a simple real food recipe :: sloppy joes :: grain free options

I totally grew up on Manwich – did you?! I just love sloppy joes, and I definitely wanted to have fun dinners like this a part of my girls’ dinner memories of growing up.But have you ever seen the label on that Manwich can? NOT good. As if the HFCS for the second ingredient and corn syrup as a third ingredient isn’t enough, the term “natural flavors” is typically the cover up for MSG (see THIS for hidden terms for companies are allowed to use instead of labeling something with the term “MSG”). You can also bet this can is full of GMO laden ingredients with ConAgra on that label.  On a side note, is anyone also thinking it is comical that that advertise on the front as being a “full serving of vegetables”?! It is super simple to make sloppy joe sauce on your own, and you can double or triple batch this and freeze for easy pull out dinners.

I do half ground beef, half red beans to stretch my meat budget. It really does make for a budget friendly meal. Your call if you want to do it that way – all beef is super delicious too!A quick note for my grain free friends working on healing their guts! This is SO yummy over a baked potato or spaghetti squash noodles instead of on the bread! You can swap out the beans for more beef if you wish as well.

a simple real food recipe :: sloppy joes :: grain free options

 

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Author: Renee - www.theSIMPLEmoms.com

Ingredients

• 1 lb grassfed ground beef
• 3 cups sprouted/cooked red beans (OR an additional pound of beef if you don’t want to do the beans)
• 1 small/medium onion finely chopped
• 1 green pepper finely chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ¼ cup organic ketchup (watch ingredients – no HFCS)
• 2 TB organic mustard (again – watch ingredients!)
• 2 TB pure maple syrup
• ½ cup water
• 2 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (more if you want more kick)
• Sea salt/pepper to taste
• 1-2 TB arrowroot mixed in 1-2 TB water for thickening to desired consistency

Instructions

1. In a big soup pot sauté the onion and green pepper in a couple TB of friendly fat (butter, coconut oil, or lard) for a 5ish minutes with a pinch of salt to bring out the juices and sweeten.
2. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
3. Add the ground beef and brown through.
4. Add the cooked beans, ketchup, mustard, maple syrup, water, chili powder, and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Simmer about 10ish minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Depending on how thick you like your sloppy joes add the arrowroot/water mixture to thicken.

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Kitchen Tips:

1. This makes a LOT! Freeze up a quart for a quick pull out dinner! Or half it if you don’t want leftovers.
2. HERE is a post that includes how to soak and sprout red beans to batch up for your freezer. It is so easy to just pull out a bag of beans and dump them right in. Sprouted beans are easier on the gut to digest and have more nutrients available. See the post for more detail 😉
3. THIS is what arrowroot looks like for the thickening!
4. We serve this on my homemade soaked bread or sourdough from our local bakery. I actually really love it over a baked potato though and if we have already had sandwiches at lunchtime we’ll skip the bread and go for the potato or spaghetti squash noodles.
5. Skip the junk store bought chips as your side dish, and just slice up a few potatoes, and just fry some up yourself! So easy! If you want to flip the oven on you can just bake them – coat with a friendly fat (like lard, butter, or coconut oil), and season with salt and pepper. Bake them up a good 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven and then under the broiler a few minutes to crisp them up!

YOUR TURN!

So let me know what you think after you try it! It tastes just like the canned!

This post was shared at The Polikva Family’s Family Table Tuesday, and Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday!