Time Flies

Another week and a half has flown by and I've been a delinquent blogger!

For the past month or two I've eaten little to no meat. I think reading "Skinny Bitch" scared the bajesus out of me and the idea of buying meat at the store just creeps me out now. Likewise eating meat at restaurants. So on Monday night I planned on making one of my new favorite veggies recipes: Sloppy Janes. Then I started craving meat. Weird, since that hasn't happened at all in my meat-free adventure. However, I am a firm believer that when your body is craving something you should listen. This doesn't always mean you should give in (my body often craves ice cream- I have learned to say no at least once in awhile), but it's worth evaluating to see if the craving has any merit. This craving seemed reasonable and I figured the perfect way to satiate my appetite. Granted, this task was made far easier by the fact that I grew up on a working cattle ranch. My parents still live on the ranch and we preg test, brand, bangs vaccinate, the whole nine yards. My "payment" for this grunt work is a freezer full of beef. Natural, local beef from an overly-familiar origin. The reason I stopped eating meat was because wondering where it came from freaked me out. Having access to our own beef removes all the guesswork, allowing me to enjoy a delicious, meaty meal every once in awhile. So, in a moment of sheer genius, I decided simply to add ground beef to the meal I had already planned for the night. Triumphant in my resourceful and creative solution I browned a lb of hamburger along with a sweet onion and then added a can of kidney beans along with two cans of diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne. And then I realized.... I made chili. OK, so I'm not the culinary genius I fancy myself to be, but it was pretty darn good.

Here's my plate along with baked sweet potato "fries" and steamed broccoli:

I also had some BBQ sauce with my fries and broccoli. Who knew steamed broccoli and BBQ sauce would be such a delicious combination?

Here's the calorie break down:

Ground beef (about 2 oz): 100 cals

Kidney beans (1/4 c): 50 cals

Diced tomatoes (1/2 c): 25 cals

Sweet potato (3/4 medium, no skin): about 80 cals

Broccoli (1 c): 50 cals

BBQ sauce (1 tbsp): 30 cals

Grand total: Just under 350- (my) perfect dinner size!