Easy Meals I Make at Home in Under 30 Minutes

Last week a reader asked if I would put together another post about meals I make at home in under 30 minutes. So I looked back at when I wrote my last one and it was all the way back in July. Crazy how fast time goes by. So today I’m bringing it back with 12 meals I recently made at home that will hopefully give you some inspiration for easy meals for yourself and your family. Remember, this meals aren’t pretty, whatsoever. And some aren’t strict paleo. If you’re new here, I don’t eat strict paleo. I eat white rice and some gluten free items. If you don’t want that in your own diet, don’t eat it. Simple as that. And if you need even more inspiration, you can look back at my previous easy meals posts here, here and here!

Just a recap (I shared this in my previous posts) – with a little planning, multitasking and with the help of some special ingredients, there’s really NO EXCUSE to not eat a healthy meal on the table in no time flat. It’s really freaking easy, I promise you that. Stop making excuses for why you can’t get a healthy meal on the table certain nights. It just means you need to plan ahead. Maybe you even need to write out your meals to make sure nothing goes to waste and you’re sticking with your goals.

You’ll see many repeats in my own diet because I stick with foods that make me feel my best and that cook up quickly. Plus, I use whatever ingredients I have on hand in my freezer. So let’s get to it. Here’s a little breakdown of what I always have at home and/or purchase week to week:

• ButcherBox – Every month I get my monthly supply of grass-fed, grass-finished, antibiotic and hormone-free, pasture-raised beef, chicken and pork. This way I always have meat on hand that I can pull out of the freezer the day beforehand to make for meals the next day. And since it’s delivered to my doorstep, I don’t have to think about it, which is the best part. In every box, I always get burgers and breakfast sausage, then whatever other meat is available that month!
• Thrive Market – I try to get a Thrive Market box delivered to my doorstep every month or so. I love stocking up on coconut wraps, coconut aminos, Siete Foods sea salt grain free tortilla chips, and organic extra virgin olive oil. Be sure to follow me on instagram and my instagram stories/highlights because every time I get an order, I share those finds and goodies on my social media! Thrive also offer seafood now and it’s delicious so I will sometimes grab that from them.
• Whole Foods or Natural Grocers or Trader Joe’s –
  • Freezer section – I always like to purchase cauliflower rice, sliced bell peppers, asparagus, cauliflower and kale so if I’m in a pinch and have no fresh produce around, I can quickly defrost any of these vegetable and whip up a meal quickly. I also recently picked up Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi and love having that on hand.
  • Produce section – I almost always purchase arugula, kale, carrots, cherry tomatoes, ripe plantains, yukon gold potatoes, sweet baby peppers, butter lettuce, honey crisp apples, cilantro, green onions and whatever other vegetable looks good.
  • Pre-cut veggies – At Whole Foods (and many other grocery stores nowadays), they have pre-cut vegetables that have made a huge difference when it comes to how long it takes to make a meal. It costs a little more, but to me it’s worth it because it keeps me eating healthy. I’ll always buy pre-cut butternut squash fries, brussels sprouts, kale, beets (I buy the Love Beets brand), zucchini noodles, beet noodles, and carrot fries.
  • Butcher section – Since I get all my meat from ButcherBox, I usually only purchase wild-caught fish and seafood at Whole Foods. We try to eat salmon, scallops, sea bass and whatever other fish looks good. And we’ve been eating more fish and seafood recently because my husband is on a strict diet where he can’t have chicken or pork, which is why most of my dinners are beef or fish/seafood. I love getting fish/seafood for the nights that we have limited time since it cooks up so quickly.
• Pantry Products – I keep these items on hand because they make prep incredibly easy and quick whenever I’m in a pinch!
  • Primal Palate Spices
  • Primal Kitchen Ranch, Ketchup and Mayo
  • Balanced Bites Spices
  • Sir Kensington Ranch, Mayo, Ketchup & Mustard
  • Mike’s Organic Curry Paste
  • Rao’s Marinara Sauce
  • Tolerant Foods Gluten Free Pasta
• Latest Freezer Favorites –
  • Birch Benders Paleo Waffles
  • Brazi Bites
  • Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi
  • Cauliflower Rice
  • Bonafide Bone Broth Soup

Now on to the meals we go!

For this breakfast, I preheated to oven to 400 degrees to cook up a Birch Benders Paleo Waffle for 10 minutes. While the oven heated up, I cooked ButcherBox breakfast sausage with diced red bell peppers and oinons, then I added in leftover air fryer potatoes. Then I topped the waffle with peanut butter and maple syrup. This meal took about 20 minutes.

This dinner took about 30 minutes. First I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, tossed zig-zag butternut squash in avocado oil, topped with salt and garlic powder, then roasted them for 25-30 minutes. Then I cooked up ButcherBox burgers in a cast iron skillet topped with Primal Palate Steak Seasonings and topped it off with Primal Kitchen Ketchup and Mustard. And to finish the meal, I made an easy salad of arugula, apples, orange bell pepper, Primal Kitchen Ranch, plus salt and pepper.

This hearty soup dinner took about 30 minutes. First I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, sliced carrots and tossed them in avocado oil and salt, then roasted them for 25-30 minutes. While the carrots cooked, I cooked chopped bacon in a large pot, set it aside, then sauteed red bell peppers and onions in the rendered fat. Then I added ButcherBox ground beef and once it was broken down and cooked through, I added the Bonafide Broccoli Cheddar Bone Broth Soup along with salt, garlic powder and pepper. When the oven has 10 minutes left, I added Brazi Bites to the baking sheet with carrots. To finish the soup, I added the carrots and Brazi Bites!

When I didn’t know what to make one night, I started with air fryer potatoes which take about 25 minutes. While the potatoes cooked, I topped ButcherBox steak with Primal Palate Steak Seasonings and cooked it in a cast iron skillet until medium rare then let it rest for 5 or more minutes. When the potatoes had about 5 minutes left, I made a quick salad of arugula and apple topped with Primal Kitchen Ranch, plus salt and pepper.

This lunch took about 25 minutes. I first boiled rice until light and fluffy, about 20 minutes. While the rice was cooking, I cooked up ButcherBox ground beef with red and yellow bell peppers. Once the ground beef was browned, then I added a packet of Mike’s Organic Yellow Curry Paste with a can of coconut milk then added a bit of salt and lime juice.

For this 30 minute dinner, I preheated an oven to 400 degrees. Then I tossed diced eggplant and carrots in avocado oil and salt and cooked the veggies for 25-30 minutes. While the veggies roasted, I cooked chopped bacon in a large pot, set it aside, then sauteed onions in the rendered fat. Then I added ButcherBox ground beef and once it was broken down and cooked through, I added Bonafide Creamy Mushroom Bone Broth Soup with salt and pepper. Once the veggies were done roasting, I added the veggies. Then I ate it with leftover carrot fritters (recipe coming soon!).

For this 30 minute dinner, I preheated an oven to 400 degrees, tossed halved brussels spouts in avocado oil and salt then cooked the brussels for 30 minutes. While the brussels roasted, I cooked up Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi using my air fryer gnocchi recipe. Then I cooked up ButcherBox ground beef with sliced kale then added tomato sauce and salt. Then I ate it all with a little artichoke pesto.

This dinner only took about 25 minutes. I cooked ButcherBox ground beef with bell peppers then added Primal Palate Taco Seasonings, hot sauce, lime juice and salt. Then I cooked up cauliflower rice in a pan with some avocado oil, added salt, garlic powder and chopped cilantro. Then when the cauliflower rice was almost done, I pushed it to the side of the pan, added more fat and added sliced plantains to the pan to cook on both sides for 4-5 minutes.

For yet another soup night dinner, I cooked up bacon in a large pot, set it aside once crispy, then I added a whole sliced onion and cooked down for about 10-15 minutes. Then I added ButcherBox ground beef and cooked until brown. Lastly I added Bonafide French Onion Bone Broth Soup and sliced mushrooms and cooked for about 5 minutes. Lastly, I added the bacon back in with salt and pepper.

This dinner took me 30 minutes. I first made a Moroccan carrot salad (no measurements but the ingredient include grated carrots, red onion, raisins, lemon juice, oil, coriander, cumin, honey, salt and pepper) then set aside for later. Then I cooked up Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi using my air fryer gnocchi recipe. And while the gnocchi cooked, I cooked a ButcherBox ribeye in a cast iron skillet with Primal Palate Steak Seasonings until medium rare. And I served it all with artichoke pesto that I found at Natural Grocers.

This 30 minute dinner included leftover carrot fritters that were made the night before. For the rest of the dinner, I steamed frozen cauliflower then I pureed it until smooth in a high speed blender with salt and garlic powder. While the cauliflower was cooking, I cooked ButcherBox ground beef in a pan with garlic, onion and bell peppers with salt and pepper then added Primal Palate Meat & Potatoes Seasonings. Then I made a quick tomato salad with cherry tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Last but not least, one last curry! I first made chicken thighs using my air fryer chicken thighs recipe. While the chicken cooked, I I first boiled rice until light and fluffy, about 20 minutes. While the rice cooked. I added oil and peppers to a pan. Once the peppers were soft, I added Mike’s Organic Green Curry Paste and a can of coconut milk, lime juice and salt, and reduced down for about 10 minutes. Then I just added it all together with some cilantro!

12 meals in under 30 minutes! Try these easy meals out and let me know what you think! Healthy doesn’t mean hard. All you need is something simple items around the house and you can have a healthy meal every single day!

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