Curried Ground Beef Stir Fry

I love when I follow my gut and whatever dish I am cooking turns out fabulous. It doesn't always happen, but tonight it did. I had some ground beef in the freezer and I really wanted something with an Asian influence. This is the dish I came up with:

Ground Beef Curry Stir Fry

It started with a HUGE bag of frozen stir fry vegetables I got from Costco (aka my favorite store ever). I put some coconut oil in a very large pan over high heat. After the pan and oil were sufficiently hot, I added the frozen veggies and let them cook until soft.

After the veggies were done, I put them in a big bowl and set them aside. I then cooked the ground beef until completely browned.

When the ground beef is done, drain it. Put it back in the pan and add the diced onion and let cook a couple minutes. Then add the most wonderful curry powder ever. Whichever kind you prefer. My favorite is this one I found at a local grocery store (I found you can buy it online here):

My favorite curry powder.

and then I quit taking much needed pictures. 

Except for this beautiful finished product:

Curried Ground Beef Stir Fry

This fed 6 of us with seconds and leftovers. Cut in half you need less. I should warn you, my 7 year old thought this was a little spicy. The rest of us loved it!

58 oz bag frozen stir fry vegetables (I got mine at Costco. It came with sauce that I threw away.)

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 very large onion or 1 small onion, diced

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Cup soy sauce

2 tsp. fish sauce

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp curry powder (I like A LOT of curry)

3-14 oz cans of some kind of broth

1-7 oz package Asian Bean Vermicelli (ingredients are peas, green beans, and water--I found mine at Costco)

3 Tbsp coconut oil (or oil of your choice)

Add coconut oil to large pan over high heat. Add veggies and stir every 2 minutes or so until cooked through, set aside. In same large pan, cook ground beef, drain when done, and add back to pan. Add diced onion to ground beef and, stirring occasionally, let cook together for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir thoroughly. Add curry powder, fish sauce, soy sauce, and broth. Stir really well. Let simmer for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add vermicelli noodles (dry) and they will soak up the sauce beautifully. Make sure you stir and get the noodles mixed around. Add veggies and mix well. Take off heat and let sit for about 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

30 Day Challenge -- Day 5

I truly believe in eating whole foods in their most natural state (except for chips). For instance, I saw this article: "Splenda goes from 'safe' to 'caution' after leukemia found in mice."  For years I have heard, read, or been told how safe Splenda is. I am glad I listened to my gut and chose not to use this product, except very rarely. Luckily, my poison of choice is black coffee (I am sure many of you can tell me what is wrong with coffee and caffeine) and I am very fortunate to not have a sweet tooth, usually. So, for me, it is easy to stay away from artificially sweetened foods.

Eating Paleo and eating whole foods can be very expensive. I get super tired of the Paleo crowd touting the same speech of "yeah, but if you buy the right foods now (organic, grass fed), you will save thousands later in medical bills." I personally can not afford organic and/or grass fed. If I don't have the cash, then guess what? I don't have the cash. And before anyone tells me we don't need things like cable tv... we don't have things like cable tv.

So, how do I do Paleo? I buy regular food. I buy vegetables on sale (which tend to be what's in season) and meat that has been marked way down or is on a major sale. I use canned tuna that I get for 65 cents a can during a case lot sale. Some day, probably when my 5 children move out, I will be able to buy all organic, grass fed everything. For now, I am looking to feed us the best way possible with the resources we have. (This might also mean we have to add rice and beans back into our diet in the future).

Day 5
This morning we started our day much earlier. Our 1.6 mile walk was much more enjoyable in the cooler weather and we were able to talk my hubby into going with us. It was very nice.

Breakfast: Leftover breakfast from yesterday. That casserole made quite a bit.

Lunch: Leftover (again) Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw with diced chicken breast (also leftover from dinner the other night).

I went to the gym today and did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike at a level 4. I was going to do the Couch 2 5k, but a friend was there and I would much rather work out while chatting with a friend.

Snack: (I have been really hungry today). Small handful of macadamia nuts, two slices roast beef, and a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Ground Beef and Curry Stir Fry

Dinner: I came up with a very yummy stir fry dish. I used some asian vermicelli noodles I got from Costco (aka my favorite store ever) that have an ingredients list of: Peas, Green Beans, Water. We shall see what it does to the hubby's blood sugar (which is how I judge a lot of foods). Luckily, I wrote down all the ingredients and how much of everything I put in. The recipe will be posted very soon. I absolutely LOVE creating a recipe and watching my family enjoy it completely!

30 Day Challenge -- Day 4

Peeps, you should know I am a big, fat failure. Today was really hard.

Cheat #1: Chips. I love chips. The crunch. The salt. Mmmm. BUT, I did get the chips that were made of sweet potatoes and beets because I felt way too guilty buying regular potato chips. Still healthy, right? Ha. Unfortunately, these had a very strong oil taste. I don't remember that being there before.

Cheat #2:  Wine. I completely caved. I was so stressed out over a whole bunch of stuff I crumbled. *hangs head in shame*

Cheat #3: Bleu Cheese dressing. I dipped my chicken in it and it was fantastic! But, dairy is a no-no for the next 30 26 days.

Tomorrow will be better! I am going to make it through this challenge.

Day 4
Two of my kids and I walked 1.8 miles today. It was really hot. I think we need to start leaving earlier in the morning.

Italian Egg Casserole

Breakfast/lunch was delicious. Without meaning to, we skipped breakfast yesterday and had breakfast for lunch. I came up with a recipe that I will post soon. For now I will call it Italian Egg Casserole (and let's face it, that name is probably going to not change).

Dinner was grilled chicken quarters (dipped in bleu cheese) and leftover Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw.

Flax Seed and Nut Granola

Here is my very first recipe for you! I found this "granola" recipe over 5 years ago. I absolutely love the flavors in it. When you go to the store for your ingredients, do your best to get quality ingredients. The hole point of eating healthy is to be healthy and that means to quit putting frankenfoods in your body. (sorry, rant over). 


Flax Seed and Nut Granola
(adapted from www.mrbreakfast.com)

1 cup flax seeds

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped almonds

1 stick of butter -- melted (I tried cutting the butter down in this one, it really needs the butter. It didn't turn out right.)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla powder (sugar and alcohol-free). (This was a little expensive. From what I have read, you can sustitute extract for powder equally.)

1/4 Cup Honey 

In a large pan or wok, over low/medium heat melt the butter and honey together. When the butter is completely melted add the spices. Stir until everything is completely mixed together. Dump the nuts and the coconut into the mixture and coat everything really well. Stir the mixture constantly until it is all golden in color. Dump onto parchment paper immediately to cool. 

30 Day Challenge -- Day 3

Today I decided to take my measurements so I can see how many inches I will lose over the next 30 27 days. I was so excited to see that I have already (not in the last two days) lost 1.5 inches around my waist and 2 inches off my hips!! Now, to be fair, you should know about a month and a half ago I decided the kids and I would be mostly paleo, but completely gluten free. So, those inches came off in the last month and a half, before my 30 day challenge. I can only hope the next month provides even better results.

I was hoping today I would be able to do some more body flops, body hangs, sit ups, and squats. Sadly, I am still way too sore to do any more of these. Tomorrow will have to be good enough. At least I will get them in twice this week. I was still able to do our morning walk and I threw in Day 1 (which I have started five other times in the past)((I once made it to week 5, but screwed it all up--more on that later... maybe)) of Couch 2 5k. Who knows? Maybe I will finally learn to run.

Day 3
Before breakfast the kids and I went for a 1.6 mile walk. I have this really cool app on my phone (thanks to my friend Bonnie), called CardioTracker, that tracks how far we walk/run. (It also tells me how much produce I have burned, which is really weird. Because let's face it, I want to know how many brownie's I have burned.)

Breakfast: At around 10 am we ate a wonderful Caramelized Onion Frittata that was delicious! I really recommend you try it. My two youngest kids and I also shared a green smoothie that contained dandelion, red chard, celery, wheat grass, apple, oranges, and coconut water. It was definitely intense, but we handled it. I am not sure I would make it again, but we are brave!

Lunch: Without meaning to, we completely missed lunch. Breakfast was so filling we never got hungry. But, we did eat breakfast a little late.

3 pm: Made it to the gym for my Couch 2 5k attempt. I will admit I desperately wanted to quit in the middle of it. I then decided to slow my miles per hour down on the running intervals from 5.8 miles/hour to 5.2 miles/hour and keep it slow and simple. I mean, the idea is practicing and learning how to run... right? I was glad I did, because I was able to finish while watching NCIS. (I love this show)

Dinner: Salmon Sliders (substituted tuna) with an awesome Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw (which I used half purple cabbage and half green). These are both super easy to make, but require a LOT of chopping, dicing, and slicing. But, it is completely worth it.

Full disclosure: I have to admit today I had a bit of a cheat. We have a soda shop stand that serves really yummy Diet Mountain Dew with a Mango Puree. After drinking about 1/4 of it, I was feeling extremely guilty (with the help of my hubby who gave me major crap for it)((But, you should know two days ago I gave him major crap for having a cheat)). So I dumped it down the drain. I will be stronger next time!

30 Day Challenge -- Day 2

You know when you work out for the first time in a long time and you go to bed thinking "I'm good. Not too sore." You move your muscles around to "just check" and see and everything feels great? You think "I may not hurt too bad tomorrow." You feel like a pro. See? You weren't that out of shape! Ha! And then at around 3 am you try to turn over in bed and it hurts so bad it wakes you up?

Yep. I am so very sore from my first workout. I mean, seriously, who gets sore from body flops and body hangs?? Oh, yeah... That would be me.


Day 2

Today I woke up starving! Before eating the kids and I went for our walk: 1.7 miles. During our walk we did 4 wind sprints down a pretty long sidewalk and we ran up and down a set of stairs 10 times. It was fun until the 7 year old decided her feet and legs hurt and she was going to whine the rest of the time.

Breakfast

Breakfast: I took some diced onion, cilantro, chopped spinach and sauteed them in a pan with a little coconut oil. After they were cooked, I put some eggs over them and made a really yummy scramble. Topped with a good amount of salsa, this was fantastic!
We also had a slice of watermelon that was leftover from last night's dinner.

Lunch: I wasn't very hungry. I guess breakfast was pretty filling. I had two turkey slices, some apple slices, and a few nuts.

Dinner

Dinner: Corned beef with a bunch of boiled cabbage, pan-grilled zucchini, a lot of raw onion, and yellow mustard. I love, love, love, onions... and mustard. Together they are amazing!

My Challenge Day 1

Last Thursday, I decided I am going to do a 30 Day Challenge with Paleo. This will include food (no cheats)((Have I mentioned I like a glass or two of wine at the end of the day?)) and exercise (fun stuff with my kids). The reason? I really want to fit into my old jeans again (they are only a couple of years old, not from high school) and be able to like what I see in the mirror when I am standing in front of it naked. The only way I am going to accomplish this is if I actually do something different than what hasn't been working.

I can do this! It's only 30 days (or forever).

Day 1

Breakfast: Nothing. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat.

Took a 1.5 mile walk with two of my kids. When we got back I did

• 30 Squats
• 30 Crunches
• 5 Body Hangs*
• 6 Body Flops**

*A body hang is the start to a pull up, but when you are as out of shape as I am, it looks like you are just hanging there. In reality, you are trying very hard to pull yourself up. 

**Similar to a Body Hang, except with push ups (and not the knee pushups. We are going for real, manly push ups). You start in a push up position and slowly lower yourself to the ground. When you get to the ground, but are not touching it, you try and lift back up into push up position. (If you are me, you can't lift yourself back up, yet, and you flop to the ground. 

Lunch: By 11:00 am I was hungry! I had a cold chicken breast that was leftover from dinner the night before, dipped it in guacamole, had 8 green olives, and half of an apple. 

5:30 pm: Handful of mixed nuts.

Dinner: I had a grilled chicken quarter (a thigh and a leg), 2 big handfuls of spinach chopped and dressed with an Italian dressing, and a big slice of watermelon.

Dessert: Unfortunately, yesterday I found a recipe for Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream that I had to try (don't worry, it wasn't really a cheat). It was very good, but I have to try it again and fix what I did wrong (or what the recipe led me to do wrong). 

With Day 1 done, it is time for sleep and to see how sore I am in the morning.