We’re on the GAPS intro diet again, which means what we can eat is pretty restricted. We’re on day three and my seven-year-old has been begging for chili. I love to indulge my boys’ requests, so I knew I had to come up with a beef chili recipe we can have right now.
Even better than treating my boys to foods they love, I love sneaking in nutrition that they don’t even know they’re eating. I’m ornery like that. Plus, when I can be sneaky, there are no battles of will to contend with. This beef chili recipe is packed with nutrition that my kids didn’t even suspect.
I like to make carrot and butternut squash soup every day on GAPS intro because it helps us get in adequate carbs. I love it… everyone else likes it ok. Except the seven-year-old, who cries every time I make it. I decided I needed to get some carb-y carrots into him another way. Sneaky sneaky.
Here’s what you’ll find, but your kids will never suspect, in my Super Nourishing, Superfood Beef Chili Recipe:
Extra veggies
Cooked carrots, beets, and onions add healthy, blood-stabilizing carbs, plus lots of great nutrients.
- carrots are full of beta carotene and are good for the eyes
- beets are nourishing to the liver and help cleanse the blood
- cooked onions are soothing to the digestive tract and full of nutrients that help strengthen the immune system
Liver
You knew it was coming. When I say “superfood,” I’m referring to liver at least 73% of the time. (Don’t miss my superfood meatballs for the GAPS intro diet here.)
Liver is:
- rich in b vitamins, which is great for energy levels and mood stabilization
- a good source of iron
- full of vitamins C, A, and D
You’ll also find tomato puree, garlic, more veggies, hamburger meat, and beef meat stock. I hope your kids love it as much as mine have. Be sure to serve it with some creme fraiche– it’s way tasty that way!
Note: I blended my sauce in my Vitamix, which I love for lots of things, except blending hot things, so I’m planning to get this stainless steel stick blender so as to avoid blending in plastic.
Superfood Beef Chili Recipe
Ingredients
Sauce
- 6-8 cups beef meat stock
- 2 cups tomato puree
- 12 carrots coarsely chopped
- 1 onion peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 med-large beet coarsely chopped
- 2-3 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp real salt
Beef mixture
- 1 1/2 lbs. pastured ground beef
- 4-8 oz pastured beef liver
- 1 qt beef meat stock
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tsp real salt
Instructions
Sauce
- Combine ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 30-40 minutes.
- Use a stick blender or high powered blender to blend ingredients into a smooth sauce.
Beef mixture
- Rinse liver and place in a bowl of water. Add 1 tsp fresh lemon juice and allow to sit for about 20 minutes. This improves the taste.
- While the vegetables are simmering for sauce, add ingredients to a large, deep skillet and cook on medium-low until meat is brown and cooked through. If the stock cooks out, add more to be sure everything is cooking in stock and not frying.
- Once you've blended your sauce and your beef is cooked, add the sauce to the beef mixture and stir well.
- Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.
