Updated June 7th, 2021
This is your ultimate guide to paleo meal plans – what that means, how to do it, and our secret to making it as simple as possible.
And as a bonus – we’ve even included a free 7 day sample paleo meal plan just for you.
I’m not going to sugar-coat it – meal planning is absolutely essential to your success on the paleo diet.
“He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” – Winston Churchill
Not only does meal planning take time – but you have other stuff to do! Cooking & eating healthy is hard enough without planning it all yourself as well. You have better things to do – whether it’s your job, taking care of your family or spending time on what you enjoy.
That’s why we created Ultimate Meal Plans – a done-for-you meal planning service that makes staying paleo & healthy oh, so simple.
Want to try a week of Ultimate Meal Plans? Get a Free 7 Day Sample Meal Plan here.
Table of Contents
What Is Meal Planning?
Meal planning is when you sit down and decide what meals you’ll prep for the week. This requires some thought, research, and list-making.
Meal prepping is the act of preparing food in advance so that it makes eating easier through the week.
This can include shopping for ingredients, preparing the food, and portioning it out for the week ahead. Depending on the person doing it, it can happen in an infinite amount of ways.
Without meal planning, meal prep would be almost impossible. Meal planning should be the first step in your prep routine.
You should take into account how your week is scheduled out, and determine what meals and the type of meals you’ll need to get through the week. From there, you can build your own planning template to make sure your new health journey is a success.
3 Reasons To Meal Plan on the Paleo Diet
So let’s cut to the chase. Here’s why meal planning is going to change your life.
Meal Planning Makes Life Easier
Most obviously, you should meal plan and prep because it makes eating throughout the week much easier. Whether you’re making entire meals or just preparing your ingredients to be easier to incorporate into meals, any sort of pre-preparation makes a difference.
Meal Planning Saves You Time, Money, and Sanity
Meal prep will save you money. No joke, when you’re prepared with meals and a plan, there’s less chance that you’ll find yourself running to the closest restaurant on your lunch break because you don’t have anything to eat.
It will save you time. You know those nights that you get home from a hard day and the last thing you want to do is cook? Good news – when you meal plan, you’ve already got meals in your fridge ready to go. Hallelujah.
It will save you mental capacity. Decision fatigue is a real thing. We have so many decisions to make throughout the day, and the more decisions we have to make, the more chance there is that we make poor ones as the day continues. Science has explored this and it’s really quite interesting.
When you prepare, that’s one less choice you have to make through the day. It not only saves you from throwing your hands in the air and splurging on junk food, but it also allows you to reserve your willpower and spend your precious mental energy on making other decisions.
Meal Planning Sets Yourself Up For Success
Meal prepping sets you up for success. By doing it, you’re making a tangible commitment to yourself. Unlike just telling yourself that you’ll eat healthy this week, you’re taking an actionable step to get yourself there. Every time you open your fridge or pack your lunch with your prepped food, you can see that commitment staring you in the face.
Learn more about meal planning here.
The Secret To Paleo Success
We realize that meal planning is hard. We’re all busy and at some point, something has to give.
We don’t want the thing to go to be your health. That’s how Ultimate Meal Plans was born.
Ultimate Meal Plans was created by (and for) busy people JUST LIKE YOU. We want to take one less thing off your plate. Let us do your meal planning for you so that you have more time and mental capacity to enjoy other things in your life.
When you sign up for Ultimate Meal Plans, every Saturday, you’ll get a brand new weekly paleo meal plan, recipes for every meal of the week, and a shopping list of every single ingredient you’ll need.
Seriously – you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips. You can even online grocery shop.
We aim to give you everything you need to start and stick to a Paleo lifestyle.
Why Choose Ultimate Paleo Meal Plans?
There are a lot of paleo meal planning services out there. What sets Ultimate Meal Plans apart from the rest?
15/5 Rule
I’d argue it’s the 15/5 rule that all of our recipes follow. Each recipe sets you up for simple success – it contains no more than 5 ingredients and takes no longer than 15 minutes to whip up.
No complicated recipes or a mile-long grocery list is needed for you to succeed at paleo. This plan ensures that you keep it simple.
Shopping List + One Click Shopping
Each week, you’ll get a comprehensive shopping list that will make going to the store as easy as possible. Not only that, but you also have the opportunity to shop right from your browser with our online integration with online grocery retailers like Thrive Market and Amazon Fresh.
Support
Not only that but you are supported every step of the way. When you sign up, you’ll get access to our private Facebook community where you can connect with people who are following the same plan. You’ll also be guided by our in-house nutritionist, Chelsea, who is available to answer any question you may have.
Success Stories
Here’s what real people have to say about it…
“My favorite feature of Ultimate Meal Plans is the simplicity. Every week I am sent easy recipes and do not have to worry about putting together a healthy meal plan.” ~ Kelsey
“I like the shopping list that is built to support the whole week’s menu. The layout of the weekly menu is great as I just print it and put it in a binder in the kitchen.” ~ Scott
“The Ultimate Meal Plans have had a tremendous impact on my life. I started the journey mid January weighing in at 203 lbs. Since I have become Paleo and following these plans, I am now weighing in at 155 lbs. I feel great, have more energy and am sleeping peacefully through the night! My husband has also noticed the difference and couldn’t be more proud of me. #paleorocks” ~ Teresa
“It makes it so much easier to have the meal plans all completed, saves me time and money.” ~ Michelle
A Free 7 Day Paleo Meal Plan
Do you want to see what a sample week of paleo eating looks like? Well, you’re in luck. Below, we’ve outlined a sample week of all paleo goodness. Most of the recipes come right from our paleo recipe archives. Enjoy!
Day 1:
Breakfast – Paleo omelet
Lunch – Salmon Kale Salad
Snack – Apple slices with almond butter
Dinner – Slow cooker pulled pork
Day 2:
Breakfast – Paleo banana bread
Lunch – Blanched/sautéed veggies (pre-made and reheated)
Snack – Can of tuna + smashed avocado
Dinner – Steak Burrito Bowls
Day 3:
Breakfast – Banana pancakes
Lunch – Soup (reheated or in a thermos)
Snack – Cinnamon Honey Paleo Granola
Dinner – Instant Pot Italian Chicken Breasts
Day 4:
Breakfast – Paleo Blueberry Muffins
Lunch – BLT wrap with lettuce instead of bread wrap
Snack – Hard boiled eggs
Dinner – Fajitas
Day 5:
Breakfast – Steak, Kale, and Eggs
Lunch – Cold cut meats and veggies (snack-like but filling)
Snack – Avocado
Dinner – Slow Cooker Bison Pot Roast
Day 6:
Breakfast – Eggs and sweet potato hash browns
Lunch – Sandwich with bell pepper slices instead of bread
Snack – Almonds
Dinner – Crunchy Beef and Brussels Sprouts
Day 7:
Breakfast – Egg/veggie/meat scramble
Lunch – Dinner leftovers
Snack – Berries + Almond Butter
Dinner – Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Ready to change your life?
Meal planning is the most important thing you can do to stay paleo – even when things get hard.
There’s a reason hundreds of people trust Ultimate Meal Plans to make them delicious & healthy meal plans every week. It’s our #1 favorite meal planning service, so give it a try!
Get a Free 7 Day Sample Meal Plan from Ultimate Meal Plans
Download Your FREE Paleo Starter Kit Today!
- 3-Day Paleo Diet Meal Plan
- Comprehensive Paleo Diet Shopping List
- 5 of Our Favorite Paleo Diet Recipes
I’m looking for a paleo meal plan that does all the work. Looks like your plans do. However when I sign up does it show me what to prep for the entire week? I like to prep as much as possible and then just throw it all together at meal time, or pre cook.
Thanks!
Yup – We include paleo meal plans, shopping lists & recipes in our meal planning service here – https://paleoguide.wpengine.com/meal-plan-monthly-service/
I was reading about your meal plans. Do you actually customize them per person? I don’t eat pork due to religious reasons, but I do LOVE bacon and have been able to find beef and turkey that follow the Paleo requirements. Also I don’t care for seafood…maybe tuna salad but have to really be in the mood. 🙂
Would this be a problem in creating menus for me?
Hi Elizabeth – our meal plans are made to follow the paleo diet – we let people customize them on their own if they have unique requirements (allergies, religious reasons, vegetarian, etc). If you’d like more personalized programming – you can look at our paleo coaching that’s available.
Hi,
I am in the military overseas so I need meals that are fast and quick to make. Such as breakfast. I have a hour after my command work out and to shower, change, get ready, drive 10 min to base to get to work. I often skip breakfast because of this… Is there a meal plan I can grab and go I’m sick of boiled eggs and fruit…
Holly – check out our paleo breakfast recipes here.
So am very busy in the morning, i have to leave the house by 8am, I dont have time to make breakfast am wondering if i can use fruits and some vegetables or almonds in the morning , and is it okay if i dont eat meat in this diet.
Fruits, veggies & almonds are great.
Hi, I was wondering how can I purchase your recipient book as it only asks for my acc details but not the address where I want it sent to?
Regards
Hi Sara, teh book is entirely digital – so you can download it immediately.
Do you guys have an android app that works with your meal plans?
Not yet!
I recently purchased the weekly meal planning service but I only need to cook for myself. How many people are the meal plans designed for?
Hi Alison,
The meal plans are simply meal plans. Depending on the recipe – you can make as much or as little as you need to!
Thank you, Brock. That’s what I have been doing when I pick out a recipe. I bought the weekly meal plan for the shopping list. I didn’t want to have to go through all the recipes, cut them down for one person, and then create a new shopping list. I was hoping to find out how many people the meal plans are created for so I could just divide the shopping list.
I’m VERY new to paleo. Don’t know very much at all. Just a few baics in regard to why, benifits, and some foods. I am not looking to spend money to find out more about paleo diets, but I am VERY interested. I’m looking to make serious changes but honestly….I’m brokedy broke peeps! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!
Hi Ellie,
We have tons of content around this site for free. Check out our about page for a bunch of good links to get you started.
Which are allowed? : Lactose Free milk
I can’t believe its not butter
Glutten free corn chex
Tortilla chips
None of those are paleo Doug.
Hi, Thanks for this info – I am keen to use paleo nutrition for triathlon coaching and nutrition plans as part of my triathlon plans and I appreciate the information here. My aim is to show triathletes a way to eat for performance and health, and I think the stock advice from British triathlon and sports nutrition in general results in inflammation and ill health. Great website, thanks!
Can I have almond milk?
Yup – almond milk is paleo! Check out our list here (or the paleo.io reference app). Just watch out for the sugar in the sweetened kind!
Hi, this whole site is extremely useful, and the plan seems handy, however, I’ve noticed that eggs are listed as food products to avoid and on the meal plan there are a few breakfasts in which they are recommended. Are they allowed or not?
Thanks!
Hey Maja,
Eggs are just fine – where do you see them on a list of “foods to avoid”
Hey Joel! Basically wanted to take a moment to say Thank You for sharing the free info and to share the thrill of my story. My greatest joy would be to help my husband so I’m looking into the Paleo diet.
I was surfing web for free Paleo info & came across your site here. Without knowing everything about Paleo but having researched it in the past, I know it is a winner in many circles world-wide.
I have gathered a diverse knowledge-base on dietary venues over the last 17 years and what has worked for me as of the last month resulted in a 5lbs weight loss. I drink for 8 hours of the day and eat for only 4, and Sunday I eat. So without going into too much detail, my disciplined regiment consists of simple “clean” drinking (water, juicing, smoothies and bone broth – all DIY) from when I wake up to 4pm which is about 8 hours of only fluid intake. And then I enjoy “clean” eating from 4pm to 8pm (about 4 hours of eating my DIY meals – mostly salad/veggies and some sort of protein and sometimes a low glycemic fruit as last meal). Sundays I eat “clean” or take a couple of Bulletproof brand charcoal caps if off-diet-type food or eating out (which assists in promptly clearing out toxins.)
Anyway, I’m on a mission to help my beloved husband! He’s a youthful 61 and since a recent health scare, he’s decided to make changes to his deeply engrained all-American diet by yielding all nutritional decisions for his wellbeing to me! As much as I love this opportunity to come to his rescue and lead by example, he is extremely picky and since starting on his nutritional health journey 2 months ago has managed to lose up to 8lbs. Unfortunately, after he stopped weighing in 3 weeks ago due to a 2lbs weight gain, his diet discipline is half-committed and declining at this point and he appears to have gained all the weight back (maybe more?!)
I just watched a paid Paleo marketing info site (I believe it was Paleo Secrets) and decided to google “free Paleo info” since there’s a chance that it could work for him once he gets fully recommitted.
I am a Grand-Mother and full-time housewife dedicated to my man and family with a passion for “clean eating” as it continues to resolve my health issues (inflammation). I mainly cook a lot hence my DIY mention above. Improving my husband’s ailing health conditions is everything to me/us and the bright future we see ourselves enjoying together. I’m purposed to increase his quality of life while wanting to eliminate his medical expenses. I believe
unequivocally that food can heal all ailments which is completely dependent on the nutritional choices one makes. He tends to sway toward making error choices A LOT lately!
With all that said, I plan to dive into Paleo meal planning for him which will undoubtedly benefit me too. I suppose I may want to look into Paleo support sites if challenges arise with his pickyness. I’ll keep your site bookmarked to report back our journey outcome with this plan 🙂
CHEERS & Thank You again!!! – Bella
I am a vegetarian. No seafoods or meat. Do you have a vegetarian meal plan
Hi Beena – no, we just focus on paleo meal plans & let people adapt it to their own way of life.