The key to being successful with Whole30 is to prepare. If you don’t prepare, you will have a terrible experience. Don’t get me wrong, you can still do it and be successful, but you will stress about preparing food on the fly. Trust me. I’ve been there.

Part of my meal prep and planning success happens because I always try to make enough dinner for lunch the next day. After my first Whole30, I realized I need to double my dinner so we could eat it for lunch.

Whole30 lunches are the toughest thing to prepare. We live off sandwiches or wraps for lunch, but I know bread isn’t the best for my tummy so I try to limit it as much as possible.

This round of Whole30 I am trying to simplify even more. That’s where my trusty Crockpot comes into play. I love the convenience of the Crockpot, but I usually forget I have one.

But I woke up Sunday morning feeling extremely terrible. Had a bout with my reactive hypoglycemia, and worked through my low blood sugar issues with a fresh peach and a little bit of scrambled eggs. Cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. So I ventured into the depths of my cabinet for the Crockpot. I knew I had the makings for a delicious Vegetable Beef Soup, and the goal was to throw everything into the Crockpot so we could eat a nice, hot dinner. (And I was off the hook for standing over a hot stove/thinking up what to make).

What you need:

• Crockpot
• One bag of frozen root vegetables (mine had sweet potato, red onion, parsnip and turnips in it)
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 2 zucchini squash, sliced into half-moons
• 5-6 baby red potatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 bag frozen okra
• 1 box of beef bone broth (I used Thrive Market brand)
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 lb. grass fed ground beef (I get mine from the Farm at Barefoot Bend)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Italian seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Brown the hamburger meat in a skillet. Season with salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning. Once the hamburger meat is brown, throw all ingredients into the Crockpot. Turn it on high and cook for six hours. Check the seasonings, and add more salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, if needed.

We both really enjoyed this hearty soup. It’s full of simple ingredients, but it doesn’t lack in flavor. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand, and I bet it will be just as delicious.