Lamb Ragu + Creamy Gigante Beans
& how I got my period to be pain free and super regular!
First things first, happy 2 year red meat eating anniversary to meee! It may seem like nothing but for reference - when I was like 5 years old, my babysitter bought me a hamburger from McDonald’s and I called my mom hysterically crying because I expected it to taste like chicken nuggets. For some reason I grew up eating only chicken and fish, and it wasn’t until 2022 that I developed a curiosity for red meat.
I was on my period one day, with debilitating cramps, like fetal position type of pain. I don’t know what came over me, I have to assume it was my intuition speaking but it told me to go to the fridge and have a bite of my boyfriends cold leftover steak. Mind you, I had never had steak in my life. I took one bite and felt the life return to my body. And ever since then I’ve been converted.
Disclaimer: Before I continue - I want to point out that the quality of your meat products matter immensely. I don’t really feel comfortable recommending that everyone start eating conventionally grown red meat. I hate to be a stickler about this but grass fed and ideally grass finished should be the only meat you buy. There are serious health risks associated with conventionally grown animal products, so please please shop from your local farmers market and not big box grocery stores. You want to be able to talk directly to the farmer and ask them about their practices! Force of Nature is a great brand to buy from, but feel free to just google ‘grass fed grass finished beef’ and start browsing through the list to find the right supplier for you!
During the last two years I pretty much ate red meat 1 sometimes 2 times a week, and I felt great. Over that time my periods started to regulate, but I still had really painful cramps. It wasn’t until a few months ago when I upped my intake to about 3-4x a week that I started to notice a reduction in pain. My last 3 periods have been 100% pain free, I have slight discomfort but I don’t need any pain medication, I don’t have to cancel all my plans for the day and be horizontal. As a matter of fact this month was the first time that I went to the gym and worked out on Day 1 of my period. I didn’t do anything strenuous, just low impact cardio but I felt totally fine. Which is crazy for me because I have never been able to do that before.
For the sake of transparency, there were three major life changes that took place during this time:
I moved out of NYC which drastically lowered my overall stress.
I started going to the gym again.
I increased my red meat intake.
I believe ALL of these factors played a huge role in my health, especially my menstrual cycle. For one, we all know how much stress can affect the body. But it was a real shocker to see first hand how much exercising had an effect on me beyond my physical appearance. Another crazy example, several months ago (before I implemented these new changes) my period was over a week late. I was beyond stressed out over this, my mind was literally spiraling out of control!
I decided to roll out my yoga mat and do a 20 minute flow to decompress. Once I got my heart rate up and my blood pumping… my period came INSTANTLY. This exact instance has happened several time since then, constantly reminding me how crucial it is to continue to move my body regularly. There are plenty of herbs that I could take to help stimulate blood flow in my body, but if I don’t make the lifestyle changes then theres no point.
In an effort to make more protein rich and blood sugar friendly meals - I decided to make a cozy winter ragu. I prefer lamb for ragu because its richer and I feel like it goes better in a tomato sauce - but thats my personal preference. You could absolutely substitute lamb for beef or pork in this recipe!
It may seem like a lot of ingredients but they are all relatively cheap and easy to find in any major grocery store. You could also serve this over pasta but because I’m working on regulating my blood sugar I made this with gigante white beans. I have never been a huge pasta person, it tastes great don’t get me wrong but no matter what I always feel bloated and lethargic after. That is not the case with beans, especially if they are presoaked overnight and pressure cooked in an instant pot. Either way give this recipe a try, it was so delicious and it made a very very generous portion.
I prefer to work smarter not harder, meaning if I’m going to chop a bunch of vegetables and cook for an hour I might as well make enough to have now AND later. So the quantities you see below will yield enough for you to freeze half to eat another time, and then the other half you can enjoy during the week for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients: