Okay, let’s be real: eating healthy is hard. It’s hard because we have spent most, if not all, of our lives eating crap. Western culture and the modern world we live in today has normalized a restless lifestyle. We feel bad when we stop to rest. We feel guilty if we are not being productive with our time. We must keep pushing, working, drinking caffeine and borrowing energy to keep-up.

With all of the pressures and responsibilities in the modern world (bills, mortgage, college, deadlines), cooking is not our priority. We grab a protein bar in the morning as we rush our the door for work, we skip lunch because we have a deadline to reach and we buy take-out dinner because cooking takes way too long. Not to mention the sheer thought of cleaning up after. Let’s face it: after a long day of running against the clock, we don’t want to cook.

What we don’t realize is that the take-out food we are buying and the lunch we are skipping is the reason we are tired, depressed, anxious and feel like complete crap half of the time. Food is meant to give your body energy to keep going. The protein bar you think is going to hold you off until lunch isn’t food. It’s processed junk and no matter how busy you are, if you don’t make time to fuel your body with the nutrients it needs, you will never feel better. It doesn’t matter how many deadlifts you do at the gym or how many yoga classes you go to…

Health starts with your diet!

I was just like most people in America. I skipped meals, ate processed junk and convinced myself I was healthy as long as I was going to gym. If you want to try and transition into a healthier lifestyle, try out this great stew recipe that I started out with when I decided to finally stop making excuses and take care of myself. Here’s the best part: it’s Crock Pot friendly. You just throw everything into your Crock-Pot and go about your day. Do your yoga, walk your dog and take a shower because dinner will be ready in no time.

I know eating healthy is intimating because first, you may not know a thing about what BPA, GMO or organic even means. It may feel like you don’t know where to start. Second, everyone talks about how expensive organic foods are. Don’t worry, this recipe is affordable and if you don’t have time to go to Whole Foods or the super market, you can purchase all of the ingredients above on Amazon. If you didn’t know, Amazon has partnered with Whole Foods, so everything you want to buy at Whole Foods is available online. Plus, you get a discount when you do go buy your groceries in store.

These seasonings are optional. You can mix it up if you’d like. These are seasonings my husband and I love to use. You don’t have to buy them at any fancy organic store. Get them wherever you’d like or use what you have at home. Like a true Latina woman, I don’t measure any of these seasonings. As my mother would say, we season with heart, so add the seasonings to taste. I personally use one whole onion and one whole garlic in my soup because I love how they taste. If you can, do purchase an organic onion and garlic. Organic vegetables contain more nutrients than regular ones. You are doing yourself a favor by spending the extra $0.20 on a clean and natural vegetable versus not.

How to prepare:

• Dice the garlic and onion and cook it over medium heat on a regular stove. Cook until they brown. After, place them inside of the Crock Pot.
• Drain the organic kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and pinto beans from the can and place them inside with the garlic and onion.
• Add 2 full cartons of beef bone broth and 1 box of the red lentil penne pasta.
• Add the organic frozen vegetables and cauliflower.
• Add seasonings to taste.
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Paprika
  • Ground Cumin
  • Ground Coriander
• Let the soup cook in the Crock Pot for as long as necessary. Usually, I leave mine on high for about 3 hours, and then reduce it to low. I like my pasta very soft as well as the vegetables, so you may cook your stew for less time than me.
• When I think it’s done, I add in chopped parsley to taste. If you don’t want to add it to the entire soup batch, you can add it to the individual bowl when you are ready to eat or serve.
  

That’s it! Seriously, that is actually it.

If you have the seasonings already and only need to purchase the ingredients, you will spend about $25.00. If you need to buy onion and garlic, you may spend about $27.00-$28.00 depending on if you buy organic or not.

There it is. An easy, Crock Pot friendly, and affordable healthy recipe for you to kick-start your diet and lifestyle change. Let me know how it tastes once you try it. I’m super excited to see what you all think.