A vegetable beef soup recipe - dissected!

One or two of my friends have asked just why I'm so obsessed with the making and posting of recipes about something like vegetable beef soup? A very good question!

Answer: From more than one health experts view, a well planned vegetable based beef soup hits many of the key nutritional marks needed for any health-centered diet program! Let's take a look at the minutia of what's involved!

The Meat! - Gasp!

Beef – For any vegans out there – the mere mention of meat is a big turn off! But, hold on! As a species, we've consumed meat as part of our diet for hundreds of thousands of years. If you go back just ten thousand years, or so in the past, (right before we began an agricultural diet of mostly grains); we all had lots of fresh meat as a key part of our dietary intake – And, most men and women were  lean and mean. No heart attacks (cardiovascular disease didn't exist), no dental caries and no cancers or many of the other deadly problems that stalk us today! The fact is, most of the palaeolithic peoples died of injuries inflicted by a life in the rough or by predation by other larger animals! By all historical accounts, these 'primitives' were more healthy than the best of our Olympic athletes living today! (How do you think we, as a species, made it through all those years - and so wonderfully thrived! )??

Beef – fresh, preferably grain fed – ~300 grams – Sear in a pan and then add to the pot!

The Veggies!

Carrots – Carrots are a root crop that were most likely not enjoyed by earlier palaeolithic peoples! But, that's a sad thing, as they bring much to the human nutritional table. Carrot seeds have been found in Switzerland and Southern Germany dating to 2000–3000 BC so we have a very long history with them as a dietary additive! Like most of the veggies that are in this mix, they add a blast of micro-nutrients whose long term effects are still unknown today, but thought to be beneficial to long term health!

2 Carrots – peeled and chopped!

Potatoes – Yet another root crop with a close genetic affiliation to tomatoes! The potato is best known for its carbohydrate content (approximately 26 grams in a medium potato). (Think energy, cellular energy)! It provides bulk, offers protection against colon cancer, improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowers plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, increases satiety, and possibly even reduces fat storage. A good ingredient to bring to this soup party!

1 med Russet potato – peeled and cut into small chunks!

Celery, red cabbage, onion and bell peppers – OK, by now you've seen the future! Your getting fiber, more micro-nutrients than you can count and more importantly – they add lots of flavor!

¼ cup of each – hacked into small pieces like a fiend! Toss in with wild abandon!

Directions:

OK, those are the basics! Take a small pot – add 2 cups of water and half a 6 ounce can of tomato sauce to get the swimming pool set. Then, add the braised beef and the veggies and a dash of cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, fake salt and pepper! Simmer for about an hour, or until the carrots are fork tender, and serve to a very happy intestinal track!

Back to the food basics!

After posting and then following a 'Palaeolithic Diet', I have come to learn (actually experience) some new facts about eating, diets and how you may feel in the aftermath of making dietary changes too quickly!

First, and foremost, I feel that any extreme or sudden change in the food you regularly consume is probably not a very good idea. For instance, if you are used to eating dairy products and breads all the time, then by all means you may want to continue to do so. The key is to focus on moderating these and other processed foods while bringing more and more 'fresh' fruits and vegetables to the table over time. I highlighted the word 'fresh' as canned vegetables and fruits are usually found to be literally swimming in salt and simple sugars! Two substances that are scientifically known to be bad for your health when consumed in large quantities over long terms of time. (If you find you must use a can of beans or corn, for instance, just make sure to rinse them well to get out as much sodium as possible). Likewise, eating breads and pastries are basically the same as eating white sugar, in that they are quickly converted to glucose in your blood stream – This action dramatically raises your glycemic load and thus stresses the pancreas and can lead to a problem known as insulin resistance. Young people who are not overweight can get away with this for a time before the resulting weight gain begins to turn them more and more toward problems like diabetes. The bottom line of all this is the term 'moderation' (a line from Andria, written in the second century B.C. by the Roman playwright Terence). I like to think of the 80-20 Rule in that you can eat so-called bad foods 20% of the time just so long as the bulk of your diet is fresh veggies, fruits and lean (not processed or packaged) meats, poultry and seafood. Bon apetite!

Meat! It's what's for breakfast!

Call me insane, call me slow, just don't call me late for the dinner bell!

After getting on board with the concept of a Paleo Diet, I have begun to make some form of lean meat a part of every meal! But wait! It's not only meat, but that also includes good healthy servings of veggies and fruit! That combination is similar to what our far distant ancestors ate some million or so year ago. On the flip side, it also means that many of the food items I used to love; taters, toast, hamburgers on buns and such are no longer de rigueur for me personally.

Why would I make such a drastic change? It's all about managing my Omega-6 versus Omega-3 fatty acid intake so as to make it more in line with how my body is genetically programmed. According to Dr. Andrew Weil (creator of Weil Lifestyle, LLC), 'Many nutrition experts believe that before (the agricultural revolution) we relied heavily on processed foods and humans consumed omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in roughly equal amounts. But, to our great detriment, most North Americans and Europeans now get far too much of the omega-6s and not enough of the omega-3s. This dietary imbalance may explain the rise of such diseases as asthma, coronary heart disease, many forms of cancer, autoimmunity and neurodegenerative diseases, all of which are believed to stem from inflammation in the body.' [paraphrased by author]

Pretty heavy stuff, if true! In fact, the eating of breads, canned goods and dairy products can spike the Omega-6 vs 3 ratio to something like 22:1! In addition, the very high salt content of many processed foods has been definitively linked to hypertension and high blood pressure – two conditions that lead to heart attacks which are one of the top killers in America today!

So, the diet requires one to give up many of the comfort foods we all so enjoy. What do you get in return? How about a diet where you don't have to count calories, will lose weight rapidly down to your ideal BMI (see Body Mass Index calculator), have lots more energy and (best of all) that trip to the grocery store will become a breeze!

I've started the Paleo Diet!

What the heck is the Paleo Diet you might well ask? I confess that I had never heard of it until my sister in California turned me on to a video available on Amazon call 'The Perfect Human Diet'! As a decreed biologist and pseudo nutritionist, what I saw and heard made tons of sense to me. I'd urge anyone who is concerned in the least about their health or the health of their family to watch this and see if it doesn't give them pause to think! After I saw the movie, I used my Kindle to search for and then ordered the book, ' The Paleo Diet Revised' by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. It carries on into more detail of what the heck is wrong with the American diet. A very revealing and informative collection of studies done world wide that disclose why our processed food diet of today was not what we were genetically programed for in over two million years of species development.For a beginners guide, go

here!

I plan to get on this diet, completely and will then report my results in a month or so. In the meantime, check out the beginners guide to see if it makes any sense to you personally.