Horseradish Beef Stew (Paleo + AIP)

I am a terrible blogger.  I don't sit down and go "I have to come up with something amazing today to share with people, especially since I haven't blogged in a week (or two, or three)", I just occasionally make something I love SO much that I have to share.  Sometimes that takes a month or two.  Sorry, guys.  But guess what?  This is one of those occasions.
Ah man, stew.  I bloody love stew.  I grew up with my mom making typical beef stew.  Ya know, chunks of beef and potatoes and carrots in a thick gravy made with flour.  So simple, yet so delicious. Then she went vegetarian... so no more beef stew.  And it's really hard to find a good stew.  You see all these "stews" with a thin broth base.  That's not stew.  That's soup.  Like how Manhattan Clam Chowder isn't chowder.  I'm from New England, I know these things.
I learned how to recreate my mom's stew last year using cornstarch to thicken, so I could share with my gluten free roommate.  But now, with corn off limits, I haven't had much luck getting the right thickness with arrowroot.  It just wouldn't cooperate.
So, imagine my joy when I made this beauty.  I didn't really set out to make a stew like I remembered.  I just wanted a tasty combination of beef and horseradish.  Instead, I got magical stew.  Have I said stew enough yet today? Stew.  Stew.  STEW.

Anyway.  Yes, there are lots of ingredients, but I promise.  It's easy.  So easy, a caveman could do it (see what I did there?  PALEO).

Why is my stove always dirty?

Horseradish Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs stew beef/chuck roast
2 tbsp cooking fat
1 red onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine (broth works too, but won't be as rich)
4 cups broth (I used chicken, but I bet beef is rich and amazing)
3 medium carrots
1 large sweet potato
1 cup green beans
3-5 tbsp prepared horseradish*
S&P

*aim for one with no additives except vinegar and salt.  I used Boar's Head

Note:  stew is amazingly flexible.  Don't worry about exactness of the ingredients.  I'm an "approximate" kind of cook anyway.  Don't even worry about cooking time.  You could probably tack on another hour before you add the green beans and it'll just get more tender and amazing.


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and move top rack down to bottom 1/3 of oven
If using chuck roast, chop into 1 inch cubes.  Apply lots of salt and pepper to beef (seriously, don't be stingy)
Heat fat in dutch oven to medium high
Brown meat in batches, remove to a bowl and set aside
Add chopped onion to dutch oven to soften, then add garlic for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant
Pour in cup of wine (or broth), stirring to get bits from the bottom
Simmer to reduce for 5 minutes
Add broth and bring to a boil
Add back beef, including any juice in the bowl, and cover
Place in oven for one hour
Meantime, chop carrots and sweet potato into small cubes, cut green beans into 1/3s
After hour, add carrots and sweets, cook for another hour (you can go longer, don't worry about over cooking), still covered
Finally, mix in green beans.  The sweet potatoes will be a falling apart mess.  THIS IS GOOD!  Let them do their thing as you stir.
Cover and put back in the oven for another 20-30 minutes, depending how soft or crunchy you like your beans.
Stir in horseradish to taste.  You can even leave it out and let individuals add to their bowls if you've got someone who dislikes horseradish (weirdos).  Add s&p to taste, but between the seasoning from the beef and the horseradish, you might be good to go.


The miracle of this stew is that 1.5 hours is way too long for those small chunks of sweet potato and they start falling apart and blending into the broth.  Boom.  Your broth is now gravy.  Now go forth and enjoy this deliciousness.

I usually add more horseradish.  Cus, yum.

Blueberry "Yogurt" Bites (Paleo + AIP)

I discovered during my AIP Whole30 that the hardest thing to eat enough of was fat. I am a nut butter addict, so I had no problems beforehand because whenever I was a bit hungry, I'd pop a spoonful (or three...) of almond or cashew butter in my mouth and go on my merry way.  Don't ever expect me to do that with coconut butter.  Just... no.

Without nuts and seeds to munch for an easy fat source, I'm down to coconut (milk/oil/butter), olives, avocados, bacon and oils/fats.  However, I don't believe cooking my food in an oil/fat really does much and I'm not a huge salad person.  I can devour loads of olives and avocado, but I need some variety in my diet! Also, still not a fan of coconut.  I know, I'm working on it, but I don't think I will ever LOVE the stuff.  So, I disguise it.

Now that my Whole30 is over, I don't have to worry so much about SWYPO and can focus totally on nutrition, regardless of the vehicle.  Therefore, I came up with these little morsels.  All of the fats in coconut, almost none of the taste without a bunch of sugar.  Boom.



Blueberry "Yogurt" Fat Bomb Bites

3/4cup fresh blueberries
1/3cup coconut oil, melted
1/4cup coconut milk
1/4cup coconut butter, softened*

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until well mixed. Do not worry about the blueberries being totally smooth, that's up to you.
Scoop dollops into a silicon ice cube or candy tray or a paper lined muffin tin.  I used a mini muffin tin for tiny bites.
Refrigerate 30 minutes or until solid.  Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
Keeps for at least 3-4 days, freeze any you don't expect to consume by then.

Try different fruits!  Almost any fresh fruits should work, though the tiny seeds in raspberries and the like may be obnoxious.

*I haven't made these without coconut butter yet, but you may be able to skip by increasing the coconut milk and oil.

AIP Whole30 Week 3 & 4 & Wrap-up

I did it!  30 days strict AIP Whole30!

I skipped a summary last week since I was quite sure it would be more of the same as weeks 1&2, alternating between intense whining and happiness. The past few weeks have been rough, I really have felt the deprivation of my limited diet. The social limitations have always been the most difficult part of Whole30 for me, and those are amplified threefold during an AIP. Following the protocol has been made both better and worse by having a partner (sorry, boy). He did the program with me only to be supportive and, while he lost a few pounds he'd picked up recently, he hasn't felt any different and instead moaned about his lack of Nutella, wine and assorted other random food desires. Someone really didn't get into the Whole30 spirit... (And despite all his whining about not wining, he still claims he doesn't "crave" things, he just really likes them on occasion, occasion meaning daily, of course).

Whole30 Day 3 (Forgot to take a day one picture, whoops)

Anyway, being able to share the cooking and the delicious experiments and the stress helped a lot, but I also carried some of the weight (and maybe guilt?) of putting him through this too. I catered a lot of meals and snacks to him and, once they were there, I ate them too. Don't get me wrong, I definitely benefited from this last 30 days, and I'm not blaming it all on the boy. I am responsible for my own actions, and it's my own fault I ate so many bananas, apples and sweet potatoes.

Results: I've lost 3 inches off my waist, which puts me just above my happy weight (I say "weight" subjectively, I did not step on a scale before or after and am only using the weight measurement and a mirror), and all my clothes are comfortable again.  Most importantly, face is feeling smooth and breakout free, except for 1-2 little whiteheads that pop up every couple weeks, which seems like a very normal kinda thing.  Now I just have to wait and see if the residual red marks from old, painful breakouts will fade completely (as they should).  Fingers crossed!

And today! Day 31.  There are still a lot of red spots, but you may notice most of them were already there a month ago.  Residual redness can take a few months to fade after a bad pimple. I just hope there are no scars hiding underneath those spots. Not one remaining painful, cystic pimple. Check out my Week 1 post to compare my face from just 1.5 months ago.  Ouch.

I'm excited for the rest of my healing process, as I still have a lot of work to do! My new goals consist of slow reintroductions while I continue healing, more regular workouts and continuing to eliminate chemicals from my life (between skin/hair care and household cleaning, more on that another time!).

My reintro plan for now is a little rushed, its the holiday season and I want to be able to enjoy my two favorite treats.  If it goes horribly, I'll live without.  If it's less than ideal, then I shall indulge in moderation until the holiday season ends.

Reintro one:  glass of wine to go with an AIP pumpkin pie to celebrate completing the Whole30! Jumping right into reintros seems unwise, I know.  Particularly alcohol.  But hey, Christmas and New Year's is nearly upon us! I'm planning as carefully as I can: 1 glass of a drier wine tonight (day 31) and another this weekend (day 34 or 35) if it seems to go well.

Reintro two: CHOCOLATE.  Gosh, I miss chocolate.  I've picked up a 90%, no soy and no dairy bar of Lindt that I can't wait to take just a nibble out of.  That I will do next week, as I plan to do 3-4 days between each test.

Three: nightshades.  I am not worried about nightshades as I did eliminate them once before and felt no difference, either at cutting them out or reintroducing.  I can do without marinara sauce for a bit longer, but I'd like to be able to toss some paprika back into my cooking. I will take 1-2 weeks testing various nightshades, just to be sure.

Four:  Seeds.  I miss cumin so much.  I am also not particularly worried about this, but I will take my time on this as well. Getting some sunbutter into my diet will add another source of fat and an easy treat.

These 4 will take me 1-2 months alone.  Whew.  I haven't even considered where coffee fits into all this.  Man, I want coffee too. I know the caffeine is bad for my skin, but I'm thinking about procuring some Swiss Water process decaf for an occasional fix or maybe it's time to jump on the Crio Bru (brewing chocolate) bandwagon if my chocolate reintro goes well.  So much to think about.

The remaining testing items are the things I expect most to be a problem (other than alcohol and chocolate, I'm kinda going against sense by testing those first as they are pretty likely a problem, but hey: holidays).  These include: grains (gluten and non), nuts, eggs and dairy.  I'm expecting a good 4-5 months before I get through it all, during which time I plan to be 100% strict paleo.  Whew.

Here's to the journey!