Meal planning in any form takes some work. Coming up with a workable AIP meal plan can be all the more intimidating. However, it's possible to have a plan that works great for you and your family.
In this autoimmune protocol meal plan, you'll find 7 days' worth of meals and snacks. This meal plan can be used "as is" or as a template. Below, I've provided extra meal and snack options to choose from. These can be subbed into the existing meal plan to fit your specific preferences.
Additionally, you'll find a free 20 page PDF below with the meal plan, meal prep checklist, and all the recipes needed for the plan.
If you are unfamiliar with how the AIP diet works, you can check out The Beginner's Guide to the Autoimmune Protocol for details.
**Just a quick heads up- this post contains affiliate links which means if you click on them and buy something, I will earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) to help continue maintaining this site.
Keep Your AIP Meal Plan Simple
Trying to plan too many complex recipes at once can lead to a long shopping list of obscure and exotic ingredients. This can lead to overwhelm which could lead to abandoning the AIP meal planning process entirely.
With this being said, the goal for this AIP meal plan post is to give you a simple, flexible, meal plan that you can print off and easily follow to get started. I've provided alternative options as well so you can shape it to fit your needs as you go.
Individualize It
When it comes down to planning out how you want to meet your AIP diet needs, you have to consider what will work for you and your family. If you are someone that has some time during the week to cook meals, then doing all your prep on the weekends may not be necessary.
On the other hand, if you are working or going to school all week, you may need things to be prepped and ready to go. In this case, taking some time to get things prepped on the weekend is very valuable.
Be Realistic With Your Plan
While it's inspiring to see creative AIP diet recipes on Pinterest, it's not realistic to expect that you'll cook that way every day. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty day-to-day of maintaining a strict AIP diet, it’s important to be realistic. This means figuring out what works best for you and your family.
Here’s What You’ll Like About this AIP Meal Plan:
- The dinner recipes are simple and relatively fast for busy weeknights.
- The lunches are mostly based on leftovers from the previous night's dinner so there's little extra prep required.
- Snack options relatively simple and easy to prepare (or require no prep).
- All meals and snacks are elimination phase compliant.
Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
How to Use this Plan
- Use this 7-day AIP Meal Plan as it is or Change it UpIf you need to swap out some meals and snacks, you can find suggestions later in this post.
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Pick 2-3 breakfasts to use throughout the week.
If you would like to do more than that, it’s perfectly fine but starting out with 2-3 keeps things a little simpler. Some of them can be thrown together the morning you need them and a couple of others may require a small amount of prep on the weekend.
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Use Dinner Leftovers for Lunches
The only exception is lunch Monday because that's the start of the plan if you're doing it for the first time.
This means adjusting the number of servings to accommodate leftovers. Cooking this way will allow you to cook less and minimize the amount of prep work needed on the weekends.
Depending on the recipe and size of your family, you may need to double or even triple the recipe. If you’re just cooking for yourself, you may not need to double up on the recipe at all. You’ll have to gauge this part.
If you don't like leftovers, see the section below titled "What if I Don't Like Leftovers?" for some lunch prep ideas.
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Cook Every Night or Just Pick a Few Dinners
While this meal plan includes 7 dinner recipes, odds are you may not end up cooking dinner all 7 nights.
You might eat out or just not feel like cooking every single night. As we've done with the lunches, you can also make extras of certain meals and save them for dinner another night.
For example, you could choose 3 or 4 of the 7 dinner recipes and just make large batches of them planning to eat them for more than one dinner in a given week.
You could also use this strategy but freeze the extras and save them for dinner another week- this will give you a little more variety in your meal plans as you stock up some freezer meals over time.
7 Day AIP Diet Meal Plan
Monday
Breakfast: Rainbow Chard with Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms with Easy Meal Prep Ground Turkey
Lunch: canned wild salmon over a baked sweet potato with pineapple salsa (1/4 c diced pineapple, 1 tbsp red onion, 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, squeeze of lime juice)
Dinner: Moroccan Chicken Stew
Snacks: 1 cup mixed berries and ¼ cup coconut chips, 1 cup Bone Broth OR Wild Zora Soup Packet
Tuesday
Breakfast: Rainbow Chard with Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms with Easy Meal Prep Ground Turkey
Lunch: Moroccan Chicken Stew
Dinner: Beef Stew
Snacks: Apricot Protein Bites, 1 cup Bone Broth OR Wild Zora Soup Packet
Wednesday
Breakfast: Rainbow Chard with Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms with Easy Meal Prep Ground Turkey
Lunch: Beef Stew
Dinner: Creamy Shrimp Vegetable Skillet
Snacks: 1 cup mixed berries and ¼ cup coconut chips, 1 cup Bone Broth OR Wild Zora Soup Packet
Paleo on the Go sells AIP compliant Bone Broth as well.
Thursday
Breakfast: Apple Beet Berry Smoothie
Lunch: Creamy Shrimp Vegetable Skillet
Dinner: Easy AIP Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice with Basil
Snacks: wild-caught canned tuna with avocado slices, Key Lime Pie Energy Balls
Friday
Breakfast: Apple Beet Berry Smoothie
Lunch: Easy AIP Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice with Basil
Dinner: Creamy Turkey, Mushroom, and Brussels Sprouts Soup
Snacks: wild-caught canned tuna with avocado slices, Key Lime Pie Energy Balls
Saturday
Breakfast: Lovebird Cereal with coconut milk, fresh fruit
OR Sweet potato Breakfast Bowl (baked mashed sweet potato mixed with 1 scoop collagen powder, ¼ cup coconut milk and 1 tsp maple syrup- top with coconut shreds, coconut milk, raisins, diced apples, etc.
OR if you want a fancy sweet potato bowl, try my Purple Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl.
Lunch: Creamy Turkey, Mushroom, and Brussels Sprouts Soup
Dinner: Instant Pot Pulled Pork with a baked sweet potato and steamed asparagus
Snacks: 1-2 Epic Meat Bars or Wild Zora Meat Bars with cucumber slices, Apricot Protein Bites
Sunday
Breakfast: Lovebird Cereal with coconut milk, fresh fruit
OR Sweet potato Breakfast Bowl (baked mashed sweet potato mixed with 1 scoop collagen powder, ¼ cup coconut milk, and 1 tsp maple syrup- top with coconut shreds, coconut milk, raisins, diced apples, etc.
OR if you want a fancy sweet potato bowl, try my Purple Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl.
Lunch: Instant Pot Pulled Pork with cauliflower rice and steamed asparagus
Dinner: AIP Coconut Chicken Nuggets with baked carrot or parsnip fries
Snacks: 1-2 Epic Meat Bars or Wild Zora Meat Bars with cucumber slices, Easy Banana Bread Mug Cake
You can get the autoimmune paleo meal plan PDF (20 pages) by subscribing below.
It includes the meal plan schedule with links to the autoimmune diet recipes and snacks. It also has a meal prep checklist and the dozen recipes that go with this plan. That way you don't have to click into each one individually to print.
*It also includes the links to the printable page for each recipe where you can adjust the number of servings if needed. This will automatically change all the ingredient measurements accordingly.
Weekend Meal Prep for this Plan
- Prepare Rainbow Chard with Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms and Easy Meal Prep Ground Turkey for breakfasts and pre-portion out into containers (enough for at least 3 days).
- Bake the sweet potato(es) and make the pineapple salsa (1/4 c diced pineapple, 1 tbsp red onion, 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, squeeze of lime juice) for lunch on Monday.
You'll also need sweet potatoes for Saturday and Sunday's breakfasts (if having sweet potato bowls). However, you may want to wait until mid-week or later in the week to cook these.
- Make the Apricot Protein Bites and Key Lime Pie Energy Balls. Separate them into separate zip-lock bags or containers in individual serving sizes.
- If not using dinner leftovers for lunches, select 1 or 2 lunch items to prep for the week.
- Wash and cut some vegetables/fruits ahead of time if needed, especially for snacks.
- Prepare Bone Broth (or buy it) if using it as a snack.
This post tells how to do it. If you'd prefer to buy your bone broth, you can get it from ShopAIP or Paleo on the Go.
If you want to swap out any of the meals or snacks in the above meal plan, check out some of the ideas below.
Additional AIP Breakfast Ideas
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Wild Zora Grain-Free Hot Cereals
Wild Zora has new grain-free AIP cereals! Check out their Classic and Baked Apple Instant Cereals made with ground tiger nuts, coconut, and other tasty ingredients. If you're missing oatmeal or grits instant packs, these cereals are a great option for bringing hot breakfast cereal back into your life. Save 15% at Wild Zora using this link.
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Paleo on the Go Poptarts
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Simple Blueberry Banana Smoothie
1 cup frozen blueberries, 1 banana, 1 cup spinach, 1 cup coconut water (or plain water), 1 scoop collagen powder (optional). (No advance prep needed)
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Fresh Fruit
Apples, bananas, pears, berries, oranges, grapes, melon, etc.
- Turkey Apple Onion Hash, By Eat Beautiful, (Prep ahead)
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Coconut Yogurt Berry Parfait
½ cup Coconut Yogurt (buy and the store or make your own), 1/4 cup fresh mixed berries, 2 tbsp coconut flakes, 2 tbsp banana chips/apple chips, sprinkle of cinnamon, a drizzle of maple syrup (optional)
- Sliced Cantaloupe with Prosciutto
- Sweet Potato Noodles with Bacon (US Wellness Meats carries an AIP compliant bacon product.
- Chicken and Apple Sausage, by Ancestral Chef
- Apple and Cinnamon Cauliflower Porridge, By Every Last Bite
- Spiced Carrot AIP Breakfast Porridge, By Thriving on Paleo
- Banana and Cream Oatmeal, By A Girl Worth Saving
**For more breakfast ideas, check 109 Awesome Breakfast Ideas You'll Love.
AIP Strawberry Banana Pancakes, Food Courage
Addional AIP Lunch Options
Most lunches leftovers from dinners. However, if you want some other lunch ideas, keep reading.
I Don't Like Leftovers. What Other Options Do I Have for Lunches?
While using leftovers from dinners is a great time-saver, some people just do not like leftovers. If that's the case for you, check out some of the lunch prep ideas below:
- Steamed cauliflower rice, ground beef, diced roasted sweet potatoes, and avocado with a drizzle of coconut aminos
This is one of my go-to's- prep ahead on the weekend and just portion it out for several meals during the week.
- AIP Waldorf Salad, by Healing Autoimmune
- AIP Chicken Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing, By Healing Autoimmune
This is another one that takes just a little bit of prep on the weekend and then you can pre-portion and use for most of the week's lunches. As with any salad, save the dressing separately and add it to the salad just before you eat it.
- Lettuce Wrap or Coconut Wrap with canned tuna, diced mangoes and/or pineapples, shredded cabbage, and a lime wedge (on the side)
- Lettuce Wrap or Coconut Wrap with diced chicken breast, nitrate-free bacon, diced cucumbers, shredded carrots, and avocado. (US Wellness Meats sells AIP friendly bacon, affiliate link)
Additional AIP Dinners and Side Dish Options
AIP Chicken Bacon Pasta Salad, Food Courage
- Kale Salad with Rainbow Carrots and Cranberries
- AIP Simple Chicken Bacon Pasta
- Raspberry Avocado Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing
- Warm Kale Salad with Apples and Lemon Maple Dressing
- Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Beets
- Grilled steak or chicken and Blueberry Kale Salad with Cinnamon Honey Dressing
Kale Blueberry Salad with Cinnamon Honey Dressing, Food Courage
- Sheet Pan Shrimp and Broccoli, By What Great Grandma Ate
- Egg Roll in a Bowl, By Unbound Wellness
- Guacamole Stuffed Burgers, By What Great Grandma Ate
- Sheet Pan Maple Citrus Chicken
- White Chicken AIP Chili, By What Great Grandma Ate
- Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Beets,
- No Mayo Broccoli Salad
- Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken with cauliflower rice and steamed broccoli
Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken, Food Courage
AIP Snacks
- Check out ShopAIP for AIP snack ideas and lots of other AIP friendly food. They only sell AIP compliant products and they're labeled by phase so you can't go wrong.
- Easy to transport/ready to eat fruits and veggies: baby carrots, apples, pears, bananas, berries, mandarin oranges
- Avocados/guacamole for dipping veggies- Whole avocados are easy to take with you and cut with a butter knife when you’re ready. When it comes to guacamole, Wholly Guacamole now has guac cups that contain only avocado.
I don’t know how long these have been in existence but I just discovered them and I’m excited about it! They have no additives so they make a nice portable AIP snack option. They’re called Wholly Avocado Minis. I believe we found ours at Walmart.
- Apple Sauce Cups/Pouches
- Plantain Chips with Prosciutto (Prosciutto di Parma is AIP compliant- contains only pork and salt). Barnanaplantain chips are pretty good and compliant. Terra brandis delicious as well- I usually get these at Kroger.
- Trail Mix- Made from a combination offreeze-dried fruits, tiger nuts, plantain chips, coconut chips,dried fruits, etc.
- Bone Broth
- Wild Caught Tuna with avocado slices- try Wild Planetbrand which is sustainably caught, 3rd party mercury tested, and only contains tuna and sea salt.
- Epic Bars- Beef Apple Bacon and Smoked Salmon are AIP compliant
- Olives- black/green/kalamata are fine. Make sure to choose olives without pimentos. Gaea brand is AIP compliant. If you're into individually packed snacks, these are cool.
- For a more extensive list of snack ideas check out my post on 87+ AIP Snacks: Easy Healthy Recipes and Packaged Foods.
Time-Saving Meal Prep Tips
Buy prewashed precut fruits and vegetables.
If you want to minimize meal prep, buy fruits and vegetables that are prewashed and precut. These are a little more expensive, but sometimes the time-savings are worth it.
When I was in Kroger yesterday, I found sweet potatoes washed, peeled, and diced in a microwave steamable bag- I think these might be new as I do not recall seeing them before.
I love finding things like this- I don't always prep with everything precut but when I'm in a rush, it can be really useful. Even if you don't steam the veggies in the bag as intended, and you end up roasting them, you still save the time effort of prepping them for cooking.
Use Frozen Fruits and Veggies
They are frozen at just the right time to retain maximum nutrient density and contain nearly the same level of vitamins and minerals as their fresh counterparts. Plus, they are prepped and ready to cook, which saves you time.
Consider Using a Grocery Delivery Service
If you have a busy schedule and have trouble getting to the store, this may be a good option. Luckily, many major grocery stores offer grocery delivery or at very least a pick-up option.
Order Groceries from Amazon
If you have a Whole Foods near you, you can order groceries through Amazon. Additionally, Amazon Prime members get special discount offers for certain Whole Foods items each week. If you don't have Amazon Prime and would like to try it, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial here.
Even if you don't have a Whole Foods near you, there are a ton of grocery items you can get from Amazon.
Set up commonly used grocery items to be delivered monthly (or however often you need them) with Amazon's subscribe and save option. I do this with a lot of our stuff.
AIP Meal Planning Services
If you're interested in trying out other meal plans to continue along your way on the AIP diet:
Real Plans is a paid web and app-based meal planner that has AIP meal plans. Meal plans can be customized based on family size, dietary restrictions, and schedule. It comes out to only $6 a month when you sign up for an annual plan and it has a 10-day money-back guarantee if you want to check it out before fully committing.
I did an extensive review on this tool- you can check it out here to learn more about it.
Root Cause Recipes: The Thyroid Pharmacist offers several meal planning books with hundreds of Paleo and AIP-friendly recipes.
If You Liked This Post, You May Also Like:
Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP Diet): Guide + Food Lists
109 AIP Breakfasts You'll Love
Trader Joe's AIP Shopping List
A Real Plans Review: Why You Need This Meal Planning Tool
87+ AIP Snacks: Easy Recipes and Packaged Foods
57+ AIP Pantry Items: What They Are and What to Do With Them!
Conclusion:
Creating an autoimmune diet plan is a very individualized process but hopefully, you were able to use this plan to create something that works for you. If you used this meal plan, leave me a comment below and let me know how it went. If you have ideas on ways to improve for future meal plans, I would love to hear your thoughts!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @foodcourage for the latest AIP/Paleo recipes, autoimmune nutrition info, and Food Courage happenings!
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