The autoimmune protocol ( AIP) is an elimination diet designed to reduce inflammation and autoimmune symptoms. It cuts out many common foods and ingredients used in the standard American diet. When most of my clients start on this journey they feel very overwhelmed because they don’t know what to eat. However, there are plenty of foods you can eat, and making delicious meals is not as hard as it may seem. Here are my favorite meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to make this elimination diet much easier for you.
Breakfast
I have to admit breakfast is one of the hardest meals to enjoy on AIP. At first, most breakfast foods, including cereal, oatmeal, toast, and eggs are off-limits. However, I have a few favorite breakfast meals that are totally satisfying and get my morning started off on the right foot.
My first dish is green soup. Yes, it may seem strange to eat soup for breakfast. However, I used to be an oatmeal lover and I love hot things in the morning.
The soup I make is super easy. I take one large head of broccoli, one bunch of cilantro, and leafy greens of your choice. I typically use spinach, beet, and dandelion greens. I place them in a steamer basket and steam for about six minutes. And by the way, I fill the steamer basket up with leafy greens until it won’t fit anymore. After steaming transfer to a blender and add bone broth so that it blends into a nice, thick soup. Add half an avocado and about a quarter cup of olive oil and sea salt to taste. Blend again until combined. That’s literally it. When I reheat the soup I add protein powder either collagen or bone broth powder to boost the protein content.
Another favorite of mine is a carrot and coconut bake. It’s essentially shredded carrots, banana coconut milk, coconut shreds, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. You mix it all together and bake for about 45 minutes in a covered dish. If you’re interested in the recipe please shoot me an email. Both of these dishes are great to batch cook on a weekend day to have for the week.
Lunch
If you love salads for lunch, then you’re totally golden on AIP. I typically do a kitchen sink salad and throw in literally every vegetable in my fridge. Add a protein like leftover grilled chicken or canned salmon, avocado, fruit, and dress it with a mix of olive oil, lemon salt, and garlic. If you want something warm, I love Unbound Wellness pumpkin AIP chili. I make this in my pressure cooker and it’s super easy. First, brown the ground meat garlic, and onions on the satay mode. Then throw in sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, nomato sauce, oregano, salt, and bone broth. I only use one cup of bone broth. Cook on high for 35 minutes in quick release. When I eat it I throw in some extra greens and heat until just wilted. Then top with avocado.
Dinner
I think dinner is the easiest even if you have a family to think about. I like to break it down into food groups. Pick a protein and two vegetables then decide how you want to cook them. We typically bake everything in the oven or steamed veggies for my kids. If the rest of the family wants a grain, batch cook some rice or quinoa to go with it. For a more elaborate dish stir fry is a fun and easy option. Just replace rice with cauliflower rice and replace soy sauce with coconut aminos and you’re good to go. You could also do a nice stew. A really simple one is to use either lamb or beef with some winter squash, bone broth, garlic and onion, and salt to taste. I’ve done this in my pressure cooker too for a super easy meal.
Snacks
Snacks seem to be the hardest for the AIP way of eating. My personal favorites are beet and carrot chips by Rhythm. I also love dipping these in my brand new favorite dish, chicken liver pate. Yes, organ meats are so important and I finally found a way to eat them without getting my gag reflex. The chicken liver pate does use ghee, but you could probably substitute coconut oil and get a similar product. Again feel free to email me for that recipe as well.
I also love tigernuts and coconut flakes cereal from Thrive Market. Most of the other cereals have cassava flour in them and I’m sensitive to cassava, so my cereal choices are limited. Fruit is also a great option for snacking on as well. S
As you can see, following the AIP protocol can be very simple. You just need to get a little creative with your dishes. For more help with reducing your inflammation, following AIP, or managing reintroductions, please book a free discovery call with me. I’d love to be able to help you feel better and get back to your old self again. My group program is now open for enrollment. Please click here to apply.
