Bad news: I accidentally ate something I shouldn't have yesterday! *oops!* (I didn't realize that the dried cranberries in my trail mix were sweetened with sugar until it was already too late! Thankfully I only ate 1/4 cup so the damage was pretty minimal)
This is another thing I'm quickly learning though....there is so much hidden sugar in foods that you would least expect. Should it really be that difficult to cut out processed sugars from your diet if you choose to? (It is seriously in everything.)
Anyways, moving on--the highlight of my food yesterday was my paleo-friendly beef stew. It was delicious!! ...And with leftovers, I get to have it again today. :)
Here is the recipe:
2 lbs. or so of stew meat (I cooked all of the meat that came in the package I bought)
3-4 carrots
3-4 celery sticks
1 small onion
5 cloves of garlic (I really like garlic...adjust the amount as you see fit)
1-2 potatoes (optional)
1 can of diced tomatoes
4 cups of chicken stock
salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, cayenne, and any other spices to taste
--Get everything chopped up and begin to cook your aromatics with some olive oil in your soup pot. (if you choose to use potatoes they can go in at this point too!)
--While those are cooking, brown your stew meat in another pan.
--Once the beef is browned, add it to your soup pot in addition to your can of tomatoes, broth, and spices.
--Cover the pot and allow it to simmer for about 45 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
--Remove the lid, and cook for 25 more minutes or so. (This is probably pretty obvious, but I would suggest giving it a bit of a taste test at this point as well and adding more spices if necessary.)
--And, then eat and enjoy! :)
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| Delish! |
It was very good--I even went back for seconds! And with it being winter back here on the east coast, I anticipate making this and other soups many more times along the way.
In other news, one of my new favorite things of the day is seltzer water. I love my diet soda and, with that being gone for these 30 days, I think this is going to be an okay replacement for those times when I really want something carbonated and flavored. I currently have a can of raspberry lime seltzer next to me and am definitely enjoying it! haha.
And lastly, here is my last piece of insight that proved to be a big help yesterday: Eating more substantial meals really helped me not want to snack on carb and sugary things in between. And with each of the meals tasting good I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything, which I also think is key to being successful in eating paleo.
I think that's it for now....hope you all have a fun and fabulous New Years Eve tonight! I'm looking forward to seeing what 2012 will bring. :)
Until next time....
Sorry to overwhelm you with advice/comments! But I think regular potatoes are not Paleo-friendly. However, your stew would be DELISH with sweet potatoes subbed in. This is a great-looking recipe and reminded me that I haven't had stew in a while - putting it into the rotation for the week!
ReplyDeleteNo worries about overwhelming me! You are right, regular potatoes are not paleo-friendly. I just included them as optional in the recipe because I've read some forums online where paleo people still eat white potatoes from time to time. :)
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