Going Primal

Happy Friday (or Saturday Morning)! It has been quite a week. After my Mom of the Year moment at the beginning of the week and the unexpected amount of work handed to me I am d-o-n-e, done. I have been feeling run down and achy on top of it all. I know this is a sign that I need to listen to my body. All signs point to only one thing, the fuel that is going into my body.

For the last year I have been very careful about what I was eating. Due to breastfeeding, I eliminated dairy and soy from my diet. I also watched the amount of gluten that I ate as well. It worked for me and the baby and I had been doing very well finding new recipes and alternative food to eat. So hear comes the honest truth, my new food choices involved a lot of carb alternatives. Cheese had been my go to snack prior to the baby. In fact it was the only thing that kept the nausea to a minimum. Looking back tonight I realize my body has been through a lot. Nine months of pregnancy and a year of breastfeeding….Time for a change.

For the last few weeks I have been fascinated by one of my favorite bloggers, Ms. Biz, from My Bizzy Kitchen journey with the Paleo Diet. I begin to do some research and really like some of the recipes and meal plans that I have stumbled upon. I was also very inspired by AndreAnna, who writes for her blog Life As a Plate. She writes about her journey of eating real food. Before I write anymore about Paleo, I have a few more books that I want to read. What I have realized is a “primal” way of eating will take planning. I decided to start trying some recipes out to get some favorite dishes under my belt. Here is my first attempt with Paleo Chili. It was an easy lunch dish that made my co-workers drool every time I heated up my lunch.

Paleo Chili

Recipe Adapted from Life as a Plate

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs ground beef
• 1 24 oz can diced tomatoes (unflavored)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1-2 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. each of the following fresh peppers, chopped:
• --red bell
• -green bell pepper
• 2 jalapenos, chopped (ribs/seeds added depends on your tastes)
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley (can use for garnish later as well)
• 1-2 c. pureed squash (for thickening)
• 2 tbsp agave
• 2 pkgs. Simply Organic Chili Mix

   

  Set crock pot for 8 hours on the low setting.
  Brown ground beef and prepare vegetables.

  

  

  Put meat in bottom of crock pot first. Break it up. Then add the diced tomatoes, broth, and all the rest ingredients.

  

  Cover and let sit. Every few hours , stir the pot. Let cook for an additional 3 hours. It will look like this when it is completed. Holy YUM! Made the house smell amazing.

This dish took me less than 20 minutes to complete. Definitely a keeper for Paleo friendly recipes.

Have you ever felt you needed a change in diet (not event to lose weight)? What was your ah-ha moment?

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