Recipe: Beef and Veggie Soup - Whole30 Approved Instant Pot Edition

I think my ultimate recipe combo is when it's under 20 minutes to make + simple ingredients + delicious + easy! This recipe is all of that for me and I wanted to share it with you! I began my Whole30 journey yesterday and needed something really simple to make for dinner the first night. It was chilly/rainy outside and I really wanted comfort type food. This hit the spot! If you want to learn more about Whole30 is and why I'm doing it you can go here: Why I'm doing the Whole30 and What it is  

Want to give this recipe it a try?

Ingredients:

1 lb organic grass fed ground beef

2 russet potatoes chopped

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup sliced celery

1 small onion diced

1 tbsp crushed garlic

16 oz can of crushed tomatoes (blended first for a creamy soup)

5 cups bone broth

Himalayan salt and pepper to your taste

2 tsp dried parsley

Avocado (optional) on top the soup before serving

Directions: (makes 4 servings)

Total Time: took about 15 mins!

Turn Instant Pot on saute mode. Once hot add a little avocado oil (or olive oil) and add ground beef, onions and garlic. Stir frequently tell the beef is cooked all the way. Then add rest of the veggies and stir frequently for 5 mins. Turn the instant pot off and add everything but the avocado in to the pot. Give it a good stir then seal the lid and make sure the pressure valve is closed. Hit Manual, 8 mins and let the IP do it's thing! After it's done you can release the pressure valve right away and serve! I added half a small avocado to my bowl and it was SO delicious. 

This was my first dinner on day 1 of Whole30 and it really hit the spot after craving things I couldn't have all day. My husband loved it too and I know this recipe will be made again during these next 30 days!

Want to join me on my journey of completing a Whole30 here on our ranch? I will be sharing about it daily over at my Facebook Page and Instagram!

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Are you ready to commit to starting a round of Whole30 with me or have questions about it? You can reach me here: I have an awesome accountability group I can add you too also to encourage you on your 30 days.

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Whole30 Time - Beginning May 15th

I've been bouncing back and forth on the idea of doing another round of Whole30 for awhile now. I completed one back in 2015 and felt amazing and it really helped set the tone for a new healthy lifestyle I was on a mission to maintain.

So I've made the decision to do it again starting this coming Monday, May 15th. I'm putting it out there to keep myself accountable and to see if anyone wants to join me!

Instead of writing a really long blog post on WHY I am doing this an WHAT Whole30 is, I'm going to give you a few short simple bullet points...

Why I'm committing to the Whole30:

- Kick Sugar Cravings

- Help reduce symptoms of PCOS

- Accountability 

- More Energy

- Better Sleep

- Overall Health

What IS the Whole30:

There is the short answer for you! But there is a WEALTH of knowledge that goes in to greater detail at Whole30.com if you want to check it out!

Want to join me on my journey of completing a Whole30 here on our ranch? I will be sharing about it daily over at my Facebook Page and Instagram!

Click the icons above to head on over there.

Are you ready to commit to starting a round of Whole30 with me or have questions about it? You can reach me here: I have an awesome accountability group I can add you too also to encourage you on your 30 days. 

Fill out my online form.

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Don't worry... Coffee is allowed! (Or I wouldn't do it LOL)

DIY All Natural Tick and Bug Spray Recipe (For People and Dogs)

Ohhh it's that time of year! Bug bugs bugs! We spend a lot of time outside and ticks are around so I wanted to find a more natural approach to keeping them off us! 

What about I love this recipe is that it's safe for your dogs too! I spray this on both my dogs 1x a week to help keep ticks off them as they are tromping around our ranch.

Super simple, all natural and smells amazing. 

Here is the recipe if you want to make it yourself.

Tick and Bug Spray (Safe for People and Dogs)

2 oz Witch Hazel

3 Drops Citronella EO

3 Drops Lemongrass EO

2 Drops of Lavender EO

(1) 2oz glass spray bottle

*Add all the ingredients in the spray bottle and give it a shake. BOOM it's ready to go!

I spray it on the back of the kids necks and on their arms and legs before we got outside to see the animals or play outside each day. They haven't had a single bug bite this spring!

That's one of my pups I was telling you about right after one of her earlier morning adventure through the oak grove. So loves to get dirty! 

<3

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DIY All Natural Garden Bug Spray Recipe

Are you growing a garden this year? We are! And man do we hae some bugs flying around here.

So I tried out a few different types of all natural bug spray recipes and loved that the one that worked best was the SIMPLEST recipe. #winwin

What you need:

Empty Spray bottle

Water

Peppermint Essential Oil (High Quality)

For a 8oz spray bottle:

- pour 8 oz of water into spray bottle

- add 8 drops of peppermint EO

*Shake and spray!

Apply spray to every plant in the garden, *I would try to make sure you've sprayed the stems and undersides of leaves as well. Spray after every rainfall.

This will help keep bugs and mice away from your hard work!

I hope you find this recipe helpful!

*Bonus Tip: You can also use this EXACT same recipe as a coolant spray for a hot day! I keep a small spray bottle of this in my baseball mom bag for game days. I spray down the back of my son's neck to help keep him cool. He loves it!

<3

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Recipe: Instant Pot Bone Broth on a Budget

I love bone broth. What is bone broth you may ask? 

It's a broth that is rich in minerals that supports the immune system and contain healing compounds like collagen, glutamine, glycine and proline. The collagen in the bone broth heals your gut lining and reduces intestinal inflammation.

Long story short, it's really good for your gut, has amazing things in it that will help improve your digestive system, strengthen your hair and nails and the list goes on and on.

I'll be honest, buying organic bone broth in the store can be a bit pricey. Yes it goes on sale sometimes but you can save SO much money by making it yourself at home!

How? Every time you cook use veggies... save your scraps! I keep a on going zip lock freezer bag in my fridge that I put the following scraps:

-onion 

- celery 

- carrot 

- bell pepper 

-garlic

-zucchini

-squash

-mushrooms

-herbs (parsley is my favorite to keep for this)

Also the day I am planning to go to the grocery store I will take out any veggies in my fridge that will be going bad and set them aside to use to make my bone broth. 

Then when I got to the grocery store I pick up an organic cooked rotisserie chicken from the deli. I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of cooking a big dinner after grocery shopping and putting everything away. So the day I go grocery shopping is always chicken night with a salad and some other simple side dish. At our store an organic cooked chicken is $9.99 so not only am I feeding my family of four dinner for under $15, I am also going to use that same left over chicken to make my bone broth the next day. Do you see where I'm going with this?

A store bought container of prepped organic bone broth is typically around $7.99 where I live for usually 20 oz. Making it myself at home will not only save money but I can make over 65 oz (sometimes 90oz) with this one chicken and my saved veggie scraps. I don't have an exact total amount saved, but you can see it's definitely a lot.

So now I'm going to tell you how I make it!

First add your left over chicken into your instant pot. (I have a 6qt duo)

Then add all your veggie scraps. No exact science to this, just add the scraps you want. I like to throw in some extra baby carrots, some fresh parsley and a little extra crushed garlic when I have it on hand. 

Next I fill up the instant pot with water. No exact amount.. I just make sure I cover the chicken and most of the veggies. Then I'll add a little Himalayan salt and ground pepper and sometimes a tbsp of apple cider vinegar. (But not every time, just depends on the what I'm in the mood for. The Apple Cider vinegar gives the broth a little kick)

Then I seal the lid, make sure the pressure valve is closed and then Instant Pot to Manuel High for 90 minutes.

After it's done I release the valve for a quick release (so right away) and take the lid off and turn the IP off. Then I let it cool for awhile. 

Afterwards I get a large glass bowl out and put a strainer inside. I slowly pour the instant pot mixture into the bowl through the strainer tell it's full. After it's full I lift the strainer out an pour the glass bowl full of broth into a 1/2 gallon glass mason jar. Then repeat the steps again tell I empty out the entire batch of bone broth from the instant pot. I let that batch fully cool in the glass bowl.

Once it's fully cooled pour the rest of the bone broth into a freezer bag. Then just lay it flat in your freezer and wha-la! Not only do you have about a half gallon of homemade delicious bone broth to use in your fridge but you have EXTRA in your freezer to use when needed. 

**Bonus Tip: Save the plastic container your rotisserie chicken comes in. Once you have strained the broth you can toss the veggies and chicken bones into the plastic container, seal the lid and dispose of. Then it's not all lose in your trash can.

I get asked often when and how often do I drink bone broth? I drink a coffee mug a day usually in the morning while we do school time. I used to have a cup of coffee then but now I love drinking this instead and it's much better for me!

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DIY Simple Home Remedy Recipes

Natural Home Remedy Recipes:

For your Garden:

DIY Natural Garden Bug Spray Recipe

For your Home:

Stress Away Bath Scrub Recipe

More is on it's way!!!

In the mean time you can reach out to me here if you're eager for more info!

Want to see more posts, tips and random bits of what I do? You can click on the image below to follow me over to my Facebook Page!

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DIY Recipe: Stress Away Epsom Salt Scrub

Oh how I love a new fun scrub to use! Not only do they smell amazing and are all natural. I love that I know what ingredients are going in to it, that it's eco friendly going back into the ground here at our homestead AND it relaxes me. 

Win win right?

Even better is when it's SO easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Coconut Oil

1 Cup Epsom Salt

20-30 drops of Essential Oil blend called "Stress Away" 

(20 -30 drops based on your preference)

*Mix it it all together in a large bowl and then store it in glass mason jars. I got these in the dollar section at Target. Love them! 

Tip: Once you've used up all the scrub just wash and re use the jars! 

Saves money and is re purposing :)

So why do I love Stress Away essential oil blend so much? Let me count the ways!

Long story short, I have anxiety while driving and was diagnosed with PTSD a year ago after an accident. I put stress away on behind my ears EVERY TIME I get in a car whether I'm driving or not and it has helped me so much. 

Also just as a Mama who homeschools and spends 90% of her time on our homestead with animals, lots of chores and responsibilities I really do love my small window I get each day to relax and take a "time out." So having things like this on hand (the espom salt scrub) is something that I enjoy having. 

Speaking of homestead with animals, we've had an influx in babies these past 2 weeks! All 4 of our female goats had TWINS within 8 days of each other. Yep you read that right.

Want to see some of the cuteness?

(Brand New, jut born a few minute prior to this picture)

My daughter snuggling one of the new goats. She told me she wishes they always stay this small.

I hear you Lily girl... I hear you. I sometimes wish you could stay this small too.

Oh you know, just a baby goat, in a diaper, on my lap, in my house. :swoons:

Meet Petra (the one Carson is holding), and Muffin (the one Lily is holding). Both are now officially animals of R&M Ranch. They will learn to take care of them and will be there new pets. Carson will be starting 4H in the fall and he's so excited!

So to sum it up, using an all natural scrub like this reduces my anxiety, helps heal my sore muscles from my workouts and life on a ranch, and it makes me smell good instead of .. well like a goat LOL.

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