Sample Paleo Dinner Recipe

Transitioning to the paleo diet may seem complicated, but with tools like a slow cooker, meat, vegetables, and seasonings, you can create a dinner masterpiece in no time.  This recipe is also good for a leftover lunch.  Pair this recipe with a side salad instead of bread for extra fiber and nutrition.

This recipe provides healthy fat and protein from the stew beef and olive oil.  This meat and oil will give you the monounsaturated fats you need to complete your night with energy and vitality, rather than crashing right after dinner.  This fat will also prepare your body for the next day and a healthy night of sleep that will help you feel great in the morning.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of carotenes, vitamin C and vitamin B6.  Sweet potatoes stabalize blood sugar and improve the body’s response to insulin, according to Dr. Michael Murray, author of The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Because sweet potatoes are root vegetables, they contain significant amounts of antioxidants.  Sweet potatoes are also an exceptional source of carbohydrates and are therefore good to eat if you are training for a race or other athletic event or if you engage in regular moderate-to-vigorous-intensity exercise.

With garlic, your body is protected against heart disease due to garlic’s ability to increase good cholesterol while decreasing the bad.  Garlic also has a long history of protecting against infection, including the common cold and even tuberculosis and botulism.  If that wasn’t enough, the garlic found in this recipe has cancer-fighting properties.

Onions are known for their ability to fight blood clots, decrease blood lipid levels, and lower blood pressure.  Though not as widely used as garlic, onions have medicinal qualities, and may even be beneficial for treating asthma and to destroy tumor cells. Many people on a paleo diet use onions liberally, though others find that they cause gas or are otherwise hard to digest.  Use your own discretion as to whether you would like to try using onion in this recipe.

Finally, the slow cooker beef and vegetable stew is full of cancer-fighting, nutrient-dense vegetables.  Mushrooms, carrots, celery, and tomatoes are vegetables of various colors, adding to the nutrition of the dish.  Carrots are rich in vitamin A, celery provides cancer-preventing coumarins, tomatoes are rich in lycopene and mushrooms provide the body with B-vitamins and minerals such as copper, potassium, and zinc.

The Paleo Slow Cooker Beef Stew and Vegetables is an excellent recipe to make on nights when you will be entertaining non-paleo friends and family.  A side salad or mashed jicama on the side would be an excellent pairing for this dish.

Paleo Slow Cooker Beef Stew and Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1-Pound Stew Beef
• 3 Sweet Potatoes, Cubed
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Large Onion, Sliced (Optional)
• 3 Tomatoes, Diced
• 5 Mushrooms, Sliced
• 3-4 Carrots, Sliced
• 2-3 Celery Stalks, Sliced
• 2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
• Sea Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Summer Savory, Allspice to Taste

Directions

Warm your cooking oil in a pan on high.  Add beef cubes and brown on all sides.  Season with sea salt and pepper.

Place all ingredients in your slow cooker, except the seasonings.  Pour in enough water to only slightly cover the ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours.  Remove the bay leaf and add seasonings.  Serve warm with a side salad.