Organic & Thrifty

I tell ya, this eating from the freezer and pantry thing is really fun!  Maybe it’s because I’m finally enjoying the bounty of meats purchased months ago on major sale or finding creative uses for random root vegetables at the bottom of my veggie bin, or those last few Cajun walnuts given in a Christmas basket (thanks, Cathy!).  It’s the odds and ends that sometimes come together to make the best meals….

So this post is meant to inspire those who think a healthy, low-carb, gluten-free, nourishing meal costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time.   This meal had all of the health in none of the time and hardly any cost.

I estimate that this is basically a $5.00 dinner because I took an $8.00 roast and split it in half. I plan to use the rest of the meat at the end of the week for “barbecue beef”.  I probably used a little over a dollar’s worth of produce; a few handfuls of arugula for a side salad, a burdock root and a few carrots, some onions, celery, and assorted spices. 

On the salad I plopped some herbed chevre (a deal at Grocery Outlet) and a few Cajun walnuts that were part of a homemade gift basket.  I added some coleslaw leftovers (a deliciously simple blend of sliced apples, red onions, green cabbage, homemade mayo, and a touch of pomegranate vinegar) which thankfully keep for a while in the fridge!

The roasted veggies were simply burdock root (think parsnip) and carrots cut into small cubes, tossed with dried thyme, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  This could have been added to the pot roast, but I wanted a more crisp-tender flavor, so I threw them in during the afternoon.  If you needed advanced prep, consider cutting all the veggies and mixing the herbs/spices in advance and so they would be ready to throw in right when you get home.  I convection-roasted them for about 30 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes or so.  They turned out deliciously crispy on the outside, tender on the inside!

The roast was a spur-of-the-moment creation based on what I had on hand, which I threw into the crockpot in the morning:

 1) I sliced two onions and covered the base of the crockpot with the onions.

2) I added the rump roast, to which I had inserted about 8 peeled garlic cloves into random slits I made with my knife.

3) I generously covered the roast with dried basil, 21-seasoning mix from Costco, dried leeks, sea salt, and pepper.

4) On top of all that, I drizzled pomegranate molasses (something I got in a gift basket last year). I’m told that this is a great stand-in for Worcheshire sauce. 

5) Over the whole thing, I poured about a cup of homemade beef broth.

6) I cooked it on low for about 8 hours, and after 7 hours I shredded the meet with a fork, added about 8 sticks of celery and let it cook another hour.

Afterthoughts:

This made the entire house smell like heaven today. The kids devoured their meat and my son loved the roasted veggies (my daughter needs to avoid starch, and thankfully she naturally does!).  My daughter did eat an arugula salad, which kind of shocked me!  There are plenty of leftovers with this meal and I plan to take the pan juices (with all the onions/leeks/garlic flavors) and blend them up with some tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, dijon mustard, and a hint of chipotle powder to make a BBQ sauce to serve on the leftovers Saturday night.

I must say, this meal is grain-free, low-glycemic (as long as you go easy on the roasted veggies, keep them to 15% of your meal), nourishing and not too spendy!  And I promise when you eat this way, you start to go longer between meals, not needing snacks for 4-5 hours (seriously) and feeling satisfied for longer periods of time.  Ultimately, that saves money in the long run!

This post is being shared with the good folks at “Tempt my Tummy Tuesday“.

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