FODMAP Friendly Beef Stew

Our typical evening meals usually include brown rice, grilled chicken, a vegetable and a small amount of avocado. For variety we like brown rice tortillas, polenta or gluten free oats. We are simple people. I have been craving beef lately, however, so I decided to take an old stew recipe and make it FODMAP free, which frankly, wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. Here is how the whole meal is made. Start to finish it took about 10 hours.

First of all, you will need a slow cooker. I also recommend a slow cooker liner. It’s not mandatory, but when it comes to clean up, I promise you the liner makes a tough job ten million times easier. My slow cooker is a Crock Pot, but any brand will do. The rooster, is also completely optional.

Next you will need edible ingredients:

I have:

  • Four large carrots
  • Four stalks of celery
  • Fifteen mini portabella mushrooms
  • Ten small red potatoes
  • Three pounds of cubed beef
  • 4 to 5 cups broth
  • One cup of tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons basil
  • 1 teaspoon thyme

What I like about this recipe is that you can just chop everything up and throw it in the slow cooker. Some people like to brown the beef before hand, but I’ve tried it both ways and tested it with Mr. MVP and he could not tell me which time I browned the beef and which time I did not. Not browning the beef saves about fifteen minutes and three extra dishes to wash. Anyhow.

Starting with the celery you will want to rinse off the stalks with cold water and cut off both ends. Then chop the celery in uniform pieces. It’s really pretty simple.

Now, put the celery in the slow cooker. Seriously, it’s just that easy.

With the carrots you will need to peel them and cut the ends off. The carrot in the back is for Blue.

Sorry about the blurry photo, but I was trying to do five things at one time. Back to the carrots.

Chop the carrots in slices making sure they are mostly uniform in size. I call this a rough chop. It’s not beautiful, but it works. Add the carrots to the celery in the slow cooker.

The potatoes should be cleaned with a vegetable brush, like mine in the photo, or you can use the dull edge of your knife or a NEW toothbrush. Keep in mind these potatoes are red potatoes and are soft, which means their skins tear very easily, so be firm, but gentle. Scrub them with cold water.

After your potatoes are nice and clean you will want to chop them up. I cut each potato in half and then cut each half in quarters. When you’re chopping make sure to remove any brown spots or eyes. Now, toss the potatoes in with the carrots and the celery.

The mushrooms are next and they should be cleaned with a damp paper towel. Please do not submerge them underwater. Simply wipe each mushroom off making sure to remove all of the excess dirt and then cut the end of the stem off. I also like to cut each of my mushrooms in half. If the mushroom is really  big I cut each half in half again. Add your mushrooms to the slow cooker. Everybody in the pool!

Put your beef on top of all your vegetables, but don’t panic about how full your slow cooker is. It will be okay. I promise.

Add your tomatoes. I used canned tomatoes called Cento. They are awesome. Their only ingredients are tomatoes. I used one full cup.

When adding your broth you have a choice. I decided to use beef stock, but you can also use vegetable stock. Meijer Naturals makes a really good 100% organic broth with no weird preservatives or additives. It’s also gluten free. It doesn’t have any garlic in it, but it does have onion, so it may not be FODMAP friendly for everyone. Mr. MVP tolerates it really well. I used one entire carton which is 4 1/2 cups.

Next up you will want to add your herbs. Honestly I usually just eyeball the herbs, so if you like more or less go for it. Also, remember please do not buy herbs at the supermarket. Go to your local health food store and buy them in bulk where they are just pennies. Bring your little containers and fill them up, or they provide you with bags. It is 10 times less expensive and they always have a better selection.

Very carefully stir everything together, making sure you get the celery all the way at the bottom. Now, put the lid on and set the slow cooker for 10 hours. Resist the urge to lift the lid and peek. One quick check under the lid will set you back up to 20 minutes.

At the end of the day when your house smells amazing your beef will be fork tender and your vegetables will be cooked perfectly. If anything needs a little extra time simply turn your slow cooker up to high and let everything cook an extra 30 minutes. This large batch of stew made enough for dinner plus left overs for dinner for the week for both Mr. MVP and I.

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