Focusing on whole, unprocessed foods and restricting dairy products, the Paleolithic or paleo diet can give your day a dose of fiber, protein, and several other nutrients.

Before we jump into the 9 simple yet delicious paleo recipes, let’s first define the paleo diet and discover a bunch of paleo-approved foods.

What is the paleo diet?

The paleo diet comes in many different names: the ancestral diet, the caveman diet, the primal diet, the hunter-gatherer diet, the prehistoric diet, and the stone-age diet.

Nevertheless, they all adhere to the same basic rule: Consume only foods that hunter-gatherers ate.

This diet excludes processed foods, agri-business hybrids like genetically modified crops, industrialized food ingredients, and other modern foods of the last 100 years. These foods are believed to cause obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, auto-immune disorders, heart disease, even some mental health conditions, and other chronic health conditions that plague modern society.

The paleo diet has a lot in common with the other popular diet—the keto diet.

They both emphasize whole foods, emphasize healthy fats, eliminate grains, and legumes, restrict added sugar, and may be effective for weight loss. It’s just that the former focuses more on ideology while the latter focuses on macronutrients.

Depending on how they are implemented and the goal you wanted to accomplish, these diets can be both healthy options.

Foods to eat

Expect whole, natural foods with minimal processing on the paleo menu.

The paleo-approved food list consists of eggs, poultry, fish, shellfish, meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, and tubers like sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Fats like coconut oil, olive oil, lard, and tallow are acceptable. Honey, coffee, and tea are also tolerated.

Foods to avoid

• Dairy, such as cream, milk, cheese, butter, or yogurt products
• Grains, such as rice, corn, wheat, barley, rye, oats, millet, quinoa, teff, amaranth, sorghum, and cereals
• All sugars, such as agave syrup or high-fructose corn syrup and maple syrup, as well as soft drinks, and ice cream
• Legumes, such as lentils and tofu
• Industrial oils, such as corn oil
• Artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose, aspartame, and erythritol
• Alcohol like wine and beer
• Salt (some proponents discourage adding extra salt to foods)
• Processed foods

Paleo Recipes

These paleo recipes are absolutely crowd pleasers. You’ll find a few tasty paleo chicken recipes or paleo dinner recipes below, which you can incorporate in your meal plan:

FRIED EGGS

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter or coconut oil

1 cup leafy greens

6 eggs

salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Heat butter or coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
2. Crack the eggs straight into the pan, or into a measuring cup and carefully pour into the pan to avoid splattering of hot grease. For eggs sunny side up, leave the eggs to fry on one side and cover the pan with a lid to make sure they get cooked on top. For eggs cooked over easy, flip the eggs over after a few minutes and cook for another minute.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with some leafy greens.

FLANK STEAK WITH MUSHROOM SALAD AND SESAME MAYO

Ingredients

1¼ lbs bok choy or any similar type of cabbage

1 tbsp sambal oelek or sriracha sauce

1 red onion, thinly sliced

8 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tbsp tamari soy sauce

1 lb flank steak

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

salt and pepper

Sesame mayonnaise

¾ cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp sesame oil

salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Mix tamari, sambal, and vinegar in a big bowl.
2. Shred the bok choy lengthwise. Add onion, mushrooms, and bok choy to the tamari dressing and toss until completely covered. Let rest while you prepare the meat.
3. Brush the meat with olive oil. Salt and pepper generously. Fry (or grill) the flank steak on high heat in a large frying pan for 2–3 minutes on each side or until cooked to your desired temperature. Cover and allow the meat to rest for a couple of minutes. Slice the meat in 1/2 inch thick slices diagonally.
4. Mix the ingredients for the sesame mayonnaise.
5. Serve the meat with the marinated vegetables and a generous dollop of sesame mayonnaise.

SALMON WITH OLIVE-PISTACHIO TAPENADE AND TOMATOES

Ingredients

Salmon

3 oz. pitted and finely chopped green olives

2 oz. shelled and finely chopped pistachio nuts

1½ lbs salmon, boneless fillets

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Tomatoes

14 oz. cherry tomatoes, with stems

½ tbsp dried thyme

salt and pepper

½ tbsp olive oil

Serving

½ cup fresh dill, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Transfer the chopped olives and pistachios to a small bowl. Add a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
3. Put the fish in a baking dish. Spread the olive mixture around and between the fillets.
4. Put the tomatoes in a separate baking dish. Sprinkle with some oil and season with salt, pepper and thyme.
5. Bake the fish and tomatoes for 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through, opaque in the center, and flakes easily with a fork. The tomatoes will be soft and slightly wilted.
6. Top the salmon with fresh dill and serve.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND BACON PORK CHOPS

Ingredients

4 pork chops, boneless, center-cut loin

8 oz. thinly sliced yellow onions

4 oz. chopped, uncooked bacon

1 tbsp olive oil, for sautéeing

salt and ground black pepper, for seasoning

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp salt

½ cup beef broth

Instructions

1. Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 10–15 minutes or until crisp, turning occasionally. Transfer the bacon to a medium-sized bowl, and leave the bacon grease in the pan. Maintain medium heat.
2. Add the salt, pepper, and onions to the skillet.  Stir frequently for about 15–20 minutes, or until tender. Transfer onions to the bowl with bacon.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and add the oil. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, and place in the skillet. Brown on the first side for 3 minutes. Flip the chops, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 7–10 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center. Remove to a platter and tent with foil. Maintain medium heat.
4. Pour broth into the skillet and scrape up any browned bits. Add the cream, and stir together for 2–3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Add the onions and bacon to the pan, and increase heat to medium-high. Stir frequently, and cook for about 8–10 minutes, or until mixture becomes golden and creamy.
5. For serving, top the pork chops with the creamy onion and bacon mixture.

LOW-CARB GARLIC CHICKEN

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken drumsticks

1 oz. butter or olive oil, for greasing

salt and pepper

½ cup finely chopped, fresh parsley

1 lemon, the juice

2 tbsp olive oil

7 sliced garlic cloves

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 225°C.
2. Grease the baking pan generously with the butter or oil and place the chicken drumsticks in the pan. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the garlic and parsley on top.
4. Bake the chicken until golden and the garlic slices have turned brown and roasted for about 30–40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches at least 74°C. The baking time may be longer if your drumsticks are on the larger size. You can lower the temperature a little towards the end of the baking time if your drumsticks are becoming too dark.

LOW-CARB COCONUT CREAM WITH BERRIES

Ingredients

2 oz. fresh strawberries

½ cup coconut cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1.       Mix all ingredients using an immersion blender.

SPICY KETO ROASTED NUTS

Ingredients

8 oz. almonds or pecans or walnuts

1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika powder or chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium frying pan, and cook on medium heat until the almonds are warmed through.
2. Let cool and serve as a snack with a drink. Store in a container with lid at room temperature.

KETO THAI FISH CURRY

Ingredients

1½ lbs salmon, boneless fillets or white fish fillets, in pieces

1 tbsp coconut oil for greasing the baking dish

2 tbsp red curry paste or green curry paste

1 oz. butter or ghee or coconut oil

½ cup chopped, fresh cilantro

1 lb cauliflower or broccoli

2 cups coconut cream

salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a medium-sized baking dish.
2. Place the fish pieces snuggly in the baking dish. Salt and pepper generously and place butter or oil on top of each fish piece.
3. Mix coconut cream, curry paste, and chopped cilantro in a small bowl and pour over the fish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the fish is done.
4. In the meantime, cut the cauliflower into small florets and boil in lightly salted water for a couple of minutes. Serve with the fish.

KETO CHICKEN BLT SALAD

Ingredients

Garlic mayonnaise

¾ cup mayonnaise

½ tbsp garlic powder

BLT

8 oz. bacon

1 lb boneless chicken thighs

4 oz. cherry tomatoes, in halves

10 oz. Romaine lettuce

salt and pepper

1 oz. butter (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix mayonnaise and garlic powder in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Fry the bacon slices in butter (if using) until crispy. Remove and keep warm. Save the grease in the pan.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then cut each thigh into thirds. Fry in the same skillet as the bacon until golden brown and thoroughly cooked.
4. Rinse and chop the lettuce; make sure to use a clean cutting board and knife.
5. Place the lettuce on a plate and top with chicken, bacon, tomatoes, and garlic mayo.