Better Food, Better Health: June 2013

What is better food, better health?

Am I a paleo blogger? No. Do I believe health starts with nutrition? Absolutely. If you're looking for a manifesto on clean eating and arguments in favor of a paleo lifestyle, you won't find it here. Check out The Whole9. In fact even if you're not looking for something radical check that site out anyway. It's a great starting point. It's got links and articles and a whole bunch of science - data - about nutrition and how our bodies use macronutrients. I'm not a licensed expert but I listen to experts who back up their claims with real compelling data. And I've tried a few different things to "eat healthier" over the years - Weight Watchers, Zone, starvation (that was a brilliant one) to name a few. Nothing has been better for me and yielded better results than eating low glycemic with a paleo foundation (it's actually similar to Zone too, but with less precision). I have a busy schedule, a two year old, a husband, a full time job, I work out and I have a closet for a kitchen. I figure there must be a few people out there who can relate to some of that. I used to think eating healthy and making time for regular meaningful exercise was "hard." It really just takes some guidance, awareness, and enthusiasm. So here's a start - here's what I cook and eat (and sometimes what I read).

Sunday, June 9, 2013

South of the Border Stew

Ingredients:

4 lbs meat, cubed (beef, lamb, pork or chicken)

1 yellow onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic

2 C strained tomatoes (or 1 can tomato paste + 1/2 can water)

1/2 C broth of choice

2 Tbsp ground chipotle chili pepper

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (substitute with white vinegar if needed)

Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Supplies:

Blender/food processor

Slow cooker

Serves: 6

In your blender, blend everything except meat, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour into slow cooker. Season meat with salt and pepper then add to sauce. Cook on low 8 hours, stirring halfway through if possible.

This is another recipe I got from the book Paleo Slow Cooking. I changed the chili powder the recipe calls for to chipotle chili pepper - you could go with the chili powder the recipe calls for if you don't have chipotle chili pepper. If using chicken I would cook for less time, maybe 5-6 hours. This recipe does have some bite to it so I would pair it with a nice sweet potato mash or roasted cubed butternut squash to balance the spice.