21 Easy, Affordable Meals That are 21DSD Approved

Kyle Deneke • January 11, 2014

Planning is key to making it through a detox like this. You can’t rely on convenience foods or a drive through. You need to have a weekly meal plan and a fridge stocked with lots of options. Being that we are all short on time and on a budget, I scoured my favorite recipes and selected the top 21 that are tasty, but quick to make and budget friendly. I’m hoping these 21 meal ideas will be really helpful in getting you started. Most of them make enough for 4 people so if you’re just cooking for yourself or you and one other, take advantage of the leftovers for easy lunches the following day. Some of the recipes below are mine and some are from others, but all of them I have made many times so feel free to ask me any questions in the comment section. Enjoy!

1 – Zucchini Pizza Boats – Eliminate the nutritional yeast from her recipe and add some protein. You could add protein in a lot of ways. I recommend making a simple pizza sauce by sautéing 1/2 a red onion and adding 2 spicy italian sausages, removed from casing (I buy them from the butcher case at whole foods). Once sausage is almost cooked through add a jar of mainara sauce (read ingredients and make sure its detox approved) and let it simmer a few minutes. You can use this same sauce for spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles too. It has a ton of flavor and only takes a few minutes.

2 – Tacos – Lots of options and easy on the budget – you can make taco salad, taco lettuce wraps or even get fancy and make these paleo “tortillas”. Make 2 lbs of meat and save 1 lb for the taco soup later in the week.

3 – Paleo Caeser Salad – if you already have a batch of paleo mayo whipped up this will be super quick. Add any extra veggies you like and a protein like grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken or even steak and dinner is done.

4 – Marinated Roasted Chicken Fajitas – This is probably my #1 go to meal when I need something easy and quick. I usually have everything on hand and if you cover your veggie roasting pan in foil than the only pan you have to wash is the one you cook the chicken in. Leave out the sugar (you won’t miss it) and if you don’t have fresh ginger on hand you can leave that out to. This recipe has great flavor even without those two ingredients.

5 – Taco soup – if you have leftover taco meat from earlier in the week this will be super quick to make

6 – Philly Steak Bowl – Leave off the cheese if you’re doing level 3. It’s good even without it.

7 – Shrimp & Chorizo Bites – (Best place to buy the chorizo is from the butcher case at Whole Foods – they make it fresh and they don’t add sugar or other junk). Roast some veggies or make up some cauliflower rice to go a long with this.

8 – BLT – About once a week we do dinner for breakfast. It’s really fast, affordable and the clean up is easy. The roasted tomato and arugula in this recipe takes it up a notch, but obviously skip the english muffin. You can just eat this with a fork and knife (my preference for keeping it simple) or there are a couple of paleo bread options. Savory Herb drop biscuits on Pg 188 of the 21DSD book. These paleo sandwich buns – leave out the stevia and if you aren’t doing dairy you can sub full fat coconut milk for the cream and coconut oil for the butter. And in the new 21DSD cookbook there is a “buttermilk biscuit” recipe on page .

9 – Shepherd’s Pie

10 – Curried Cream of Broccoli Soup – I like her idea of keeping it a simple, one pot meal by just adding some leftover meat to this soup.

11 – Fritatta – the tastier (in my opinion) cousin of the omelet. It’s a great go-to option when you’re low on groceries or short on time. All you need is eggs and then whatever meat and veggies you have on hand (and an oven-safe pan – I like a cast iron skillet). Here’s several options, but don’t be afraid to create your own! Easy Paleo Frittata Hearty Spinach Beef Frittata Caramelized Onion Frittata Bacon & Tomato Frittata

12- Beef & Chorizo Chili

13 – Spicy Mediterranean Chicken Patties

14 – Chili dog with kraut – I always keep a package of Applegate Farms GrassFed Beef hotdogs in the fridge. They are great for quick lunches. Load up a few dogs with your leftover chili, 21DSD ketchup, mustard, Bubbies kraut and/or pickles & you have one of the easiest meals ever.

15 – Asian Meatballs

16 – Paleo Mexican Rice – add some protein with chicken breast or chorizo sausage

17 – Chicken Tortilla Soup – Cook and shred your chicken a day or two before and then the prep time for this soup is only about 10 minutes.

18 – Turkey Sloppy Joes

19 – Cinnamon Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin – Her apple salsa makes this pork really good, but if you’re going to use it, use a green apple and realize that it counts for your apple of the day. Also leave the honey out.

20 – Speghetti Squash Bolognese – This is my all-time favorite recipe of Diane’s. And because I know you will ask, you are allowed to use the wine in this recipe during the detox because the alcohol is cooked out

21 – Red Thai Curry with Chicken – 1 pot Thai deliciousness in about 10 minutes. You can’t beat that.

Sauces / condiments to make ahead and use during the detox:

21DSD approved ketchup

Taco Seasoning mix

Paleo Mayo

Bone Broth – Homemade bone broth is a mineral rich, super food. If you can make your own that is awesome, but if not check out Pacific Simply Stock which only contains chicken and vegetables as opposed to most store brands which contain a paragraph of ingredients, most of which aren’t paleo or 21DSD approved.

< Older Post

Newer Post >