Easy Meals I Make at Home in Under 30 Minutes

It’s been a few months since I shared an easy meals post, but in case you haven’t seen any of those previous posts, let me explain – this post isn’t a recipe post. These are meals I make for my husband and myself day after day, all in under 30 minutes. They aren’t perfectly paleo nor do they have specific ingredient amounts and directions, because that’s not how I cook for myself. You’ll usually see a theme in these type of posts. Some months I’ll be really into one specific vegetable or maybe a specific way I cook meat. Since it’s currently summer, you’ll see a lot of cold vegetables in this post because they are super easy to whip up in seconds. And the last thing I want to do in summer is spend much time around a hot stove.

Whenever I’m making easy meals in under 30 minutes, 3 things help me stay on track when it comes to time –

1. Utilizing brands that help cut down cooking time, as well as leftovers to make creating a full meal even easier
   • I love cutting down cooking time with sauce and condiment brands and making sure I use ALL my leftovers in the fridge
2. Keeping it simple with the produce that is in season
   • If you’re using produce that is in season, it won’t need a ton of seasoning or a longer cook time because it’s so fresh and flavorful. Plus it’s cheaper if it’s in season, so you’re saving money along the way!
3. Learn to multitask 
   • Multitasking means while you’re cooking one thing, you’re chopping something else. And that may mean using multiple pans to cut down on cook time, as well!

And below are some of the brands and companies that I use almost every single day!

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
• Mike’s Organic Curry Paste
• Rao’s Marinara Sauce
• Maya Kaimal Indian Sauce
• Tolerant Foods Gluten Free Pasta
• Mediterranean Organic Olives & Capers
• Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour

Latest Fridge & Freezer Favorites –

• Cece’s Cauliflower Rice and Zucchini Noodles
• Birch Benders Paleo Waffles
• Brazi Bites
• Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi
• Bonafide Bone Broth Soup
• Falafel King Tzaziki
• Majestic Garlic Dip

Utilizing leftovers a lot

• Carrot Fritters
• Cauliflower Tabbouleh
• Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
• Air Fryer Gnocchi
• Air Fryer Potatoes

I hope all these brands, companies and even recipes help you make meals a little bit quicker! And if there is something below that you’d like to see an actual recipe for, let me know! I’ll add it to my list!

I first made white rice using the directions, which takes about 15 minutes in total. Once the rice began to cook, I placed miso, coconut aminos, honey, and sriracha in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisked together until combined. Then I poured the mixture over salmon filets and put in the oven at 375 degrees, until cooked to preference, about 10 minutes. I topped it all off with sesame seeds and some avocado. Done in 30 minutes!

For this meal, I marinated steak tips the night before using this marinade recipe. Once it was time for dinner, I placed leftover Carrot Fritters and roasted potatoes on a sheet pan and put it in the oven to cook for about 10 minutes, simply reheating and crisping up. While the potatoes and carrots reheated, I placed some fat in a super hot cast iron skillet then added the steak tips, making sure to not crowd the pan. The tips only need to cook for a couple minutes per side. I topped it all off with some avocado cream and roasted garlic dip. This meal took about 20 minutes to create.

For this meal, I first made my Air Fryer Gnocchi. While the gnocchi was cooking in the air fryer, I cooked up some carrots and bell peppers in a pan with some olive oil for about 15 minutes. While the veggies cooked, I added some butter to a cast iron skillet and once the pan was super hot, I added ButcherBox strip steak topped with Primal Palate Steak Seasonings to the pan and cooked for about 5-6 minutes per side then let the steak rest before cutting into small pieces. And before I served the gnocchi, I tossed the cooked gnocchi in Rao’s Marinara Sauce and parmesan. This meal took exactly 30 minutes to create!

For this breakfast, I cooked up bacon in a pan then I tossed together cucumber and cherry tomato with lemon juice, olive oil, dill, salt and pepper. And then I added some Whole Foods smoked salmon to the plate to finish it off. This meal only took 10 minutes.

For breakfast, I made Cauliflower Tabbouleh which takes about 15 minutes. At the same time, I cooked up some ButcherBox breakfast sausage in a separate pan until browned. This meal took about 20 minutes in total.

This was a quick and easy breakfast one morning. I cooked up some ButcherBox breakfast sausage, then I made a quick cucumber and cherry tomato salad with lemon juice, olive oil, dill, salt and pepper. Then I added a scoop full of Majestic Garlic Dip for flavor. This meal only took 10 minutes.

For dinner, I made my Air Fryer Chicken Thighs. While the chicken thighs cooked, I tossed together romaine hearts, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, dill, and salt and pepper. Then once the chicken thighs were done, in about 20 minutes, I added Falafel King Tzaziki to the plate. This meal took about 25 minutes.

For this dinner, I tossed cauliflower florets in avocado oil and salt and roasted it in the oven for about 25 minutes. While the cauliflower roasted, I cooked up bell peppers and onion in a pan with some avocado oil until slightly soft and browned, then I added ground beef to begin to brown. Once I added the beef, I mixed together miso, coconut aminos, honey, and sriracha in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisked together until combined and it has thickened, about 5 minutes. Once the beef is brown and broken into small pieces, I added the miso mixture to the pan with the meat and mixed until completely combined. This meal took 25 minutes.

For this breakfast, I cooked up bacon in a pan. While the bacon cooked, I thinly sliced some yukon gold potatoes then placed it in the leftover bacon fat to cook for about 2 minutes per side, then sprinkled the potatoes with salt. I finished the meal off with leftover Cauliflower Tabbouleh and Whole Foods smoked salmon. This breakfast took only 15 minutes to make!

For this lunch, I chopped up some leftover chicken thighs and cooked the chicken in a pan with some fat. Then added some spinach to wilt up. I mixed the reheated chicken and spinach with leftover Cauliflower Tabbouleh and topped it all off with olives, capers, Majestic Garlic Dip and Falafel King Tzaziki. This meal took only about 10 minutes to create and it was so damn bomb!

This was one of my favorite meals I’ve made in a while. This meal actually took about 40 minutes, but it was worth it. I first roasted eggplant in a high heat oven until soft and tender, then I whipped up some babaganoush. While the eggplant roasted, I placed some Majestic Garlic Dip under the skin of some chicken thighs, then I heated up a cast iron skillet until super hot, cooked the chicken skin side down, cooked until crispy, flipped then placed in the oven to finish off cooking in there. Then I finished the babaganoush until the chicken reached an internal temp of 165 degrees. And then I reheated some leftover Cauliflower Tabbouleh and topped the meal off with some olive oil and goat cheese.

For this breakfast, I cooked up some bacon, then I added Falafel King Tzaziki to a bowl with Whole Foods smoked salmon, Cauliflower Tabbouleh, and leftover babaganoush that I made the night before. This breakfast only took 10 minutes to create.

For this meal, I started off cooking Air Fryer Potatoes, adding red bell peppers the last 5 minutes of cooking. Once the potatoes begin to cook, I topped ButcherBox filet mignon with Primal Palate Steak Seasonings and cooked in a cast iron skillet with some butter for about 5 minutes per side. Once I took the steaks out of the pan to rest, I whipped up a quick salad with romaine lettuce hearts, arugula, and cherry tomatoes mixed with Primal Kitchen Caesar Dressing. This meal took me exactly 30 minutes.

13 meals in (almost) 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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