All-Day Beef Stew

By Toby Helmstetter, LAc

Every New Year, many of my patients want to "turn over a new leaf" in terms of their diet and nutrition. I'm always excited to help people figure out ways to eat healthily while still maintaining important elements like convenience, tastes of other family members and budget. This is a great recipe that fits all of those requirements and is especially easy for the working person. All the ingredients can be assembled that morning or even the night before. A crock pot is ideal for this recipe, but if you don’t have one, you can simply put all the ingredients in a pot and cook it all day (if you feel safe leaving your stove on!) or, cook it a few hours before serving. You’ll come home to delicious smells and feel all warmed up on a cold winter night. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. stew meat cut into 1 inch pieces. Whole Foods carries our NC local, grass-fed beef from Baldwin farms—makes this recipe particularly yummy
• 5 yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 to 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2-3 Tbs olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Brown the meat on all sides in 1 Tbs olive oil, being careful not to crowd the pan (this may take a few steps). Place browned meat in the crock pot.

Add potatoes, onion, carrots, garlic, green beans (if cooking on a stove-top, wait to add the green beans), tomatoes and thyme to the crock pot.

Cover the ingredients with the chicken broth. Gently mix all the ingredients.

If using a crock pot, cook on LOW for 7-8 hours.

If cooking on a stove-top, bring all the ingredients to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for 2-3 hours (or longer if possible--the longer the better). Add the green beans in the last hour of cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.