Second, I have been doing a Whole30 for the month of October. I am almost finished! There are only three more days left. This is the second time I have done a Whole30. The first time was back in January (2013). I lost a little bit of inches and weight, but nothing significant. I can tell you that my sweet tooth did not change much. It came back with a vengeance (over time), hence the reason for the current Whole30. I'm not completely sold on my results. I've lost about the same amount of weight as in my first. My clothes do fit a bit better. I feel fine. I have a separate health issue I am dealing with at the moment, so I haven't been working out as much as I would have hoped/liked. The reason I'm not completely sold is that there are foods I want to eat post-Whole30 that aren't Whole30-approved. For instance, I purchased a sampler pack of Nikki's Coconut Butter and I cannot wait to give each flavor a taste. I also want to do some holiday baking around Thanksgiving and Christmas (check out my Pinterest board). I realize it will all still be "Paleo" but it's definitely sweet dishes. My sweet tooth didn't magically disappear. I still think about the 31st of October and making some Paleo pancakes or a Breakfast Cake. I enjoy treats in a different way than I did in my Pre-Paleo days, but I still love them. I do have a tough time with moderation when it comes to sweets. If I bake, I will have to freeze some and/or give some away to friends, family or coworkers.
And finally, the recipe. I created this dish on a whim. I knew I had a bell pepper, ground beef and tomatoes in the fridge. I thought I could put it all together and serve it over Cappello's Fettuccine.
Quick Tomato-Meat Sauce with Cappello’s Grain-Free
Pasta
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:
- 2 T. fat of choice
- ¼ onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- A handful of spinach
- 2-3 T. chicken broth
- 2 t. dried basil
- 1 ½ t. garlic powder
- 1 t. dried oregano
- Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
- 1 package of Cappello’s Grain-Free Fettuccine
Directions:
- Heat your fat of choice in a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and green bell pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
- Add the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks, cooking until it’s no longer pink.
- Season the mixture with all of your spices and herbs (including salt and pepper, to taste).
- Toss in the tomatoes, spinach and chicken broth, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes start to break down and the spinach is wilted.
- While waiting for the sauce to finish up and cook down, make your pasta per the instructions on the package.
- Put a little nest of pasta on your plate and top with some of the tomato-meat sauce. Enjoy!
We were able to get three servings out of this, but you could probably stretch it to four, especially if you add a side salad and/or veggies.
