above all else, be prepared

If there is one thing I've learned about eating real food it's that you've gotta be prepared. Nothing worse than getting home from work, being hungry and not having anything ready to eat. Worse yet is not even having any meat thawed, which has been known to bring me to tears before-- no joke. Anyhow, I tend to cook on Sundays and/or Mondays depending on how much time I have available. Here are some of my tips:
1.) Plan-- this is first and foremost.  Take some time each week to plan a grocery list and buy everything you need for the week.  It's bad news when you get home after a long day and realize you don't have an ingredient or four that you need for your dinner that evening.

2.) Eat leftovers-- it makes life so much easier. My husband and I both take leftovers for lunch every work day. Sometimes I eat mine cold because I'm getting a little weird about microwaving, but I'll save that new found phobia for another post. 

3.) Use some common ingredients in all the meals you are cooking for the week-- this could be meat or veggies or both.  You can brown a couple pounds of ground beef and use one pound for meat sauce with spaghetti squash and season the other pound to make taco meat for salads.  Here's another thing I've learned, sweet potatoes are versatile and delicious with almost anything. They are a great source of nutrients and a healthy source of carbs. You can top them, chop them, bake them, fry them, roast them, spiralize them, I think you get the point by now.
4.) Stick to the basics-- I love consuming a paleo version of comfort food as much as you, but I tend to save those meals for special occasions or the weekend.  Meat and a serving or two of veggies with some healthy fat is definitely the way to go during the week. 
5.) Use your crockpot-- if you don't have one, buy one.  Enough said.
6.) Get over stereotyped meals-- breakfast doesn't have to be cereal, eggs, pancakes, etc.  I recently found out that I do not tolerate eggs, which pretty much turned my world upside down.  However, in the last 3 weeks my breakfasts have consisted of leftovers from dinner the night before, along with some broth and kraut.  Once you can let go of the what you feel like you should be eating at a given meal, it's actually easier.  Put some randomness together if it sounds good to you and eat it up.  I promise it will be good.
Last but certainly not least....
7.) Stock up on safe snacks-- this is vital!  If you're hungry and there are not any safe options for you, you're likely to stuff your face full of your kiddos popcorn or your husband's pretzels. I'm sure we've all been there before, or maybe that's just me.
So, there ya go!  Now go get prepared and eat well!