Tater tots remind me of two things, school lunches and Napoleon Dynamite! Haha, I forget that there are recipes out there that include tater tots, and obviously this is one of them!
In all honesty, I loved tater tots growing up. I mean, who didn't? And I was beyond thrilled to see that they make tater tots gluten free! But my excitement for that quickly dwindled when I turned the packaging over and started reading the ingredients. And sadly, it starts off pretty harsh.
-Potatoes
-Vegetable oil blend (soybean and cottonseed) both highly inflammable, not to mention cottonseed is a GMO crop, heavily sprayed in glyphosate, which is an antibiotic on plants that directly harms our guts
-Salt
-Yellow corn flour another GMO crop, sprayed in glyphosate
-Dextrose, a chemically made sugar, super inflammatory and harmful to our guts
-Sodium acid pyrophosphate (to retain natural color) derived from sodium, can potentially harm the immune system, kidney disease, heart disease, accelerated aging
-Dehydrated onion
-Sodium sulfate
-Natural flavoring, chemically made from something that was once natural, and now it makes food taste irresistible so you keep coming back for more
Can you see where I'm headed with this? So after searching for a better option for tater tots I ultimately opted for using hash browns, and here's why...the hash browns I found were simply made from only potatoes, nothing else! Be careful though, most hash browns contain the ingredients dextrose and sodium acid pyrophosphate, which are neither needed or nourishing. We don't need to add extra chemicals to our foods if we don't have to.
Are you starting to get the hang of this?
Now, most recipes for Tater Tot Casserole consist of a few ingredients: ground beef, tater tots, and cream of mushroom soup. I NEVER cook with canned soups anymore. There's too many filler ingredients that aren't nourishing so I always opt for a homemade version. And guess what that is?? Bone broth gravy!! Here's what I did!
Tater Tot Casserole - Without the Tots
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
3 Tbls olive oil
1/2 onion minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup green beans
1 cup organic sweet corn
1 tsp Smoked Redmond Real Salt
1 cup organic whole milk
1 cup bone broth
3 Tbls arrow root powder
Frozen hashbrowns (about 8 cups)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Paprika to taste
Directions
Turn on oven to 400 degrees F. In a large ovenproof pot brown ground beef. Set aside and 1 Tbls oil (save the rest for later), onion, and garlic. Sauté on medium heat for 2 minutes or until fragrant and translucent. Add garlic, mushrooms, carrots, green beans, corn, and beef. Pour in milk and bring to a boil. In a separate cup mix together bone broth and arrowroot powder. Slowly pour in bone broth mixture to the pot. Stir until well combined and sauce starts to thicken. Once thick, season with salt. Turn heat off and add hashbrowns to the top, making a nice thick layer. You can add more or less, depending on how "potato-y" you want it. Drizzle the remaining 2 Tbls of oil on top of the hashbrowns and season with salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Place dish in the oven for 20 minutes or until hash browns are golden on top.
Serve immediately!
Changes such as swapping out the tater tots for only potato hash browns, and bone broth, whole milk and mushrooms instead of canned cream of mushroom soup, can drastically reduce the amount of inflammation your body is exposed to. Doing this over and over and over again will only improve your mental and physical health.
I cannot express enough how important it is to get used to reading the labels on your food and even beauty products. Harmful chemical surround us and it's no wonder so many of us struggle with infertility, autoimmune diseases, heart health issues, poor brain health, and so much more!
If you're struggling to get started with making these changes, consider taking my Intro to Learning Nutrition Course! In just 4 short weeks, you'll be given the tools you need to improve your nutrition and get on the path to better health and healing. Check it out!
Happy eating!
Love,
Danielle
Comments