Do you ever wonder what AIP bloggers eat and how they manage the autoimmune protocol in the kitchen? What are their best tricks to make AIP more simple, more doable?
AIP made simple looks different for everyone. For me, staying compliant with AIP means meal prep and batch cooking.
Meal prep and batch cooking doesn’t have to be a huge and exhausting task! I batch cook twice per week several recipes and that gets me through 3 to 4 days. I love the convenience I get from having my meals ready to go in the fridge. I just have to grab, reheat, and voilà, breakfast, lunch or dinner is ready.
If you think that meal prep might be the right thing for you, check out my online membership program AIP Made Simple. One of the perks you get is monthly, done-for-you AIP meal plans with shopping lists and batch cooking directions.
I reached out to other AIP bloggers to ask them what is the one thing that makes AIP more simple for them. Here is what they had to say!
When I first started eating AIP, I was living with chronic fatigue so I learned to cook very simply. I relied on cooking techniques that were more “hands-off” like boiling, steaming and baking. I’d also cook my vegetables whole or with minimum cutting/peeling to further simplify my meal prep. Finally, the trick to enjoying super simple foods is to start with the freshest possible ingredients. Seasonal produce and high-quality proteins are so tasty on their own, they don’t need much fussing. A bit of olive oil, salt, fresh herbs or lemon juice is really all you need! – Kat Woods (Hope Heal Cook)
Don’t be so tied down to recipes! Say if a traditional recipe calls for many ingredients and some of which are not AIP, then don’t get discouraged. You can still go ahead and make the recipe without those non-AIP ingredients. Either consider omitting them completely or use AIP alternates that resemble the original ingredients. Focus on making your plate simple but more nutrient-dense (how many vegetables can I add) and 99% of the time, the meal will turn out delicious! – Indira Pulliadath (Cook 2 Nourish)
My strategy for keeping AIP simple is meal planning. Planning ahead makes grocery shopping easier because I know exactly what I need. It keeps me from getting hungry because I always know what’s for dinner. And it helps save money but reducing waste. Since I plan my meals around the food that I have, nothing gets forgotten about in the fridge. – Beth Chen (Bon Aippetit)
For me, making AIP as simple as possible come down to planning ahead and ensuring that 75% of my meals weren’t complicated. I follow a 1 protein, 2 veggie side dish template for most of our meals so that I can buy a variety of protein and produce at the store (focusing on the sale items to save money) and create dishes out of those items. If I have a pound of ground beef, a bunch of kale and a bunch of carrots, I can easily sautee the ground beef with seasonings, roast the carrots with warming spices and steam the kale with lemon for a healthy AIP meal. – Alaena Haber (Grazed and Enthused)
My best strategy for making AIP more simple in the kitchen is to stick to the basics. In other words, when planning meals, I choose one of my favorite proteins, add a couple of veggies, cook in healthy fat, and top it off with some fruit if I feel like something sweet. When I focus on simplicity, I forego recipes and instead simply bake, oven roast, grill, or pan-fry my protein and veggies with AIP compliant seasonings. Viola! Easy peasy! – Shanna Nemrow (Shanna Nemrow)
Keep it efficient – Good quality must-have basics like knives and cutting boards are super important. If your budget allows, invest in gadgets like a food processor and high-speed blender.
Keep it organized – A good storage system that fits your portion needs will make organizing your batch cooked meals easier.
Keep it Interesting – Stock up on AIP compliant spices/ flavorings to keep your tastebuds happy! – Astrid Fox (Heal Me In The Kitchen)
Meal prepping is my favorite strategy to make AIP more simple in the kitchen. Sometimes I just don’t have time to do a long batch cooking session on the weekend, because life gets busy sometimes! Instead, I love to prep elements of weeknight meals to cut down on food prep and cooking time during the week. My favorite things to do ahead of time include: chopping and peeling veggies, marinating and seasoning animal proteins, making sausage or burger patties, making sauces to jazz up meals, or cooking a big batch of shredded chicken in the slow cooker that I can turn into meals throughout the week! – Jesse St. Jean, NTP (AIP Sisterhood)
Sheet pans! Being able to throw down some parchment paper on a jumbo sheet-pan, then add some coconut or avocado oil, veggies, and a protein is pure, easy, one-pan-meal magic. When the meal is ready, all I have to do is serve it straight from the pan, store any leftovers, then discard the parchment…usually getting away with a just quick rinse of the pan and washing a cutting board as my clean-up. – Samantha Teague (The Unskilled Cavewoman)
My best strategy to make AIP simple in the kitchen would be to focus on batch cooking, portioning and freezing simple proteins and tasty sauces and then just add fresh veggies from the fridge to make a meal. Each day I’ll go shopping in my freezer and pull out the cooked meats or fish I’ll have the next day along with a yummy sauce. Fresh veggies from the fridge can be roasted, turned into a stir-fry, or made into a big salad, then I just add the sauce and protein. Stir-fried and roasted veggies freeze well, so sometimes I even portion and freeze those too! – Stacey Venancio (Real World AIP)
The absolute biggest favor I can do for myself to make this way of eating easier is to always have chopped/sliced/spiralized vegetables in the fridge at all times. I can put together a nutrient-dense meal in under ten minutes. BAM! – Wendi Washington Hunt (Wendi’s AIP Kitchen)
When you’re organized in life you feel more in control and this is equally important to thriving on the AIP. By far and away the best strategy that keeps AIP simple, both for myself and every single one of my clients, is batch cooking. Once that’s sorted, anxiety, stress levels and overwhelm come right down, there’s more time for the fun things in life, and the healing process is taken to the next level. – Kate Jay (Healing Family Eats)
Sounds pretty basic but my best strategy for making AIP more simple in the kitchen is having AIP food on hand! Making sure I have food in the fridge or freezer for quick meals is a must! No need to get fancy, keep the complicated recipes for when you have loads of time. Instead, go for the recipes that have minimal ingredients and won’t take long to cook. Think ingredients like ground meats, greens, frozen cauliflower rice, fish, etc. One-pan meals with ground meats are easy and baked fish is quick! – Rebecca Boucher (Lichen Paleo, Loving AIP)
For me to make AIP more simple in the kitchen involves being as prepared as possible and being able to make a few dishes at a time that last an extra few meals so that you are not necessarily cooking huge amounts every day. For example I eat baked sweet potatoes every day, so I make a huge big dish of roast sweet potatoes in one go and then keep it covered in the fridge. When I need some, I just have to heat up what I need at the time.
Also, I don’t think you always have to follow complicated recipes. If you can do the basics of roasting chicken, roasting meats, baking fish and veggies and making salads, you can come up with delicious meals on a daily basis in different combinations. – Yael Goodman (Reversing Autoimmune)
Whenever I feel overwhelmed in the kitchen, I find getting back to the basics most helpful. I usually have a ferment in the fridge (sauerkraut is a favorite in our house), lots of fresh produce ready to be made into a salad, veggies to roast or sauté, and a variety of protein options. Using any combination of those for my meal (or making soup), along with a healthy fat (like avocado or olives) and I find that sense of overwhelm is quickly replaced with a nourishing meal and a reminder that the AIP does NOT have to be complicated. – Erin Cox (Real Food and Love)
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