Oven Braised Mexican Beef

Day 7/8/9 Recipe

     Sorry for the brief hiatus!  Life definitely got in the way.  I have been at a grueling teacher leadership conference for the past three days along with making the 12 hour drive home to visit my family in Chicago yesterday.  You can't very well type and post while driving a car for 12 hours!  Being new to the 'blogging world' I need to find a way to get this into a routine. . . Anyways, I will get better!  

 

My road-tripping buddy Ranger

     Before I get to the recipe, paleo road tripping is HARD!  While I eat paleo a vast majority of the time, one of the few times I do is usually on my 12 hour road trips to Chicago.  It's hard to keep yourself awake and focused on the road for such a long time, and drive-throughs are so quick and convenient in times like this.  Not to mention the fact that while driving for such a long time, I usually need a way to entertain myself (read.chewing, eating, snacking to fill the boredom. . . .)  It's hard to fight it!  However, we are on a 30 DAY CHALLENGE and I was determined to stick with it!  

Awesome Paleo breakfast from Zeda Jane's

     The first key step was starting out strong with a filling breakfast.  Eggs, bacon, spinach, and tomatoes.  Then, I loaded up on paleo snacks for the ride - kale chips, strawberries, nuts, jerky, a banana.  I brought a little cooler with some chicken salad to have when I got super hungry.  Was it 100% perfect paleo?  No.   My jerky did have a lil bit of sugar listed on the ingredients (however it wasn't the 3rd ingredient as it is in so many of them!)  But paleo is a template; it's about adapting to fit your lifestyle.  You do what you can with what you have in that moment.  My snacks were delicious and it kept me from driving through that fast food window!  Not to mention I had a great driving buddy with me!  Ok, on to the recipe. . .

Recipe

Oven Braised Mexican Beef

Lettuce Wraps and Beef

This is an AMAZING dish that I love love love.  It's a pretty quick prep, but I will warn you the beef takes 3 hours to cook in the oven.  So, cook it ahead of time (like on a Sunday) or try adapting it to a crockpot meal.  It makes TONS of leftovers though, so it's totally worth it!  I used the leftover beef in many different ways for easy lunches and dinners.  

Oven Braised Mexican Beef from Nom Nom Paleo

Guacamole

• Take a spoonful, top with some guacamole and radish slices, and wrap in a lettuce cup!  Delish!
• Recipe note:  I didn't use a dutch oven as the recipe calls for, just a regular old oven-safe pot.  Also, watch the salsa that you buy for added sugars and other sneaky ingredients. 
  
  
  
  

  

  Oven Braised Beef Lettuce Cups