Cinnamon Carrot Soup (Paleo + AIP + Low-FODMAP + Whole30)

I eat a lot of carrots. It helps that I can get a 5lb organic bag at the store for 6 bucks. Plus, now that I am trying out being strict low-FODMAP AND low carb, my list of veggies has shrunk significantly. Carrots are a good compromise. They feel like a starchy vegetable, and are very versatile, as you may have noticed if you came to me from Instagram or TwoGrand and see carrots on my plate in some fashion many days. So, it makes sense that it was the ingredient I turned to when I was craving comfort food that met my current restrictions.

Don't forget your floor cleaner!

Browsing through some of my cookbooks, which I often do when needing inspiration (or gratuitous food porn), I saw a lot of soups made from starchy orange veggies. See where I'm going with this? 

Tada, carrot soup! I threw this together on a whim one night, knowing that cinnamon and carrots were a winning flavor combination.  Fortunately, with just a few, simple ingredients, it was easy to reproduce.  Cinnamon makes this soup extra warming and comforting, but so many flavors work with the sweetness of carrot. Try it with ginger or curry for something a little different. 

Cinnamon Carrot Soup (Paleo + AIP + Low-FODMAP + Whole30)

4 cups chopped carrots (or about 10 small-medium carrots... remember guys, I never deal in absolutes, so don't worry about this too much)
4 cups bone broth (I used beef, so if that works, anything will!)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or ghee
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

Chop your carrots, don't worry about peeling them, especially if they are organic, and cover with the broth in a pot on the stove.

Bring to a boil, then walk away to watch tv and forget what you're doing until the carrots are almost mush (or, well, not really, just boil them until soft).

Using either an immersion blender if your carrots are really soft or a food processor, puree the carrots and broth until smooth.

Add olive oil, cinnamon and salt and blend well.

Adjust thickness by adding more broth if you wish a thinner soup and adjust seasonings to taste.  The cinnamon flavor will be light, but I like to leave it so and then garnish with extra cinnamon, so you still get the full flavor, without losing the vibrant orange color!

Serve hot or cold, with lots of cinnamon!

Happy eats!

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.

Weekending and Squash Soup

Hey guess what? I successfully made my squash soup perfectly AND I measured everything. Huzzah! This has been a pretty damn good weekend. I got caught up on just about everything I needed to do, made some tasty food that'll last me for a few days before I need to cook again and I got some serious relaxing, TVing and reading done. I seriously don't remember the last time I had the time and attention span to get through a few hours of reading undisturbed. I even went for a run! *gasp* Well, more of a walk with a few spurts of jogging in between... Anyway, details. It was a good workout on a beautiful, sunny, semi warm (50ish degrees) day and my thighs definitely hurt because I am seriously out of shape. Oof. I think my last run was about 2 months ago. I've got to buy a set of weights to add in some strength training too. I can't expect to fully appreciate my Whole30  if I'm not exercising. No matter what you do, diet is only part of the health cycle, right?

Anyway, aside from my quite tasty (copious amounts of) chicken broth and squash soup, I also made some one pot spaghetti and meatballs today. Oh man, how awesome is that? Hey, don't judge, it's spaghetti squash. 

I can't take credit for this one, like the roast chicken, this one belongs to the gods of the internet. More specifically, I found this on PaleoPot. I didn't follow the recipe, just the idea. I threw in some canned crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, spices and grass fed meatballs flavored like Italian sausage and a spaghetti squash sliced in two and seeds removed. 5 hours on low and magic dinner!

So now I have to decide just what the heck to have for lunch tomorrow: chicken and gravy, spaghetti or squash soup? Maybe all three! Or maybe not...

Anyway, you should see this soup for yourself, eh?

Winter Squash Soup

4 cups winter squash

3 cups chicken/veg broth

1 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

salt to taste

Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and roast open side down at 375 for 30-50 minutes, depending on the type of squash (I've used hubbard, butternut and pumpkin) until soft. Hubbard is tough to cut, so prick it all over and roast for 10ish minutes whole before cutting in half. 

I call Hubbard squash Blue Meanies, partly because I love yelling "Blue Meanies!" and partly because these these are huge and dense. And blue. Duh. But it did make a darn tasty soup that rivaled my previous butternut soup. 

Scoop out the flesh from your cooked squash and add to a pot along with the chicken broth and spices. Mix ingredients well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for up to a half hour. 

Add coconut milk and continue simmering for another 5-10 minutes to reduce the liquid and allow the flavors to meld. 

Adjust seasoning to taste and blend liquid (an immersion blender works great or in batches in a full blender). 

Top with precooked protein or veggies if you want and serve. 

I opted for some leftover ground beef. Man, was this filling. I feel like I'm going to be making a lot of soup this winter. The warm and creamy is the definite combatant of carb cravings. Want pudding? Eat a sweet, creamy soup. Win.