Healthy homemade meals can be prepared in minutes.
Too often you think that you don’t have time for a homemade meal. But a simple meal doesn’t have to take a lot of time or be overly elaborate. In fact, simple meals not only take little time, they can be both healthy and tasty. Better than anything you can afford to buy in a restaurant or fast-food joint.
Breakfast, if you have it, is almost always a quick meal anyway. A healthy breakfast can be done in less than 10 minutes.
Lunch, too, can be prepared in about 10 minutes. And dinner can also be done in 10 minutes Nothing fancy here, just everyday cooking.
For healthy food choices, every suggested menu item or recipe includes foods that are usually available in most supermarkets in the U.S. or local farm markets. The recipes emphasize nontoxic foods, including safe starches – sweet potato, potatoes, yucca and rice – beef, lamb, fish, vegetables, coconut oil, cheese, butter, cream & eggs, along with some berries and fruit.
The menus here list full meals that can be prepared in about 10 minutes. Some may take prior preparation (like cooking up a broth on the weekend that’ll be part of the meals made during the week).
For many of the menu items turn to the recipe section to find ways of preparing traditional foods in ways that are both quick and optimized for health.
The 10 minute meal 
I follow the Perfect Health Diet and found your link in their blog. Wow – I love these recipes – thank you so much! Looking forward to trying them! Best wishes!
THanks so much for your blog. You give me hope that even I can do this. It all seems so hard, but I”ll try it. I’ve got nothing to lose, right?? How do I transition my children into eating this way???
This is so incredibly inspiring! I am really trying this meal pattern…it is both challenging and creative! I really look forward to making dinner. Serving it is also an art….I tried serving my husband’s and my dinner out on the deck and it was ….well, a dance. But I love it. Please keep the menus coming….I need more inspiration! Jaynee
Hey, thanks for doing this!
You are an inspiration and a priceless asset for folks like me!
I just finished reading—The Perfect Health Diet and I was trying to put it all together into some menu plans but I felt overwelmed so when I read about this site in Paul site, I was thrilled. This is awesome, perfect. It makes it so very simple.
Thanks! This is a big help.
WOW. Thank you so much for this blog. Like Isa, I, too, just finished The Perfect Health Diet book. Loved it and was busy making a grocery list. I ran across this blog from Paul’s website and thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m not one for hours in the kitchen. I have left so many diets because I felt enslaved by the kitchen and meal preparation. Great tips!
my understanding is that microwave cooking is unhealthy I read this on Dr mercola’s web site
Microwave cooking is no more unhealthy than any other cooking. Toxins are created by over-cooking and you are more likely to over-cook on a stovetop. Burning or over-cooking food produces carcinogenic substances. This is particularly the case with barbecuing or grilling.
On microwaves, there’s a discussion of this on the PerfectHealthDiet.com at http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?cat=96
I absolutely LOVE the clean and simple feel of your site. I will be referring to it often! Thank you!
I have a whole bookshelf of great cookbooks, but I read your blog for ideas and inspiration every day. Your tapenade recipe is the simplest and best that I’ve found. Thanks!
hi – i’ve been paleo for a couple years – found your site and love the elegant simplicity of it in all things – design, recipes, cooking methods, concepts. Wondering if you could post some sample winter and spring lunches?
thanks for a great site.
Thanks! I am also a PHD diet fan and this is useful!
This is a perfect complement to http://www.perfecthealthdiet.com for those of us that need a little help in the kitchen for easy implementation of PHD – thanks for putting it together!
Just want to join in and say how much I am enjoying your recipes and meal plans. My husband (a diet skeptic) loves the food, too. This way of eating has made our lives more fun!
Hey mysterious 10 Minute Meal Guy, thank you for this great effort.
What about the new recommendations from Paul’s new book. Would you make any changes?
Thanks Jim. I don’t have any inside information on what is new or changed in Paul Jaminet and Shou-Ching Jaminet’s updated book. But I have ordered the book on Amazon and plan to get a copy as soon as it is available. You will definitely see changes and adjustment’s here based on what’s in the book. Also, I do make some small updates to what’s already here on the site based on the discussions on the Perfect Health Diet blog.
What kind of butter do you recommend in your recipes? Mr. Jaminet recommends clarified butter of ghee.
I think that the recommendation of clarified butter or ghee is for those who have are sensitive to milk proteins. Almost all butter is okay. The best flavor is found in the high-fat butters made with cream from pastured cows. These are sometimes sold as European-style butters, like Kerrygold butter or Organic Valley’s Pasture Butter.
Where do you get eggs that you trust?
The best I’ve found is from the farmers’ markets. For supermarket eggs, any of them that are labeled Organic are usually good. The Cornucopia Institute goes further and rates organic eggs, giving highest marks to those who give the hens outdoor access. http://www.cornucopia.org/organic-egg-scorecard/
I’m new to cooking & trying to collect your recommended kitchen equipment. Do I really need a stockpot. I don’t see any of your recipes requiring one. I just ordered a slow cooker. Will that due? Do I really need a dutch oven? I just ordered a ceramic-titanium nonstick 12 in. skillet. Most of your recipes call out a cast iron skillet. Using this, could I still follow the recipes without adjustments? Love your suggestion for the Bodum French press, I’m hooked. Mr. Coffee maker is off the counter into the basement.
Yes, a slow cooker can be your stock pot. Either can be used for making bone broth. You don’t need to have both of them. It’s just a matter of preference. Same with the dutch oven. Any skillet should work. Cast iron is slower to heat, but will retain the heat longer. No significant adjustments to make.
Yes, a slow cooker can be your stock pot. Either can be used for making bone broth. You don’t need to have both of them. It’s just a matter of preference. Same with the dutch oven. Any skillet should work. Cast iron is slower to heat, but will retain the heat longer. No significant adjustments to make.
Hi, I’m very interested in making your Homemade Broth.
I’m having trouble finding marrow bones in-stock at Slanker’s & U.S. Wellness Meats. I’ll keep checking to see when they are restocked.
I have a question about the recipe ingredients of: 3 or 4 marrow bones and 1 to 2 pounds of ribs, neck bones or soup bones.
U.S. offers the marrow bones only in beef, in small, med, & large, when in-stock. Which size works for this recipe?
I found some bison at Grass Fed Traditions.
They have in-stock: Grass-Fed Bison Knuckle Soup Bones, split in half, includes various sizes. They offer Grass-Fed Bison Marrow Soup Bones, 4-5 bones per package, cut into 1 – 1 ½ inch lengths – backordered.
And they offer Grass-Fed Beef Soup Bones, backordered.
Can you suggest any other online alternatives?
They have a video about Bison Bone Broth and say they were able to do at least 3 runs in the slow cooker without losing the great flavor. Do you recommend more than one run or just toss the bones after the first?
Your recipe says, after all ingredients added to the slow cooker, then fill with water. I assume this is for a 6-6.5 Qt. cooker, but would I do the same if I’m using a 7 Qt. slow cooker?
Sorry for all the questions, thank you for you time.
On soup bones, getting them from grass-fed animals is best. But when I can’t find get them from a grass-fed farm, I will get them from a local butcher or the supermarket. My local supermarket has bones in the frozen meat section. Get whatever bones are available. Marrow bones are great and make a rich broth. Knuckles have cartilage and marrow. The cartilage will thicken the broth. Right now I’m using mostly knuckle bones. Calves’ feet are also sometimes available, and they are good too. Don’t worry about which bones you have. All of them make great broth.
Bones are good for repeated use. I use mine for 3 runs, but never more. The acid from the vinegar will keep dissolving minerals from the bones with each reuse, but after 3 runs I’ve found there doesn’t seem to be anything left and the broth is too weak.
For bone size, any size that fits in the pot, or slow cooker, will do. I haven’t found any difference when using the different sizes.
Finally, fill with water no matter the size of your pot or slow cooker.
Super! Thanks for answering every question. Awesome! Love this website!
Hi, I’m a 31 year old female. New to your site. I have a ton of digestive issues but docs aren’t much help 😦
Do you think the foods you listed there could be *okay*? I’m worried I may have problems with dairy, eggs and nuts…but I love them 😦
I don’t live in an area that sells anything hormone-free or grass-fed and my funds are SUPER limited. Any suggestions?
I feel like heavy meats, etc just sit in my stomach. I eat a lot of fats (coconut or olive oil, avocados, eggs, fatty fish, etc etc). Currently using whey and yogurt…guess I should stop….oops.
I’m just confused.
I do not do a lot of exercise (occasional short, slow walks). If I follow this way of eating, I wonder where it would lead??
I’m also uncertain about breakfast. I have no no appetite in morning and heavy foods are unappealing.
To top this all off, I’m kinda underweight. Would LOVE some thoughts or suggestions. I can’t afford to buy e-books or find a ND or someone and I’m discouraged and frustrated!!
For what to eat you can look at the Perfect Health Diet http://perfecthealthdiet.com/the-diet/
You don’t have to eat any dairy, nuts or eggs. Can you get fish? Eating fish, vegetables and rice might be the easiest on your digestive system. Catfish is usually available at a good price and where I live I can also get farmed trout for about $5 a pound. Trout is an excellent fish. You don’t need to eat breakfast. Have some coffee or tea.
I chose your Fall Lunch Menu, which calls out a Simple Salad instead of a Whole-meal Salad. Please tell me how to prepare the Simple Salad. It looks like it consists of just some lettuce and creamy vinaigrette with none of the vegetables from your list under How to Prepare Vegetables.
Is that also the same with the Dinner Menu Salad?
The Simple Salad would be just lettuce and a dressing like the creamy vinaigrette. You can add any vegetables you want. Keeping it to just lettuce keeps it simple and quick to prepare. To make a Simple Salad, get a head of Boston lettuce (also called butter or Bibb), romaine lettuce, or one of the red or green leaf lettuces. Cut out the core of the lettuce head (you can put the core into your soup broth) and wash the leaves. Dry in a spinner (or pat dry with a kitchen towel). Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces and toss with the dressing.
You can also pre-wash the lettuce greens and then take out a serving at a time. Then tear the leaves and add the dressing when you serve the salad. You can pre-wash a mix of lettuce types, so you might get a head of Boston lettuce, a head of romaine lettuce and a head of green leaf lettuce. The pre-washed lettuce will keep in the refrigerator up to one week. To pre-wash, clean the lettuce leaves in cold water. Remove from the water and wrap the leaves in a dry kitchen towel. Put the towel into a plastic bag. Leave the bag open and refrigerate.
Update:
Hi, I’m interested in a quick way to prepare the three egg yolk daily recommendation of PHD. Using your Coconut Milk recipe. What if I just separate the yolks, boil the water, and with a hand blender, mix the coconut flakes, water, and yolks? How necessary is the straining? Could I also blend in the weekly 1 tablespoon of red palm oil to this without a problem? I’m not real concerned about the taste. Any other suggestions? Thank you.
Thank you for your recipes! If you had a PDF version of everything contained here I would definitely buy it:) Quick question on broth – do you ever refrigerate the bone broth and skim off the (solidified) fat for tallow? I’ve read many recipes for making bone broth and only one mentioning to skim off the fat. Second question: do you recommend “bulletproof coffee” (coconut oil, butter and coffee blended together)? It seems to fit within the PHD ketogenic phase. Just curious.
On the broth, yes I usually skim the fat off the top that forms after it has been refrigerated. Even better is to skim it off the top before you refrigerate it. That’s the fat that’s highest in omega 6’s. On bulletproof coffee, it does seem to fit, but when I tried it I didn’t like the taste. I did find that I like butter blended into my coffee and I’ll have that in the morning when doing the PHD intermittent fasting.
Hello… I would like to ask a question…. When I see egg yolks in the recipes, I am assuming they’d are cooked. Am I correct?
Raw egg yolks are good, but you do need to make sure that they are safe. If you are unsure of your eggs, then it is safest to cook them. Food science writer Harold McGee has a “safe mayonnaise” recipe in his book, “The Curious Cook.”
His recipe:
Ingredients
1 egg
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon water
Olive oil
Instructions
This method takes some practice, because all microwaves are different, but it does heat the egg sufficiently to kill any bacteria without causing coagulation.
Place the yolk into a 2-cup measure or glass bowl and whisk until smooth. Beat in 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water. Beat again and wash the whisk with soap (or break out another whisk). Cover the bowl with a plate and microwave on high; watch carefully. After 10 to 30 seconds (depending on the strength of your oven), the yolk will begin to shake; count to 5, remove the bowl, and whisk.
Repeat the cooking, again counting to 5 when the mixture heaves, and beating with a clean whisk. Cover and let sit 1 minute, then place the bowl in a bowl of cold water and beat — again with a clean whisk — until cool.
Proceed as for any other mayonnaise, using no more than one-quarter olive oil; more than that and the mixture will not emulsifiy as it normally does.
Is the coconut oil in the mayonnaise recipe solid?
The broth recipe calls for coconut oil in the instructions but it is not listed in the ingredients, nor is the quantity.
I think your recipes are awesome. Thanks.
Coconut oil itself is sometimes liquid, other times solid, depending on the temperature of the place where it is stored. When making the mayonnaise it shouldn’t matter if the coconut oil is solid or liquid. If it is liquid, the whole process goes a little faster, but that’s measured in seconds, not minutes.
For the broth recipe I use 1 tablespoon coconut oil.
Dear 10minutemeal guy, Thank you so much for putting the print option for each recipe! I just noticed it. Sending much appreciation (for that and of course your great recipes) 🙂
Boiled Potatoes..
Do I wash/scrub them or just rinse them or does the boiling suffice?
Can I make a larger quantity in a stock pot and then freeze them? How to boil a larger quantity? Do I need a bay leaf? Thank you.
If the potatoes are not organically grown, then I wash/scrub, otherwise a rinse is good. For a larger quantity, just do it the same way but in a bigger pot and with enough water to cover them. I’ve never frozen boiled potatoes, but it should work. Boil the potatoes and then freeze them, add the oil when you reheat them. The bay leaf is optional.
I’ve been thinking of using your Coconut Milk recipe to make Coconut Milk Kefir. Is Coconut Milk just as healthy? Would there be a difference in how much either should be consumed daily?
Coconut milk is healthy. I’ve never made kefir with coconut milk. Let me know how it goes and if you like it.
I make coconut kefir using a can of Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk from Trader Joe’s. One can makes 1qt. of kefir when you add water. It ferments faster than dairy kefir, typically a 8 to 12 hr. ferment. (You’ll know when it separates.) You still have to refresh the kefir grains in milk. So, I alternate making coconut kefir for myself and dairy kefir for my husband.
I’m so thankful to have forms your website! I’m reading the PHD book yet, with some cognitive issues it is difficult to sort through all the science to find the simple steps I need to implement.
You’ve simplified it all! Wa-hoo!
Love your new background!! I always defer to your site for refreshing my cooking skills on certain foods and just check in once in awhile! Looks terrific!! And thank you for all your fabulous work!! You made making bone broth look so easy I always make it your way now!! 😊Thank you again!! Terrific site as always!! A fan,
Kathy
Thank you so much for this! I hope you will continue to add more items 🙂