Five Nutritious, Delicious Paleo Dinners

Some have called the Paleo Diet the Caveman Diet, because it harkens to the foods our ancestors ate.

That’s fair, but following this diet doesn’t mean you have to eat like a caveman. Many Paleo Diet recipes are thoroughly modern, delicious, and nutritious, while still conforming to the prohibitions against dairy, legumes, grains starches, or processed foods.

The Paleo Diet is based on what our ancestors could gather or hunt.

So here are five amazing paleo dinners that are so easy even a caveman could cook them.

If you like these, there are hundreds more on the web.

Ground Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms from Table for Two

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 6 large portobello mushroom caps, cleaned and gills removed (gently scrape it out with a spoon)
• 1 small onion, diced
• ½ pound ground turkey
• Handful of baby spinach leaves
• 6-8 grape tomatoes, sliced (and roasted if you prefer)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt about two teaspoons of coconut oil. Place the mushrooms into the skillet and let cook until softened, about five to seven minutes. Flip them halfway through. Set aside on a plate.
2. In the same skillet, add the onion and sauté until softened, about three minutes. Then add the ground turkey to the pan and break it up into small pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon. Cook until it’s all cooked through. Sprinkle salt and pepper and other seasonings, to taste.
3. Remove from heat and add the baby spinach leaves. The residual heat should wilt the spinach easily.
4. To assemble: use a small spoon and scoop the turkey spinach filling into the caps of the mushrooms. Top with grape tomatoes. Serve warm!

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping from Oven Love

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, coconut oil, etc)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef or lamb
• ¼-½  cup homemade beef broth
• 1 tablespoon organic ketchup or tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, etc)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a two-to-three-quart casserole dish and set aside.
2. In a large pot, steam or boil cauliflower until tender.
3. Heat two tablespoons of fat in a large skillet or saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, around five minutes.
4. Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until browned. Add beef broth as necessary to keep the mixture wet. Add the ketchup or tomato paste, parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Let simmer while you prepare the cauliflower topping.
5. To make the topping, drain the cooked cauliflower. Mash or puree with a stick blender until smooth. Add two tablespoons of fat and season with salt and pepper.
6. To assemble, spread the meat mixture on the bottom of the dish. Top with the cauliflower mixture and smooth with a spoon.
7. Bake for thirty minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve warm.

Baked Tilapia Veracruz from Delicious Meets Healthy

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• ½ cup black pitted olives pitted and halved
• 1 tablespoon capers rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper slices chopped
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 4 tilapia fillets

Instructions

1. In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Add chopped tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, and onion. Season with salt and stir. Reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for about three to four minutes until vegetables are tender.
2. Add tomato sauce, minced garlic, olives, capers, jalapeno peppers, and white wine. Season again with salt, freshly ground pepper, and oregano. Stir well.
3. Season both sides of tilapia filet with salt and freshly ground black peppers, and place on top of the Veracruz sauce. Spoon some of the sauce on top of the tilapia filets. Cover with a lid and continue to cook on the stove over medium heat for about five to six minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

15 Minute Zucchini Beef Skillet from Easy GF Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups zucchini, chopped (about 2 zucchini depending on the size)
• ½ cup organic ketchup
• 4 eggs
• fresh parsley or cilantro to garnish

Instructions

1. Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat.
2. Chop the vegetables while the pan heats up.
3. Cook the beef in the pan with salt and pepper, breaking up with a spoon, until almost browned, Stir in the vegetables and cook until the beef is browned and the vegetables have started to soften.
4. Place the ketchup in the pan and stir.
5. Make four wells in the mixture for the eggs. Crack in the eggs and transfer the pan to the oven with the broiler on.
6. Broil until the eggs are cooked to your liking, about two minutes.
7. Top with fresh parsley or cilantro and serve.

Paleo Spaghetti Squash Casserole from Slim Sanity

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 pound 93/7 lean ground beef
• 1 handfuls spinach, finely diced
• 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 whole egg
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ tablespoon EVOO

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds. Place cut side down on a baking sheet, and bake for twenty-five minutes.
2. While squash is baking, brown ground beef over medium high heat. Drain, and set aside.
3. While your squash and beef are cooking, prepare vegetables. In a large saucepan, begin to sauté red onion, tomatoes, and garlic with EVOO. Add seasonings. Once onions begin to turn translucent, add spinach and cook down.
4. Once squash is done, remove from oven and shred the meat of the squash with a fork. Add to pan with sautéed veggies. Add meat, and egg. Mix together thoroughly.
5. Pour mixture inside a 9×9 baking dish, and cook at 400 for fifteen minutes.