line: Keep Paleo Meal Planning Simple and Satisfying
You don’t need complicated tricks to make Paleo work for you. Just focus on real foods, prep a bit in advance, and enjoy switching up flavors. Paleo can fit busy days and relaxed weekends alike. Try out a week’s worth of Paleo meals—you may find it’s not only doable but also delicious, and eating like a modem huntergatherer keeps mealtime fun.