40 Paleo Crockpot Freezer meals!

I was surfing the "internets" one day a few months ago and came upon this glorious blog about 40 Crock-pot meals in 4 hours from Who Needs a Cape .  My first thought was 4 hours? WOW! Then more to the point, can I make this Paleo? Or at least REALLY Close.  The answer was YES. Over the next few months I took each recipe and altered a few ingredients to fit into our diet.  I also bought up ingredients when they went on sale.  I ended up spending $332 total for 40 Paleo Meals.  That is $8.30 per meal with each meal having 4-6 servings.  HUGE savings for trying to feed your family healthy meals on a budget.  You could go cheaper than this if you wanted to cut corners and not buy organic.  You could also go more expensive if you lean more toward the Grass Fed Meats.  I try to stay middle of the road because our family is on a strict budget.

But ONTO THE MEALS!! Here is the Master List. As you can see I make 2 of each recipe unless it says to Make 3. Then we just triple it.

Main Dish (Will make two of each unless otherwise noted)	Make it Paleo!!	Links
Crockpot Applesauce BBQ Chicken	Use Paleo BBQ Sauce, and use coconut Sugar instead of brown sugar.	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/01/crockpot-applesauce-bbq-chicken/
		http://paleonewbie.com/tangy-paleo-bbq-sauce/
Buffalo Chicken	Use Paleo Ranch Seasoning	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/01/crock-pot-buffalo-chicken/
		http://cavegirlinthecity.com/paleo-ranch-seasoning/[1]
Garlic Pesto chicken(Only make chicken parts)	Use Paleo Italian Dressing (instead of Lawry's)	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/01/crockpot-garlic-pesto-chicken-with-pasta-in-a-tomato-cream-sauce/
		http://www.paleocupboard.com/italian-dressing.html
Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs (Make 3 meals)	Use White Wine Vinegar instead of Rice Wine	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/01/crock-pot-maple-dijon-chicken-thighs/
Cilantro Lime Chicken	Omit Corn and beans if you want (We eat corn)	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/08/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-chicken/
Green Chile Pork Stew	Use Tapioca Flour instead of All Purpose	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/01/crockpot-green-chile-pork-stew/
Easy Pulled Pork		http://whoneedsacape.com/2014/02/easy-pulled-pork/
Mongolian Beef (Make 3 meals)	Use Coconut Aminos instead of Soy Sauce, Use Coconut Sugar instead of Brown Sugar, and Use Paleo Hoisin Sauce	http://whoneedsacape.com/2012/11/easy-crockpot-mongolian-beef/
		http://primalfeeding.com/paleo-hoisin-sauce-recipe/
Chicken Tacos	Paleo Taco Seasoning	http://whoneedsacape.com/2012/10/crockpot-chicken-tacos/
		http://thedomesticman.com/2011/03/12/easy-cheap-homemade-taco-seasoning/
Ranch chicken Tacos	Paleo Ranch Seasoning and Paleo Taco Seasoning	http://whoneedsacape.com/2014/04/slow-cooker-ranch-chicken-tacos/
		http://cavegirlinthecity.com/paleo-ranch-seasoning/
		http://thedomesticman.com/2011/03/12/easy-cheap-homemade-taco-seasoning/
Island Chicken	Use coconut Aminos instead of Soy Sauce	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/02/island-chicken/
Chicken Cacciatore	Do not freeze with pasta.  When making to eat use Tapioca or Sweet Potato Noodles	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/08/slow-cooker-chicken-cacciatore/
Chunky Beef Stew (Make 3 meals)	Omit Potatoes (If want can use sweet potatoes)	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/07/chunky-beef-stew/
Balsamic Chicken Legs (Make 3 meals)	Use coconut Aminos instead of Tamari	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/01/crockpot-balsamic-glazed-drumsticks/
Orange Chicken	Use coconut Aminos instead of Soy Sauce	http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/02/crock-pot-orange-chicken/
Terriyaki Chicken (Make 3 meals)		http://www.rubiesandradishes.com/2014/03/13/slow-cooker-paleo-teriyaki-chicken/
Crockpot Fajitas (Make 3 Meals)		http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/02/crock-pot-fajitas/

First thing I did was make up all the Sauces and Spice Mixes I would need to make myself.  Some sauces such as BBQ sauce etc is easier to make Paleo than buy.  This way you control the ingredients:

Zippy Tangy Paleo BBQ Sauce
Paleo Hoisin Sauce
Paleo Ranch Seasoning
Paleo Italian Dressing
Paleo Taco Seasoning

Here is that BBQ sauce in all its glory.  As you can see it looks like ketchup, and don't think I'm not going to try to turn it into ketchup.  I have still not been able to give up ketchup. I LOVE it.  LOVE LOVE LOVE, OK maybe LUST for it....

Once the sauces and seasonings were made I went ahead and pulled out all my dry and canned ingredients to get them ready and organized for the big day.

 I also went ahead and pulled out the 40 Gallon freezer bags I would need and labeled each with the recipe that would go into them. All of this took me about 1 hour. I tried to space it out so I was doesn't doing too much at once. I am 34 weeks pregnant WE MUST REST!


Onto Day 2: Make the Dang Meals

I woke up, ate some breakfast (hey a girl has to eat!) and set to work on my meals.  I started with first placing the meat in each bag. This way I could go ahead and Clorox down my counter tops. I hate the thought of raw meat sitting on my counter. I just can't even deal with it.  SO, this is what I did.

I then decided to pull out all my veggies.  I didn't chop them, I just got them out of the fridge. If you want, you can go ahead and chop all the veggies so its all done.  I was just lazy. After I was finished with this, my husband walks in and says he will help! WOOT WOOT!!! We each grabbed a recipe and got to work.  I had each recipe labeled with how many meals of each we would make.  I doubled all except a few I said to triple. This was to make up the 40 meals total.  Once complete (about 2.5 hours later) my husband and I placed everything in the freezer,

It is a relief to know that I have 40 healthy meals ready to go, especially over my maternity leave.  All I have to do is pull a bag out at night and put in the fridge. I wake up, pull out my crock pot, and put the meal into it. It will be that easy.

These are just the main courses, so side dishes will have to be made fresh. But Hey!! That's the easy part.  Make a salad, steam some veggies, or make your kids favorite side dish!

We tried one this weekend. The Cilantro Lime Chicken was delicious. This was paired with a Steamer bag of Brussel Sprouts for me and my husband, and couscous for the kids.

Yes that's a cheap looking container my food is in. It is a portion I made out to take to work.  We don't take our good Tupperware to work!

We will be doing this again for sure! I'm going to take the next month and try to build up a list of some more recipes to try. I think making the list of recipes around 15 and then doubling or tripling them really saves on the time.  If people enjoy this post then I will post it again! Heck I prob will anyways so I can go back to it later.

The original plan takes about 4 hours to make. My plan will take around 6 hours.  It will be less if you can get you a kitchen helper.  Let me know how you enjoy the recipes if you try!!!!

ENJOY!
~ Lauren