Crock Pot Barbecued Beef

     My son, Nathan, and I went for a check-up and blood work last week.  There is some concern that Nate does not have enough nutrients and is not growing enough.  He is always tired and sometimes needs to take naps during the day.  He has fallen to the 5th percentile for growth/size.  (He had stopped growing for awhile, but since going gluten-free this past July, he has grown about 3" although he has not gained any weight.)  He actually would have been lower than the 5th percentile if he hadn't recently started growing again.  The doctor feels that he may still have time to catch back up, but he needs a lot of protein in his diet. We do eat a lot of protein between all the nuts, beans and whole grains, seeds, chicken, and some grass-fed beef that we eat.  I even do most of my baking with blanched almond flour and coconut flour instead of all the starches traditionally used in gluten-free baking.  Our chiropractor told me that the best source of protein is beef, so I am making an effort to add some more beef into his diet to see if that helps.  So, tonight I made a delicious crock pot barbecued beef.  We had baked potatoes and green beans with it. 
     Incidentally, the nurse called last night with the test results.  She said that everything for both of us is normal except that we are both very low on vitamin D.  I guess that was to be expected since we don't drink fortified milk or eat fortified foods.  We also live in NY, so we don't get a lot of sun for at least half the year.  So, we are both adding a D3 supplement to our diet.  I did a little research and found some interesting information on D deficiency and celiac disease by doing a google search.  It's fairly common for people with gluten intolerance to have low levels of vitamin D.  I also found that symptoms of deficiency in adults can mimic fibromyalgia, which is also a common issue in people with gluten intolerance.  I highly recommend that if you have an issue with gluten and have not been checked for nutritional deficiencies that you have your doctor order some tests.  We will be getting rechecked in 3 months, so hopefully the supplements will help raise our levels.

Crock Pot Barbecued Beef
4 lbs. beef roast
1 3/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. dijon mustard
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
2 Tbs. honey
1/4 c. + 2 Tbs. raw apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. Frank's Red Hot
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder

Trim the fat off the meat and put in the crock pot.  Whisk all the other ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and pour over the meat in the crock pot.  Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours until the meat is tender.  Take the meat out of the crock pot and shred it with 2 forks.  Add it back to the crock pot.  Note:  I check my meat about an hour before we expect to eat.  If it is not tender enough to shred yet, I will sometimes cut the roast into several smaller pieces to ensure that it will be done in time.

You can serve this on gluten free buns (recipe should be coming soon), or with rice or potatoes.  You might like to warm up some rice tortillas, add a little shredded cheddar while the tortilla is heating up in order to get the cheese melty, then add some beef and roll it up. 

This recipe makes just enough for 2 meals for my family of 6 and freezes well.  Enjoy!

Note:  I use gluten free/dairy free/soy free/high fructose corn syrup free ingredients when making this.  I made a slight exception tonight since I have had a hard time finding Worcestershire Sauce that fits all these criteria.  I used the regular Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce that I found at Wegmans.  It was GF, DF, SF but had high fructose corn syrup.  I have found a recipe online to make my own sauce, but I haven't had a chance to try it, yet.  Use whatever you need to.  I also get my grass-fed beef from a local farmer friend.

3/28/10 Edit--We had this last night with some friends, and one of them felt that it would be even better with some Louisiana Hot Sauce, but he likes things very hot and spicy. The Frank's Red Hot in this recipe is more for flavor than spice. If you like hot, spicy foods, you might like to add some hot sauce to this. Also, if you find that the juices from your meat make this sauce a little too runny, you could take a little cornstarch or arrowroot, mix it with a small amount of water to make a slurry, and add it to your sauce/juices when you take your meat out to shred it up. As you are shredding your meat, put the lid on the crock pot, and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken. It really is your choice. My husband assures me this is the best barbecue beef he has had, and he thinks it's perfect just as it is.