Have things like hard-boiled eggs, cooked ground beef (or shredded chicken is a great idea too) around for grab and go!

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/4360193712/emergency-protein-a-k-a-garbage-stir-fry


^ this. on nights that we don't want to cut up veggies, we've saved even more time by getting a frozen veggie assortment at trader joe's (harvest hodgepodge) to throw in with it. it makes a lot so for two people we're usually really full and have leftovers. it'd probably feed 4.

I can finish preparing and cooking this from start to finish in about 12 minutes. it is great.

I usually have tons of leftovers from my weekly cook up. But for fast meals try: steak and salad. I pan fry the steak and since I like it raw it takes 5 minutes max. The salad also takes 5 minutes. Omelets are fast-no they don't have to be just for breakfast. Or pork chops in the oven, 30 minutes and you can do something else while they are cooking. Meat and veggie stir fries take about 15 minutes.

I have weeks where I don't do a cook up and I still manage just fine. It's a choice.

PS. Even my quick meals are made with huge portions. Anything I make will usually feed us for 4 to 6 meals. I never buy small packs of meat, always family packs and there are only 2 of us.

Monthly and weekly food prep ahead of time is the only solution. Freezer is your best friend! I got mine this spring, and without it I would be 80/20 the most and I am like 98% paleo right now for months. It seriously saves my sanity constantly. When I cook soups and stews, I always cook 3 times the needed amount, we eat one , have one for next day and freeze the 3rd one. I bought a half pig and I am getting a half cow, so I do not need to go to the stores for meat. I go to costco once a month to get nonperishabes like nuts, coconut oil, chia seed etc. I also get there my frozen fruits and veggies and chicken. Plus I buy my eggs , like 8-10 dozens at the time and a block of cheese. I do not do weekly grocery shopping anymore. I signed up to a produce delivery service, they deliver $50-60 worth of fresh organic veggies and fruits to my door once a week. I can customize it if I want to, but if I don't they just bring whatever is in season.

I also make an intensive once a month prep day, usually on my costco shopping day. This includes baking coconut breads,almond flour muffins, banana breads, cookies for my family , and now I make larabars. I freeze the baked good in small batches enough for 2-3 days. My monthly prep also includes making sauces like zesty basil tomato sauce, paleo pesto sauce, or any kinds of veggie dipping sauce. I make tons of those pour it into muffin tin freeze it, and bag it once they are frozen. I also cook rice(for my family) and bake 2-3 spagethi squash on these monthly prepday and freeze in smaller bags. I also cut up an insane amount of onion like 10 lb bag , and pan fried it, and keep in the fridge. It last for weeks, and I virtually pour it on everything for flavor. Check out a few once a month cooking websites for ideas.

For me the monday, tuesday, wendesday is the busiest evening, so I make sure I have quick meal for those days. I make a huge slightly seasoned roast every Sunday, like 5 lb size to get me through those days. One days I just toss the cut up roast on salad, one day I make "pasta" by pulling out a bag of spaghetti squash and a couple of frozen sauce and I toss the cut up meat from the leftover roast and voila instant home made meal. The third day, I make pizza or quesadilla with the leftover roast using coconut flatbread for pizza crust from the my freezer, or sometimes store bought rice tortilla. I am dealing nonpaleo family members and this is their favourite meal of the week. The other 4 days I usually have more time to cook, but I generally use my oven a lot, because I do not need to stand there and can play with my kids while it is cooking.

Monthly and weekly food prep ahead of time is the only solution.

Wonderful ideas in this post. Thanks for taking the time to type it all out. I hadn't thought of doing 10 lb of onions ahead of time -- and they keep in the fridge?

I just passed up a 10 lb bag of onions at Costco because I never thought I could use them before they started to go soft.

I don't usually have leftovers since we eat those at lunch. I usually do one of these:

- Get a full roasted chicken and a boxed salad
- Bacon and eggs.
- Get a shawarma (lebanese pita wrap) and empty the contents on a plate.

I really should look at prepping a little more though since it seems that we are often scrambling last minute with these and when we do, usually we have to scramble around again for lunch the next day since there are no leftovers.

Excellent feedback thus far! Planning ahead & freezing some portions is the way to go.

Do you have a crock pot? There are a ton of Paleo-friendly crock pot recipes that are easy in terms of prep time. And of course, the food cooks while you are away from the house, which is even better.

fastest meal, eggs & bacon...or some kind of protein on top of a salad

I recently bought a cookbook called Make Ahead Paleo and it has tons of stuff that you can prep ahead, freeze in bags, and then cook in the crockpot. The non-crock pot meals are quick as well. So far everything I have made has been good. There are also sections for items that travel well, cooking on trips, and once section called "week in a day" so you have all your meals for the week ready to go. I hate to sound like an advertisement, but this book really works with how our household runs. I work a lot on call and when I am gone my husband gets home later and has a hungry toddler to feed, so quick and pre-prepped is the name of the game. I would love to do it a month ahead like the earlier post, but we don't have a deep freeze and won't get one until our house finally sells, so this is working for now.

Thank you! I just bought this on Amazon and downloaded it to my iPad. Looks great!

I've been making ham wraps quite a bit lately for breakfast or lunch.

We get some pretty thick-sliced ham, pile on a load of salad stuff, and roll it up like a normal wrap. Meat wrap! I prefer it to lettuce ones just because its not as wet.. with lettuce wraps I tend to have a puddle of water on my plate by the end.

I recently bought a cookbook called Make Ahead Paleo and it has tons of stuff that you can prep ahead, freeze in bags, and then cook in the crockpot. The non-crock pot meals are quick as well. So far everything I have made has been good. There are also sections for items that travel well, cooking on trips, and once section called "week in a day" so you have all your meals for the week ready to go. I hate to sound like an advertisement, but this book really works with how our household runs. I work a lot on call and when I am gone my husband gets home later and has a hungry toddler to feed, so quick and pre-prepped is the name of the game. I would love to do it a month ahead like the earlier post, but we don't have a deep freeze and won't get one until our house finally sells, so this is working for now.

Thank you! I just bought this on Amazon and downloaded it to my iPad. Looks great!

I just made the Paleo English Muffins (almond flour version) and Sloppy Joe's last night. It was great and I didn't even have to double the seasonings like on most recipes. The Chili Lime Pork Medallions were awesome (we used pork chops, adjusted cooking time). I made the Cherry Pistachio Scones to keep in the freezer for when I want something baked (subbed apricots because I had them on hand). They are quite hearty. Not something I'd eat every day, but good for now and then. Making the Hunter's Chicken tomorrow and I can't wait to make the Ribeye Nuggets with Jalapeno Pesto.

This recipe book sounds so helpful. I usually borrow paleo recipebook from the library, and they are hit and miss, but my library do not have this one. I may actually end up buying this one.

I follow the make ahead paleo pinterest board , which also very good , have even make a head and freez whole 30 recipe list as well.

I did not know there was a make ahead paleo board, I'm going to look it up! I have lots of Paleo/Paleo-ish recipes on my Pinterest, but always looking for more. My favorite recipe off Pinterest so far has been these short ribs: http://www.bigbearswife.com/2013/04/slow-cooker-braised-short-ribs.html

I poured off the sauce into a saucepan and reduced it on the stove. My husband nearly ate the whole meal himself. Served on spaghetti squash.

Not sure if this was mentioned but... Slowcooker! You can get a small one if you don't like too many left overs. prep the items ahead, but cook them the morning of.

Also, I make a HUGE bowl (if anyone is familiar with Tupperware mega bowl?) full of precut veggies all mixed up:
about 4 carrots
1/2-1 cabbage
2 bell peppers (any color)
1-2 onions
celery

sometimes I will swap out carrots or peppers for zucchini.

This stays in my fridge and I can add it to broth for a quick soup, stir fry it fast with some meat (which you can have precut and marinated in your fridge, will last a while in marinade) I am big on veggies, so this works for me.

Hope that helps.