Many years ago I counted calories…all.the.time!!!  I very rarely put a food in my mouth without know how many calories it contained.  I was not concerned with the nutrient value or whether or not the food was serving my body well.  It did not matter if the food came from a box, tree, bag, plant, or outer space!  As long as I stayed within my “range”, I didn’t care.

And honestly, I didn’t even know that I wasn’t feeling the best that I could…I didn’t know that going days without pooping was not the norm or that feeling bloated after a meal didn’t have to always happen.  Now I know that both of these are a couple of the many signs that digestion is not in proper working order.

During this time I subscribed to the magazine Cooking Light…..I mean, I did want to cook and eat tasty food but I didn’t want it to push me over my allotted(and way too low) 1,500 calories for the day!!  Now days, I also have come to realize that under eating causes just as many health issues as overeating processed foods.  The truth is, it is difficult to overeat real food.

I will admit that I found some very tasty recipes from the magazine.  But to follow my real food, Paleo/Primal way of eating, they just need to be tweaked a little and possibly doubled to make sure my loved ones and I are well fed!

One of my all time favorite finds is the following braised beef short rib recipe!  It is to die for!!  Hours in the oven make for the most tender and delicious meat.  The gravy is rich and flavorful.  It is a real treat!

Cabernet-Braised Beef Short Ribs

2 pounds beef short ribs, trimmed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups beef broth (you can find my recipe for broth here.)

1 cup cabernet sauvignon or other dry red wine

2 tbsp. tomato paste

2-3 stalks celery, cut into 1″ slices

2-3 carrots, cut into 1″ slices

6 gloves garlic, sliced

2 6″ sprigs of rosemary

1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges

2 tbsp. tapioca flour (you can also use your fav gluten-free flour or arrowroot, you just may have to adjust the amount)

1/4 cup cold water

Preheat over to 300°.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Meat 1 tbsp. coconut oil.  Sprinkle ribs with salt & pepper.  Add ribs to pan, browning all sides.  May need to be done in batches.  Transfer ribs to 9×13 baking dish.  Add broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen brown bits.

Remove pan from heat.  Add wine and tomato paste, whisk to combine.  Add celery, carrots, onion, garlic and rosemary to 9×13 pan containing the ribs.  Pour broth mixture over ribs.  Cover with foil, bake at 300° for 3 1/2 hours or until ribs are very tender.

Uncover, remove ribs.  Strain remaining through sieve or strainer, reserving liquid and discarding other solids.  If desired, remove some of the fat from the liquid.  Pour liquid into saucepan.  Make a slurry using tapioca and cold water.  Bring liquid up to a boil.  Add slurry, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat, simmer for 3 minute or until desired consistency is reach.

Serve ribs and gravy over cauliflower rice, white rice or gluten-free noodles.

It does take a little bit of planning to make this dish but trust me, it is so worth it!!  And if you have left-overs, they just keep getting better!

Let me know if you give this a try.  I would love to know what you think of it!