Just wanted to share some basic recipes I use which keeps paleo simple
without sacrificing variety. Good if you’re getting bored of making
chili or bun-less hamburgers or if you just want a break from the
crockpot special. Cook time is pretty short too.
Ground beef + basic curry powder containing coriander, red chilies,
tumeric, cumin, black pepper, and fenugreek.
This can be bought in any Indian store or the ethnic section of a
decent grocery market. Buy them in bulk. I paid a little over $5/lb
for the spice. I bought 7oz packages (that’s the largest I’ve seen
around here), and they go a long way. Two bags of spice should last
you for a month, unless you like really strong flavors. Considering
what it costs in the little bottles, that’s a great price. You don’t
need much. One to two TBS per lb of ground beef and add some water to
make a slurry, then add ground beef (or just mix everything together).
A pinch of salt to taste.
Ground beef + Madras = Yum. Same as before. One to two TBS per lb of
ground beef. Don’t forget to add water, otherwise it might taste a bit
dry. And, the idea is to make a slurry so the spices stick to
everything.
Ground beef + Garam Masala. You might want to add a TBS of cumin to
this on top of the one/two TBS of masala, but you can eat just the
Garam Masala. Same as the other spice mixes.
Tired of beef? Repeat using chicken. Tired of chicken? Use canned tuna
or tuna steaks! Tired of tuna? Use Pork. The beef and tuna can be
purchased relatively cheap (I think, but maybe that depends on where
you live), so I’m hoping those on a tight budget will find some value
there.
You basically have a week’s worth (or more) of Indian inspired dishes.
Everything goes well over a bed of mashed cauliflower (except perhaps
the tuna–it’s fine plain). This stuff is normally served with basmati
or some other kind of rice, but I normally don’t do rice unless I’m
eating sushi. It tastes perfectly fine plain too. No need for the
cauli.
And, since these spices all have a very different and pronounced
flavor profile, it doesn’t feel like “oh damn, ground beef…again.”
All of the spices also have a wide range of (as well as a decent
amount of) minerals in them and some have a decent vitamin profile
too, so it’s not just for taste 🙂
For example, one TBS of curry contains:
30mg Calcium
1.86mg Iron
16mg Magnesium
22mg Phosphorus
97mg Potassium
3mg Sodium
.26mg Zinc
.016 Thiamine
.018 Riboflavin
.218mg Niacin
62IU Vit A
Adding a chopped onion, can of tomatoes (or an equivalent amount of
fresh tomato) and a cup or so of good quality yogurt to the meat
creates something more along the lines of a traditional Indian dish
(except for the beef part), but it obviously increases the cost per
dish. Feel free to skip the Naan.
Spices like tumeric will also make you smell noticeably spicy the next
day, if that’s your thing.
Happy eating 🙂