I don’t think about sloppy joes often…well, ever really. But then…out of the blue every once in a while I will get hit with this CRAVING for a sloppy Joe. I don’t know where it comes from, but there is something about them that is so comforting. My favorite bar used to have them on the menu…but I’m pretty sure I was the only one who ordered them so they are now gone. But when I was shopping for protein, and got the ground beef…I was like…IT IS TIME (use the Rafiki voice for the energy I felt). I added some veggies to it, and chose lean ground beef (you can use ground turkey if you want too…so overall - this is one of those “feels like a ‘cheat meal’ but is actually really not bad at all with the macros lol). So yes - they look like dog food - but they TASTE so good!!

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef (I used 96/4)
1 packet sloppy Joe seasoning (yeah - you can absolutely make this on your own…but I didn’t - and it made life easier)
1 can tomato paste (6oz)
1 medium green bell pepper chopped pretty small (like…you don’t need to mince it but smaller than just a chop)
1 small onion (I used a Vidalia onion) chopped (same like the onions…small pieces)
1c water
buns (I used CanyonBakehouse Gluten Free sweet brioche rolls…but if I wasn’t gluten free and had more options…I would have gotten slider rolls or like those yummy sweet Hawaiian rolls)

Instructions:

Add a drizzle of olive oil or spray to your pan - once heated - add the peppers and onions, cooking them down until they are soft & aromatic.
Add the ground beef to the pan, and cook until browned.
Drain excess juices out from the beef
Add tomato paste, pack of seasoning & water and blend until it’s all mixed together - turn the heat down to medium/low and simmer for 8-10 minutes to let all those flavors combine.
THAT’S IT FRIENDS!!!

ENTERING IT INTO MACROSFIRST

Create this as a recipe - weigh out each ingredient as you add it and just make note on a piece of paper.
When you create a recipe - it will ask you for the NAME of the recipe (sloppy joe), and the SERVINGS (this is where you put in the TOTAL weight of the sloppy Joe mix after cooking (for example…mine was 907g). Once it’s all cooked, put a Tupperware container on the scale, zero it out - and then put the sloppy Joe mix into he Tupperware to get your total.
Then go to ingredients, and add them in one at a time. By entering the total weight, you are making it so that when you go to EAT the sloppy joe, you can just enter the exact number of grams you are using that meal and it will automatically calculate the macros for you.
(alternatively - you can do this in ounces…and then just break it down to say…if the total was 32 ounces…and you want to use 4oz servings…you would have a total of 8 servings in the recipe)
Once this is all set click the checkmark at the top right and you’re good to go!

MACROS FOR RECIPE LISTED ABOVE FOR A SERVING OF 4oz (macros do not include the bun)

PROTEIN: 38g

CARBS: 14g

FAT: 6g

CALORIES: 264

The macros for the buns I used were P2/C26/F3 each …bringing the total for this meal up to:

PROTEIN: 42g

CARBS: 66g

FAT: 12g

CALORIES: 540

NOT TOO BAD!!!

And because I grew up in a house where leftovers were judged based on their ability to just add an egg to it and eat it in the morning for breakfast…I had it this morning mixed with some scrambled eggs and YESSSSS it passed the test lol. SO GOOD WITH EGGS!

ENJOY!! If you try it, tag me on IG @hannahj28 or comment below with how you made it your own!