Mostly Organic Nourishing Beef & Kale

Dinner made in a flash! Mostly organic, too! Last night, I had about 30 minutes before I had to leave to pick up my husband at the airport. So I kept dinner simple and used a few of my kitchen staples: 

Gluten-free Barilla Penne Pasta 

Organic Classico Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce 

Organic Ground Beef

Organic Purple Kale (chopped)

Garlic

Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil

Rosemary, Basil, & Thyme

Salt & Pepper

1. Prepare the pasta as directed. Reserve some of the pasta water to thin the sauce if needed. I've tried a bunch of different gluten-free pastas and Barilla is my favorite. It cooks well (without ending up mushy) and it tastes just as good as wheat pasta. 

2. In a separate pan, add the pasta sauce to warm it up. 

3. Heat your oil of choice in a pan. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the ground beef. Season with rosemary, thyme, & basil. When the meat is browned and almost cooked through,  season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped kale and sauté until the greens are wilted. If you want to cut the fat, drain off any excess fat before you add the greens. 

**Optional - before adding the kale, take half of the ground beef and add it to the pasta sauce. Add the kale to the remaining portion of ground beef. Double flavored just for kicks. 😋 

4. To the cooked pasta, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and add the pasta sauce. Add pasta water until you have the desired consistency. 

5. Serve together and enjoy! If you like cheese, try adding some grated Parmesan. 

In Chinese Medicine/Eastern Nutrition: 

Kale - nourishes blood

Beef - perfect for winter, nourishes blood, and benefits for tendons & bones

Garlic - warms and strengthens digestion, moves Qi, inhibits fat synthesis 

I finished making everything in 30minutes!     After sneaking in a couple of bites (a taste test!), I safely sped off to pick up my husband. After a long trip, he was happy to come home to hot homemade meal that we were able to enjoy together. :) 

Easy, simple, & tasty dishes like this help keep me on track with my health. Plus, if I eat well 80% of the time, I can indulge in a little fun for the other 20% (like on special days like Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays 😋). And did I mention that you can also get a great workout done in 30 minutes, too?

I don't know about you, but with the #holidays coming up, I am looking ahead and know that I am pushing forward with my own #health. I want to go into 2016 feeling fabulous, rather than feeling like crap especially after falling into the holiday junk. I've been there, done that and do not want a repeat. 

Do you feel the same? Then join me on my December Holiday Health Challenge! We kickoff the Monday after Thanksgiving! 

📌Email me for sign up instructions. 

Lesley@feelwellacupuncture.com

Nourshing Mushroom Broth Ramen

After a busy day at my acupuncture clinic, I really wanted something nourishing and quick for dinner.  Soup immediately came to mind.  During both undergrad and acupuncture school, I often turned to ramen (unfortunately, the processed version) when I needed a quick (and cheap) meal that was comforting, too. Fortunately, there are healthier versions out there now and I had picked up some gluten-free ramen earlier in the week. This was the perfect time to try it.  

For the broth, I used an easy mushroom broth from Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen as a base. Mushrooms, especially shiitakes, are known for their immune boosting properties. In addition, I added the herbs Huang Qi (Astragalus) and Gou Qi Zi (Go Ji Berries) for some extra Qi and Blood tonification. Bok choy and tofu lightly cooked in the mushroom broth rounded out the meal.  

Mushroom Broth (adapted from Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen)

9 dried shiitake mushrooms

4 cups water

3 grams Huang Qi

3 grams Gou Qi Zi

Ramen 

1 brick gluten free ramen (I used Lotus Foods millet & brown rice ramen)

5 bunches baby bok choy (separated/sliced)

1 package firm tofu (chopped)

soy sauce or gluten-free tamari (to taste)

Optional toppings:  

sliced green onions, sesame seeds, hard boiled egg, seaweed

Directions - 

1.  In a large pot, prepare the mushroom broth as directed in the book. If you're short on time (like I was), I brought the broth to a boil to speed things up. 

2.  While the broth is boiling, blanch the bok choy in the broth and set it aside. Add the tofu so it can absorb the flavor.  Add soy sauce to taste.  

3.  In the meantime, prepare ramen as directed on the package and set it aside. 

4.  In a large bowl, begin assembling the ingredients beginning with the noodles at the bottom.  Layer the bokchoy and tofu on top as well as any other toppings you've chosen.  

5.  Ladle the hot mushroom broth over the ingredients. Enjoy!