Welcome back for another Food on Friday topic. I love Sloppy Joes! Do you? Today in the USA, is National Sloppy Joe Day. Watch the short video below to learn about the history of sloppy joes and her recipe. I make mine a little different than she does. I really enjoy her food history videos. Be sure and check out some of her others. I was actually going to make these today, but I completely forgot to take out the meat to thaw. But, I have made these lots of times using the ingredients below. My new week for the grocery budget challenge will begin Sunday, as that is when I have time to grocery shop.
Now, I have CKD, and I try to avoid HFCS at all costs. It upsets my stomach and generally makes me not feel good. There is a standard Sloppy Joe sauce that is available in stores. It is affordable, but it does contain HFCS and lots of sodium. So, I choose not to use it, and honestly, I don’t even think it tastes that good. Keep your portion size of the meat mixture to no more than 3-4 ounces, and try to make a vegetarian option using mushrooms. Ooh, I bet that is delicious.
To lighten up your Sloppy Joe you could use ground turkey, lean ground beef, or even ground chicken. A whole-grain bun would add more nutrients than just a plain white bun. If you are trying to keep it light don’t add cheese to the finished sandwich.
These are the ingredients I use.
- Lean ground beef, the leanest I can find, or ground turkey.
- About a tbsp of olive oil to cook the ground beef and veggies in
- A bell pepper, green is the most affordable
- Some chopped onion. I like Vidalia onions.
- Garlic minced, or any garlic you have on hand. I generally have garlic powder.
- Low sodium tomato paste.
- 2/3 of a cup of catsup. I like organic and prefer sugar free, though no one else does.
- 1.3 cup of whatever vinegar you have on hand. I usually have red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar on hand.
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp of brown sugar, use stevia brown sugar if you watch your sugar intake
- 1/2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce.
That is it. After you cook the ground beef, onions, and peppers, add everything else, stir it all in, and voila a Sloppy Joe is born. Don’t forget to drain the fat off of your meat.
Let me know how you make Sloppy Joes, and if you don’t if you will try this recipe and how much you like it.
Living Life With CKD 