Not the best pic - I took it with my iphone

I took great inspiration from the Bison Chili recipe in the Primal Blueprint Cookbook for this recipe.  It was the starting point and then I just kept adding more ‘stuff’ and the chili transformed into a stew.  I love chili, but I wanted something with loads of veggies so that I wouldn’t have to whip up a side dish or salad to go with it.  This has loads of greens, so there is no side dish required.  I made a massive pot of this last week and ate it for lunch a few days, breakfast 1 day and dinner another.  This week, I made 2 pots of it so that I could freeze some and also feed Fully Primal Husband.  Here you go:

Ingredients (makes 4-6 servings)
– 1.5 lbs of grass-fed ground beef (or another ground  meat)
– 2 parsnips – peeled, core removed, cut into bitesize chunks
– 1 bunch of Kale or Collard Greens (or both!) – stems removed, leaves roughly chopped into big pieces
– 2-3 zucchini – cut into bitesize chunks
– 2 Cups of chopped cremini mushrooms
– 1 onion – chopped
– 1 jalapeno – deseeded and chopped
– 2 Tbsp chili powder
– 1 Tbsp paprika
– 1 Tbsp cocoa powder (this adds an amazing flavour!)
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 1 tsp dried oregano
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 2-3 Cups of beef or chicken stock
– 1 Large (14.5 Ounce) can of chopped tomatoes
– 1 Tbsp butter
– fresh ground pepper
– Avocado or Guac for garnish

Directions:

  1. In a large (use the biggest one you’ve got!) pot, heat butter and add onions.  Saute for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add the beef and saute until it is cooked and brown all the way through.
  3. Add all other ingredients except the stock.  Mix around thoroughly.
  4. Now start adding stock slowly until all the veggies and meat are covered.  I used 2.5 Cups.  Mix thoroughly.
  5. Bring it up to a simmer and keep it there for an hour.  Stir every 15-20 minutes.
  6. Serve with a few slices of avocado or a dollop of guac
  7. Enjoy!

Now for a Day 8 update! The last time I blogged, I said I felt great and that things were going well.  I must admit that day may have been a bit flukey.  I haven’t been THAT energetic again and I actually felt bad on Saturday.  Also, on Friday I wanted to kill everyone drinking coffee in the 6am crossfit class….I may have growled and snapped at Sio as she walked by.  My inner caffeine-beast needed to be tamed and my ice cold water was NOT HELPING.   Saturday was rough because I had a bit of a headache for the first time.  I think Saturday was especially hard because that is usually when I really enjoy my coffee….waking up and having my big mug and eggs with baked bacon.  mmmmm.  I love my weekend rituals, so it was hard to resist the sweet aroma of FPH’s coffee.  We also attended the engagement party for FPH’s sister on Saturday where I was surrounded by wine, amazing desserts (so many mini-cupcakes! brownies! cookies!  GAH!) and a plethora of other foods that I am abstaining from for these 30 days.  Normally I would still have a coffee and be OK.  Not this time!  It was HARD!!!!!  But I did it and I believe that was the worst temptation test that I will have to endure for the next couple weeks.  Other than that, things have been OK.  I’m feeling pretty low energy…I just feel uber-relaxed.  I suppose that is not a bad thing since I am accustomed to being quite wound-up.  I believe there are a few other factors playing into this:  It is now dark at 5pm.  It is cold.  My life is less stressed this month, so overall I am more relaxed.    The good news is that my sleep has continued to be amazing!  I have had the best sleeps ever lately!!

Breaking news: I am going to remove the black and green teas from my daily roster and stick to 100% decaf.  I want to go through the remaining 3 weeks sans-caffeine.   I think I was still clutching onto the black/green tea like a safety blanket and it is time I let go.  I need to fight through this.

To help, I went on another Tea-Spree to David’s Tea today and picked up the following flavours: Banana Nut, Apple Spice and Caramel Pear.  YUM!!!!  They smell amazing, so I can’t wait to try them out.  They are all caffeine-free.  I am loving my new herbal tea obsession.

How are you doing?? Did you make it through the weekend OK?