Celebrate National Beef Month & Enjoy a Pepper Steak Salad!

Hi, friends! Karla’s daughter, Kara, here! As we kick off National Beef Month I want to share with you not only my mom’s YUMMY and HEALTHY Pepper Steak Salad recipe, but also some more facts regarding beef. Just the other day we found out that one of our friends had been convinced by his nutrition teacher (he is studying to be an RN) that being a vegetarian is the way to go! When we asked him what she had said that was so convincing he really couldn’t remember….what he did recall is that she pointed out that you can get protein from other places and she just recommended an entire lifestyle change. I do agree that many of us (myself included) could use a more disciplined and healthy lifestyle. However, to accomplish this lifestyle, we do not need to remove beef from our diet. In fact, that would cause more harm than good.

In addition to our friend and his nutrition teacher, one of my husband’s professors was told by his doctor that he should remove red meat from his diet to help lower his cholesterol. This was very alarming. When I began reminding my husband of the facts to share with his professor (such as eating beef in moderation can actually help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol levels)  he requested I put together a list of facts so he could forward them on to his professor. I did just that and wanted to share the list with you as well. You may want to tuck some of this info into your back pocket for later use! Also, don’t forget to scroll to the bottom for that delicious and HEALTHY Pepper Steak Salad recipe and beautiful picture- also taken by my amazing Mom!

She has already shared many of these facts with you, but reminders are always helpful and we also have many new followers! Yippee!

Ok, here are the facts:

#1: Men’s Healthy Magazine Online (completely non-bias) – Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D. & Adam Campbell

Most people consider turkey, chicken, and fish healthy, yet think they should avoid red meat—or only choose very lean cuts—since they’ve always been told that it’s high in saturated fat.

But there are two problems in that thinking. The first problem is that almost half of the fat in beef is a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid—the same heart-healthy fat that’s found in olive oil. Second, most of the saturated fat in beef actually decreases your heart-disease risk—either by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, or by reducing your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (good) cholesterol.

And besides being one of the most available sources of high-quality protein, beef also provides many important nutrients such as iron, zinc, and B vitamins. So the idea that beef is bad for you couldn’t be further from the truth

Read more: http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/saturated_fat/Beef.php#ixzz1siyzsyls

#2: Not only does beef provide an excellent amount of nutrients, but did you know that there are at least 12 cuts of beef that are leaner than a skinless chicken thigh and meet the USDA Labeling Guidelines for lean or extra lean? Twenty of the 29 lean beef cuts have, on average, only one more gram of saturated fat than a comparable three-ounce serving of skinless, boneless chicken breast. According to USDA data, many cuts of beef are 20% leaner, on average, than USDA data indicated just 15 years ago.- http://www.beef.org/udocs/Beef%20Bytes%20Health.pdf

#3: “Today’s beef simply isn’t your father’s steak anymore. America’s beef producers have devoted significant resources to offer consumers a wider variety of leaner cuts that are delicious and easy to prepare,” says registered dietitian Mary K. Young, executive director of nutrition, NCBA. “The beef Americans love is good for them too. Lean beef is a complete recipe for better health: lean protein, essential vitamins and minerals and great taste.

#4: Beef Top round steak ranks less in fatty acid than salmon, skinless chick thigh and olive oil! Fatty Acid comparison produced by the USDA: http://www.beefnutrition.org/CMDocs/BeefNutrition/FattyAcidProfileofBeef.pdf

#5: Livestrong.com – It ALL depends upon the cut! Lean cuts can be prepared in a tasty way, but have LOW cholesterol! – http://www.livestrong.com/article/257242-the-amount-of-cholesterol-in-beef/

#6: everydayhealth.com – You don’t have to lose your taste for red meat to lower your cholesterol. According to a new study, eating beef in moderation can actually help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. – http://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-disease/cholesterol/0103/beef-it-can-be-whats-for-dinner-tonight.aspx

#7: Beef fat does not raise blood cholesterol. In fact, its effects are equal to that of a diet of chicken or beans. Those are the findings of researchers from the University of Alberta, Canada.

The Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science (DAFN) study involved nine subjects consuming diets designed to simulate those of typical Canadians with consistent total fat levels making up 36% of calories. The highest beef fat diets included consumption of 8 oz. of beef products every day.

Researcher Margaret French says public perception is that beef in the diet raises blood cholesterol levels because some of its fatty acids are saturated. She reports, however, that even when the research subjects ate beef twice a day, “their total and LDL blood cholesterol levels were the same as when eating a diet of primarily chicken, beans and pulses (legumes).”

French explains that saturated fat is a mixture of different saturated fatty acids. Researchers have found that not all saturated fatty acids raise cholesterol. In fact, beef fat contains some saturated fatty acids that have been demonstrated not to raise cholesterol.

“In addition, beef fat contains a high proportion of oleic acid, which is also found in olive oil, which does not raise cholesterol,” she says. “Our study’s results mean that Canadians can enjoy beef as part of a balanced diet,” French told Canada NewsWire.

Pepper Steak Salad

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• 1 ½ cups thinly sliced cooked beef rib eye steak (1/2 pound)

• 1 small green pepper, julienned

• 1 small sweet yellow pepper, julienned

• 1 small sweet orange pepper, julienned

• 1 small sweet red pepper, julienned

• 1 can (6 ounces) pitted ripe olives, drained

• 1/3 cup prepared Italian salad dressing

In a large bowl, combine the steak, peppers and olives. Drizzle with salad dressing; toss to coat.

Yield: 7 servings.

(From Taste of Home Freezer Pleasers cookbook)