2. 2
Contents
Getting Started with Paleo:
A 5-Day Action Plan 3
What is the Paleo diet? 4
Day One 6
Day Two 11
Day Three 12
Day Four 14
Day Five 18
Recipes 20
Pancakes 20
Eggs with Veggies 21
Strawberry Kale Smoothie Recipe 21
Cucumber, Herbs, and Asparagus Salad 22
Glorious Broiled Garden Tomato Basil Salad 24
Grilled Garden Harvest Salad 25
Chilled Watercress and Crab Salad 26
Marinated Berries on Fresh Baby Spinach 27
Arugula Salad With Maple Roasted Butternut Squash 28
Melon Sesame Surprise Salad 30
Mesclun Radish and Avocado Salad 31
Nutty Roasted Acorn Squash and Spinach Salad 32
Roasted Baby Beets with Greens and Grapefruit Salad 34
Tender Minty Garden Squash Salad 36
Savory Cauliflower and Capers Salad 37
Spaghetti Squash Harvest Garden Salad 38
Simply Elegant Grilled Squash Salad 40
Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers 41
Chocolate Avocado Pudding 42
Strawberry Frozen Dessert 42
Banana Bites 43
Broiled Pineapple 43
Tips for Paleo Success:
Food Tracking and Support Community 44
Conclusion 45
3. 3
Getting Started with Paleo:
A 5-Day Action Plan
With all the processed foods and other
‘junk’ food choices available today, it’s no
secret that our society is full of the most
unfit, overweight, and unhealthy people
in the world.
There are more food-related health prob-
lems such as cancer, diabetes, high cho-
lesterol, and more, than ever before. But
because you’re reading this book, I want
to say congratulations! You’ve obviously
made an important decision to take back
your health and start eating better. It
doesn’t matter what the reason behind it
is—if you’re newly diagnosed with a dis-
ease or health-related issue, or you’re just
sick and tired of being unhealthy—what’s
important is that you’re taking action to
make the positive changes in your diet
and lifestyle. That’s a huge accomplish-
ment and a very smart decision.
Also, because you’ve picked up this book,
I’m assuming you’re interested in a Paleo
way of eating. This was created to give
you some easy to understand information
about eating a Paleo diet. It’s broken down
into a five-day action plan that will help
you get started, a seven-day sample menu
plan to ease you into your first week, and
some recipes that will help you incorpo-
rate more vegetables and fruits into your
diet.
First, let’s cover the main foundation—
what the Paleo Diet is and whether it’s
right for you or not.
4. 6
Day One
Learn the Basics
We already discussed what the Paleo diet
is, so let’s move onto some of the basics,
or common questions people have when
deciding to follow this lifestyle.
How many calories do I get to eat
on a Paleo diet?
This isn’t an easy question to answer,
except to say that with Paleo, it’s not about
counting calories. It’s not a one-size-fits-
all sort of thing. Each person is different,
so calorie intake will need to be based on
what is best for you. If you must count cal-
ories, take into consideration how often
you are active, if you’re older, younger,
heavier—those will all have an impact on
how many calories your body needs. Also,
one of the great things about this way of
eating is that it’s not meant for you to have
to count calories at all, so don’t spend a lot
of time fretting over this.
Will my entire family be able to
eat Paleo?
This is entirely up to you and your fam-
ily. It’s a safe way of eating, so even chil-
dren can eat this way. It’s easier to stick to
a lifestyle change like this if everyone in
the household is on board. So if you can
get everyone to agree, then yes definitely
offer them all to follow the Paleo plan.
If you transition slowly by introducing
new Paleo meals here and there, and then
repeating the meals that everyone loved,
it’s entirely likely that it will be happily
accepted by everyone. For some families,
it may go most smoothly if there is no
announcement about drastically chang-
ing everyone’s diets. Simply start offer-
ing the healthier Paleo meals. Others may
need to understand why, so it’s up to you
to know how your family will respond.
Will I lose weight?
Most people do. If you find that you’re
not, pay attention to how much fruit
you’re eating. Fruit is allowed, but it does
have sugar in it so if you find you’re not
losing, then try cutting back on your fruit
intake and see if that helps. Also, people
with low thyroid function often have dif-
ficulty losing weight even on a Paleo diet,
or may lose it more slowly than others.
Try not to just focus on the scale, though.
Pay attention to the other benefits, the
non-scale victories that are also possible
when following this way of eating. Many
people eating a Paleo diet state that they
have more energy, less brain fog (can
think more clearly), their joints don’t
hurt (inflammation goes away), their
5. 9
HEALTHY PALEO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A FIVE-DAY PLAN FOR BEGINNERS
enough to eat on its own, there are times
that eating it plain is just boring and it
calls for a little variation, a little ‘spicing’
up. That’s where fruit dip comes in. But
first let’s take a look at some of the fruits
that are perfect for dipping.
Great dipping fruits:
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Pineapple
• Oranges
• Cantaloupe
• Honeydew
• Kiwi fruit
• Blueberries
Fruit dip ingredients:
• Melted dark chocolate, plain (or boost
nutrition with coconut or chopped
nuts)
• Coconut cream
• Date “caramel sauce” (blend 10 dried
dates with enough water to bring to
right consistency)
• Macadamia “cream cheese” (blend ½
cup raw macadamias with juice of ½
lemon, 1 tsp olive oil, and 1 tsp raw
honey)
• Strawberries and cream (blend 1 cup
strawberries, 1 Tbsp raw honey or to
taste, ½ cup coconut cream, and ¼ tsp.
vanilla)
Ok, now let’s move onto fresh vegetables
and dipping ideas for those. Just as men-
tioned above, vegetables are also often
yummy enough to eat on their own but
sometimes they need a little ‘spicing’ up
too. Below you will find a list of veggies
great for dipping, some dip ideas and two
vegetable dip recipes.
Great dipping vegetables:
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Peppers—red, yellow, green, orange
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Radishes
• Asparagus
• Zucchini
• Celery
• Cherry tomatoes
Vegetable dip ingredients:
• Guacamole
• Avocado cilantro zucchini dip
(blended)
• Avocado cucumber dill dip (blended)
• Salsa (red, green, mango)
• Lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and
oregano (this is also a great dressing for
almost any salad)
• Greek No-gurt (blend ½ can coco-
nut cream, juice of ½ lemon, ½ tsp sea
6. 12
Day Three
Modifying How You Cook at
Home and Plan for Eating Out
First, let’s talk about modifying your
cooking at home. Because Paleo may at
first seem to have a limited number of
foods you can have, you could find your-
self making the same thing over and over,
but there’s no need to fall into the bore-
dom trap. You may be amazed to discover
a whole new world of fruits and vegeta-
bles out there! Challenge yourself to find
different ways to create the same meal
using new vegetables, spices, or meats.
Make this a time to experiment with new
things. For example, look for a vegetable
that you’ve never prepared before and try
a new recipe with it.
Something really important to think
about when cooking at home, now that
you’re following the Paleo plan, is to pay
attention to labels and read all ingredi-
ents. You may be surprised to find that
some things you thought would be okay to
use really aren’t. For example, if you want
to marinate a steak and use a prepackaged
or bottled marinade, be sure to read each
ingredient. If there’s gluten, sugar, soy, or
preservatives, it’s not Paleo. More impor-
tantly, it’s not good for you. Your best bet
will be to make all your own sauces. This
way you know exactly what you’re getting.
Have fun with this and find new ways to
create your own sauces and dressings.
More Vegetable Fun
Trying Different Preparation
Methods
Let’s face it, vegetables can be boring. You
can jazz up dinner time by changing out
those old, tired vegetable prep methods
for something new.
1. Grilling Grilling can put a new spin
on eating vegetables. It gives that outdoor
cooked special flavor that only grilling
provides. The biggest obstacle to grilling
vegetables is that it’s not always conve-
nient to get to a grill. If for example you
live somewhere that gets a lot of snow dur-
ing the winter, you’re probably not going
to be doing any grilling. But once the
weather warms up, you can enjoy grilled
vegetables all you want. Some fruits are
even great on the grill, like pineapple.
2. Blanching Briefly dip vegetables into
boiling water and then chill them in ice
water. When the vegetable is submerged
into the cold water, it quickly stops the
cooking. Snow peas or peapods are often
served blanched. They turn a beautiful
bright green, and keep their crispness, but
lose the starchy raw taste.
3. Sautéing This is probably one of the
easiest and quickest ways to put a new
spin on vegetables. When you sauté vege-
tables it’s simply a matter of cooking them
7. 18
Day Five
Sample Meal Plan
If you need a little more guidance to get
started eating Paleo, worry no more. Here
you go—a seven-day sample meal plan
you can follow! If you don’t like some
of the options listed here, just use it as a
starting point and build a menu based on
these options or alter it completely. It’s
entirely up to you.
Day One
Breakfast:
omelet with mushrooms and spinach,
fruit of your choice
Lunch:
chicken salad (salad greens, tomatoes,
avocado, and chopped chicken breast)
Create your own dressing (olive oil and
citrus juices or vinegars make a great
base).
Dinner:
Salmon, steamed asparagus, roasted
sweet potato
Day Two
Breakfast:
two eggs, over easy, served on a bed of
raw or wilted spinach, with tomato slices
Lunch:
roasted chicken with broccoli, tomato,
garlic, and sweet potato
Dinner:
“spaghetti” (make noodles from spiral-
ized or thinly-sliced zucchini, and then
cook them in butter and sea salt until
just tender. Top with sautéed grass-fed
hamburger, sliced mushrooms, tomatoes,
garlic, onion, and Italian seasonings.
Optional: mix up a sauce with olive oil
and balsamic vinegar.
Day Three
Breakfast:
sausage and a tossed salad, with tomato,
carrot shavings, cucumber, and apple
cubes
Lunch:
salad greens with hard-boiled eggs,
roasted beets, and sweet potato wedges.
Dress with fresh lemon juice and olive
oil, salt, pepper, and oregano.
Dinner:
grilled salmon, steamed artichokes, and a
salad with veggies
Day Four
Breakfast:
fruit smoothie with hemp or flax seeds
8. 19
HEALTHY PALEO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A FIVE-DAY PLAN FOR BEGINNERS
Lunch:
BLT salad (nitrate-free bacon crumbled
over romaine with tomato, avocado,
olives, cucumber). Dress with a few
squirts of fresh lemon juice, olive oil, sea
salt, and pepper
Dinner:
grilled shrimp, riced cauliflower, broc-
coli, and pineapple
Day Five
Breakfast:
2 hard-boiled eggs, romaine, and papaya,
with the juice of an orange squeezed over
it
Lunch:
chicken breast, spinach salad with
cucumber, green apple, and red grapes
Dinner:
pork chop, brussels sprouts, and steamed
sweet potato cubes
Day Six
Breakfast:
scrambled eggs, bacon, and blueberries
Lunch:
nitrate-free deli meat and thin-sliced
tomato, cucumber, carrot, and avocado,
wrapped in a large lettuce leaf or fresh
collard green
Dinner:
salmon and pan-fried zucchini and
wilted spinach
Day Seven
Breakfast:
omelet with spinach, zucchini, onion,
and red pepper
Lunch:
grilled rainbow trout salad (top salad
greens with trout, mushrooms, tomatoes,
red onions, and avocado. Dress with
lemon juice and olive oil.)
Dinner:
pan-fried hamburger patty, pan-fried
kale with garlic, and baked sweet potato
fries
9. 16
HEALTHY PALEO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A FIVE-DAY PLAN FOR BEGINNERS
Craving Curbers These can help curb
cravings for less nutritive sweets. You will
want to limit intake of chocolate, though,
as soon as you can comfortably do so.
• Dark chocolate (70% or more cacao)
• Dates
• Sweet potatoes, roasted, baked, or
steamed: topped with coconut oil and
cinnamon
• Red bell peppers
Superfoods to supercharge the nutrient
density of your diet
• Blueberries
• Coconut Oil
• Salmon (wild-caught)
• Parsley (and other fresh herbs)
• Artichoke
• Avocado
• Asparagus
These super foods are not only full of vita-
mins and minerals, but they’re great anti-
oxidant sources. Eating these on a regular
basis will boost your immune system and
help keep you healthy.
Snacks
A lot of people say that when eating Paleo
they don’t find themselves wanting snacks
throughout the day because they’re full. If
you do find yourself hungry in between
meals and feel the need for a snack, here
are a few ideas:
• Sweet potato wedges (roasted or
steamed)
• Piece of fruit
• Raw nuts and dried fruits
• Shake (blend a frozen banana, coco-
nut milk, vanilla, maple syrup and/or
stevia, optional raw cacao powder)
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Kale chips (bake torn kale pieces,
stems removed, tossed in melted
coconut oil, salt, garlic powder, onion
powder, and oregano at 325ºF for 5
minutes at a time, tossing in between,
until crisp)
• Dark chocolate
• Smoothies
Smoothies
Throwing a fruit smoothie together is
a simple and nutritious Paleo-friendly
breakfast or snack. Throw a handful of
your favorite fruit(s) and some greens into
a blender with some coconut milk, coco-
nut water, or plain water, and blend until
smooth. You can add some hemp or flax
seeds for a protein boost. Don’t be afraid
to use a generous amount of greens to
boost your nutrients. Spinach, kale, and
romaine are very mild, and don’t alter
the flavor much. Celery and cucumber
add much needed minerals and salts for
hydration, and assist your body to cleanse
from all manner of toxins. Smoothies
10. 20
Recipes
Now that you have a grasp on the basics of the Paleo way of eating, here are some recipes that
are quick and easy to add to your new cooking rotation. Since most people are quite practiced
in cooking meats, we’ll focus more on preparing vegetables and salads, to give you new ideas.
Pancakes
2 eggs
1 large ripe banana
1/8 tsp baking powder
pinch of cinnamon (or to taste)
In a medium sized mixing bowl, mash the banana until fairly smooth. Add the eggs and whisk
together. Now add the cinnamon and baking powder. Whisk until mixed well.
Heat a flat griddle over medium-low heat, coat your pan with coconut oil.
Pour some batter into the griddle and cook on each side for 2–3 minutes or until brown. (Note:
these pancakes are a lot thinner than a regular pancake so use less batter for each pancake)
Serves 1 person. For more than one, simply double or even triple the ingredients.
11. 21
HEALTHY PALEO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A FIVE-DAY PLAN FOR BEGINNERS
Eggs with Veggies
2 eggs
splash of water
dash of sea salt and pepper
½ cup to 1 cup chopped vegetables of choice (mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, avocado, etc.)
any fresh herbs, chopped
Beat eggs with water, salt, and pepper. Sauté vegetables 1–2 minutes, then pour eggs over the
mix, stirring occasionally, until done. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Strawberry Kale Smoothie Recipe
Couple handfuls of strawberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup chopped raw kale
½ cup coconut milk or coconut water
1 tablespoon hemp or flax seeds
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until desired consistency is reached.
This recipe can be altered almost infinitely with any combination of fruits, greens, milks or
waters, and nuts or seeds. It’s also a great place to slip in powdered supplements like spirulina,
for added nutritional power.
12. 22
HEALTHY PALEO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A FIVE-DAY PLAN FOR BEGINNERS
Cucumber, Herbs, and Asparagus Salad
3 lbs freshly picked asparagus, trimmed
1 bunch green onions
3 cups fresh small cucumbers, scrubbed clean
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1 Tbsp fresh chervil
1 Tbsp fresh chives
1 Tbsp fresh mint
2 tsp fresh tarragon
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar or lime juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup light olive oil
Fill a large pot with water and salt and bring to a rapid boil. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in
a large bowl with ice and water and set in sink.
13. 23
HEALTHY PALEO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A FIVE-DAY PLAN FOR BEGINNERS
When water boils, quickly cook asparagus until just crisp-tender, only about 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove and quickly put in ice bath to cool and stop cooking. Drain well and set aside.
Chop green onions and put in large bowl. Scrub cucumbers, trim ends, cut lengthwise, then
slice thin and add to bowl with onions. Add all the fresh herbs to the bowl and mix together
well; keep cool.
Make dressing by whisking together the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and
black pepper, then slowly start streaming in oil, whisking steadily, until dressing is creamy.
Pour dressing into onion cucumber bowl and toss to combine.
Arrange the asparagus on salad plates and spoon the dressed onion cucumber mixture over
the top. Taste and salt if desired.
14. 24
HEALTHY PALEO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A FIVE-DAY PLAN FOR BEGINNERS
Glorious Broiled Garden Tomato Basil Salad
4 large sweet beefsteak tomatoes
⅓ cup organic, extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil, coarse chopped
⅓ cup oil-cured kalamata olives
4 strips bacon, diced and crisp fried, drained
Wash and cut the tomatoes in half across the ‘equator’ and carefully cut out the insides, chop
up and put in a bowl.
Add to the bowl with the tomato pulp, the sea salt, black pepper, basil, and olives. Mix to
combine.
Place each tomato ‘bowl’ cut side up on a broiler pan and brush lightly with olive oil.
With slotted spoon, fill the bowls with the tomato-basil-olive mixture, making sure you don’t
get too much tomato juice in the tomato bowl.
Place under preheated broiler at 5" away for about 3 to 4 minutes or until tomato softens.
Remove and let cool slightly. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top and serve warm.
Makes 8 individual salads.
