Paleo friendly vegetable soup

[Lindsaylew82]

My husband has really made strides with his health on this new Paeo kick! We've been going strong for 8 months! Here is our favorite vegetable soup.

In a large pot, brown 1.5 pounds of ground grass fed beef. Reserve the fat in the pan, but remove the browned beef.
To the fat, add:
1 very large sweet onion, chopped
6 large carrots cut how you like
A large bunch of celery sliced
1 large red or green bell pepper
3 smashed cloves of garlic
Sauté in the fat until soft. Add in the browned beef.
Then add:
3large zucchini cut how you like
1 large sweet potato diced smallish
1 quart canned green beans drained
1 Palmful paprika
1 tbsp of Italian herbs
1 quart crushed tomatoes
1 quart tomato sauce
Fill the rest of your pot up with water. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer over low flame for about 3.5 hours.

[rainbowgardener]

I'm a vegetarian, so I know nothing about this kind of cooking or diet. But simmering vegetables for more than three hours seems like there would be nothing but mush. Isn't paleo supposed to be how our cave people ancestors ate? How would they be able to simmer things for hours. I would expect cave people ate things raw or lightly seared/ grilled over a fire.

Not meaning to be too negative, just thoughts from someone who has never tried it...

[imafan26]

Sounds like a good soup, but if you have beef in it. I would change the title to beef and vegetable soup. Vegetarians don't even eat jello.

I think on a paleo diet you would want to eat plants that have the least amount of processing or simple cooking. A lot of whole grains, not necessarily wheat. Today's wheat is a byproduct of thousands of years of selective breeding. I am talking more about things like quinoa, wild rice, flax, and groats. They were slow to digest so they keep you full longer. Good thing to have when you have no cars and you have to migrate a lot to follow game. Roots, leafy vegetables, throw in a few edible weeds, fish, nuts, and the occasional rabbit. Unless you have a lot of hunters and a lot of people to feed taking down big game would require greater risk and there's no refrigeration or preservation for the most part. You have to take what you can get and run for it before the predators higher up in the food chain claim the prize.

[Lindsaylew82]

There are no cooking rules in the book...

The "rules" based on the book author's thinking are fairly basic.

No grains, including corn.
(Quinoa is a fruit, and is allowed)
No legumes, including peanuts.
(Young Green beans in moderation)
No white potatoes. ( sweet potatoes are allowed)
No cane sugar (honey, molasses, coconut palm sugar, and maple syrup are allowed in moderation)
Nothing processed.
They want you to eat grass fed, pasture raised, pole caught, wild, organic meats and fish.
No DAIRY. ( the hardest part)
All fruit are allowed in moderation.
There are no limits to portion size.

This is a very abbreviated list.


The soup is very hearty, and the only thing that gets mushy are the zucchini. Everything IS soft, though, which IMHO are how soups are supposed to be.... Maybe it's my southern upbringing? We had a soup lunch at work last week and nearly everyone asked for the recipe, so it must've been ok.

Man's triglycerides went from over 400, to 71 in 31 days.
He lost over 60 pounds in the 8 months, with ZERO working out.
His fasting glucose is 89 now, down from 124.
His bad cholesterol dropped to within normal range.

I have gestational diabetes which I have been able to easily control without medication using this diet, and limiting my carb intake to around 45 gm of carbs per meal, and 15 gm of carbs for 4 snacks. That is A LOT of soup!

Quinoa jacks my blood sugar up, so we don't eat much of it right now.

[Lindsaylew82]

OH! But you can eat grass fed butter, but I don't remember why.


This diet, if I remember correctly, is more about reducing inflammatory responses in the body. And there are studies that suggest inflammation is the root of all disease. That's a broad statement that I'm sure will get some attention.

At any rate, it's a fad diet right now, but I think we will keep on keepin on.

[Rairdog]

I make similar stews with venison but I don't worry about any vegetable going in. I use a crock pot after browning and add the softer veggies towards the end. Grow as many ingredients as you can and stock the freezer. When I get bored with the recipe I add some frozen chard, kale, broccoli leaves or what ever I have on hand to change it up. The main point is eliminating processed foods and starches to make something you like. Then it is no longer a diet....it is a regular meal that you can't wait to eat.

[applestar]

I like all the ingredients in this soup

When I make "from scratch" soup, I use sometimes same vegetables for flavoring the stock/broth that are cut in random larger pieces and go in first -- and for eating quality vegetables with flavor and texture that are cut in smaller more uniform, attractive pieces and put in about 15-30 minute before serving. Longer to cook vegs like celery, carrots and potatoes, sometimes green beans first, and shorter cooking peas, corn, diced or quartered onions ...sometimes cherry tomatoes... later. This way the veg are brightly colored in the drab soup and they have their own fresh flavor.

Of course these veggies will be (over)cooked color and texture in the leftover soup. In this case, I might garnish with fresh or frozen herbs or serve over shredded cheese, drizzle cream or stir in yogurt or sour cream... for just bit of extra color.

Soup is so much fun because there ARE no rules.

[imafan26]

I remember now, I was on a diet and was told to limit oatmeal to only one serving a day. It was never explained. Oatmeal is supposed to be good for lowering cholesterol too.

I was told to avoid anything white. White bread, white vegetables. Colored vegetables was good and to avoid red meat and limit processed foods and added sugar and salt.

[Lindsaylew82]

Imafan, it's tough living a restrictive lifestyle, especially when everyone else around you isn't following suit.

For us, it was more about me learning new cooking techniques, and doing lots of reading and experimenting with ingredients I've never used or even heard of.

Now that I've retrained my mind for this type of cooking, it's really not as restrictive as I thought. Just finding substitutions!

Having said that..... When this kid comes out, and I'm no longer responsible for maintaining my blood sugar... I. Am. Gonna. Eat. Cake.... Real cake. With real sugar, and real flour.

[applestar]

I know what you mean Lindsay.

It's amazing the length you can go to protect the little one -- even not eat real cake....

Have you noticed anything interesting about the baby's movements when you eat stuff?
I absolutely craved Maine lobster when I was pregnant with my older DD but she moved around a lot after I ate them and kept us guessing whether it was good for her or not -- I think I was limited to "pregnant women seafood maximum" in case of pollution, etc. so we were looking for good source of less polluted "deep sea fish" After she was born, she fed more after I ate them. DH was intrigued and hunted down live Maine lobsters -- got to be pretty knowledgeable about the best sources (grocery stores that had well-kept tanks).

[Lindsaylew82]

I really think the only reason I want sweet things, are because I can't eat them. Even in small quantities, they give me high readings. In my experience white flour has actually given me worse readings than white potatoes and white sugar. Just something about how it breaks down? Idk.

Any time my bs is above 120, she moves.

She seems to get really excited when I eat peanut butter and hot sauce. Not together though... IIII get pretty excited about peanut butter and hot sauce, too!

I could drink hot sauce right now! Zero impact on my blood sugar means I can eat as many chicken wings as I want! And lemme tell you, I can tear up some wings!!!