Let’s face it, the AutoImmune Protocol doesn’t make for a very easy dietary lifestyle.  A lot of traditional combinations are out.  There’s a good chance most of your favorite existing recipes don’t meet the criteria.  And everything has to be made from scratch.  But there are some ways to make it easier.  (In fact, it can actually be very easy if your budget is accommodating enough.)

1. Choose Recipes Carefully

I know, that probably seems like a pretty tall order, given that the field is already narrowed.  But it’s possible.  If you choose recipes that are lower on prep, and/or which aren’t overall very hands-on, that can make a big difference.

For instance, I cook a lot of meals where I put frozen meat or fish into a baking dish, season it, then just cover it and bake until it’s done.  It’s only a couple minutes of easy prep, and then it’s hands-off ’til dinner’s ready.

Likewise, on a hard day I’m more likely to cook frozen cauliflower or broccoli than fresh carrots, because the carrots have to be scrubbed, peeled, and cut — and the frozen veggies don’t need any of that.

These freezer-to-crockpot recipes are popular choices.

2. Use “Shortcut” Ingredients

Find high-quality ingredients that are already prepared for you.  There isn’t always Bonafide’s broth an easy option, but there are some shortcut options.  Premade bone broth can be a real time- and effort-saver.  (I especially like , because it’s made the healthful way you’d make it at home.)

You can get good quality animal fats, too, without having to save and render them yourself.  Fatworks is a company that specializes in this, particularly.  They carry tallow, lard, duck fat, etc. and it’s all grassfed/free range/whatever you’d hope for appropriate to whichever animal produced the fat.  Epic Provisions has a line of fats, as well.

Beef Tallow, Grass-Fed, Kettle Rendered and Fine Filtered, 14ozGet ItPure Pork Lard, Free Range & Pasture Raised, 14ozGet ItDuck Fat, Cage-Free, All Natural, 8.2 OzGet It100% Organic Chicken Fat (Schmaltz), Free Range, Kettle Rendered, 8 OzGet ItLamb Tallow, 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, 8ozGet ItBuffalo Tallow, 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, 8.8 OzGet ItEpic – Animal Cooking Oils, 11 oz Variety 3 Pack (1 Beef Tallow, 1 Pork Lard, 1 Duck Fat)Get It

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The regular grocery store offers options, too.  The aforementioned frozen vegetables are one “shortcut.”  Garlic in a jar, already peeled and chopped, can save a good bit of effort over time.  If you prefer fresh herbs over dried, and you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, look for their frozen herb cubes.  (You can also make your own, if you’d like to put the effort in once, and then not have to mess with it for a while.)

Basically, you want to ask yourself if there’s an option for a given ingredient that’s already prepared, but not really processed.

3. Invest in the Right Tools

A crockpot, pressure cooker, and/or multi-cooker (like the InstantPot) can be very handy for making meals that require little hands-on time.  These are, as a rule, built for the types of recipes where you dump everything in at once and then pretty much just cook it ’til it’s done.  They’ll open up lots of possibilities for simple recipes.

Just generally having good-quality other tools will help food prep go more smoothly and quickly, too.  For instance, if you have good quality, sharp knives, then cutting up vegetables will be much less tedious than if your knives are dull and/or poor quality.  Low-quality pans may burn your food more readily.  You get the idea.  It doesn’t need to be top-of-the-line, but if you can at all afford it, get something of reasonably good quality and cooking will be much easier.

Hamilton Beach 33473 Programmable Slow Cooker, 7-Quart, SilverGet ItKuhn Rikon Duromatic Top Model Energy Efficient Pressure CookerGet ItInstant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000WGet ItFagor 935010038 Versa 8-in-1 MulticookerGet It

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4. Done-for-You Options

Last, but not least, the easiest way of all is you have it done for you PaleoOntheGo.  You may be able to hand off a set of recipes like the ones linked above to a friend or family member and get help that way — it depends on your circumstances.  But you can also have food prepared for you professionally.  There aren’t too many pre-done meal options when you’re AIP, but does have AIP options.  (They even just came out with AIP cookie dough!)  This is a pricey option, so it’s not for everyone (at least not for everyone for all the time), but I would be remiss to skip it.

If you have the room in your budget, they even do holiday meals, which can be really helpful for those who are okay with the everyday stuff but struggle when it’s time to have special meals for celebrations.

(They also carry premade bone broth.)