All my life I've been a burgers and pizza kind of girl. I like real, hearty foods and lots of it. Yeah, I know. Neither of those choices are really AIP. So where am I going with this? When you like awesome foods, you tend to have a habit of biting off more than you can chew. And unfortunately, that's the story of my life in general and definitely right now.
I have a Bachelor's in photography. I went to school for cosmetology, and I'm busy starting a career doing hair (which I love). I feel pressured to use my BFA because I spent thousands of dollars on this ridiculously over-priced piece of paper called a diploma and people love my work. While I'm glad that people enjoy it, I don't always. I love my new job at the salon, but I'm paid commission. As a first year stylist, that's a huge struggle. I know that it's going to be worth it in the long run, but it also means days and days that I sit with no clients while I get my name out there. And days that I sit without clients means days that I sit without getting paid. So in the meantime, I'm working a part time job to help pay the bills and work off a scholarship that I received to help fund cosmetology school. And I'm taking photo gigs. All while trying to eat AIP (or mostly AIP after several successful introductions). Oh, and blog out new recipes here. I'm not complaining. I'm still learning balance. I'm still learning to take smaller bites and focus on one thing at a time. I'm trying to really narrow my focus to the things that I love best and to create priorities to what's most important. I know I can do it, but I have to say that I'm grateful for the support, encouragement, and patience so far!
I've let my diet slip a lot in the last few months while I finished school, and started a new career. I'm a little behind blogging about it, but I started #30 Days of Clean on Monday. The idea behind 30 Days of Clean was to reset my mental and physical approach to food. There are lots of friends participating with me, but everyone chose to do their own requirements to "clean up" their own diets. And that's my favorite part of 30 Days of Clean: it's all individual. My requirements are posted below. I'm sharing all of my photos in real time on Instagram, but you can also follow along at the end of the day on my Facebook page. If you follow along, be sure to tag #30daysofclean and @theprimordialtable.
When it all boils down, I am a total foodie at heart. But my ultimate goal is health and nutrition. Some days are easier than others. Other days take all you've got. So for the hard days, I'm working on crockpot recipes. I always love a good crockpot recipe that requires me to simply toss most of the ingredients in and go. This soup is perfect and is a great source of bone broth, which is extremely beneficial to a healing gut. I mean, the stuff helps heal your guts, promotes healthy digestions, reduces inflammation, fights infection, and promotes healthy hair, nails, and bone health/growth. That means it's an AIP power food. Need I say more???
No! Let's eat!
Crockpot Veal Provençal Soup
2 lbs veal neck pieces
2 white sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 celery stick, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp rosemary
¼ tsp savory
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp basil
¼ tsp marjoram
¼ lavender
¼ parsley
⅛ tsp oregano
⅛ tsp tarragon
4-6 cups beef broth
Place everything in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours until meat falls off the bone pieces. Remove bones and reserve for future broth making (I store mine in a gallon bag in the freezer). Add more salt if desired. Serve.
