By MACROS | Published on January 16, 2017
Combine red meat with the healthiest ingredients in this sesame beef and broccoli bowl so you can embrace your inner carnivore while improving your heart health.
Serves 4
You’ll Need
1 1â„2 lb lean flank steak, cut into thin slices
3 cups broccoli florets, raw
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
Sauce
1â„2 cup low-sodium beef stock
1â„2 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos, or low sodium soy sauce
1 cup blackberries, optional
1 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced or paste
2 tbsp arrowroot starch
1 1â„2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp organic raw honey, optional
Garnish
Spring onions
Sesame seeds
Method
Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk together beef stock, liquid aminos, ginger, sesame oil, arrowroot starch and rice wine vinegar.
Step 2: Set a saucepan, or small skillet, on medium-high heat and spray it with a little olive oil. Once the pan is hot, toss in garlic and blackberries. Sautée the blackberries for about 6-8 minutes and allow them to explode under the heat. Gently mash down the berries, using a spatula, and stir them at the same time so they don’t burn.
Step 3: Add the bowl of sauce to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium and stir the sauce so it begins to thicken. If you want the sauce to be sweeter, add the organic raw honey and stir. Once the sauce is smooth, remove it from the heat and set it aside.
Step 4: Set a stir-fry wok, or large nonstick skillet, on medium-high heat. Once the wok is hot, toss in the thin slices of beef and cook for about four minutes, or until the majority of the beef is no longer pink.
Step 5: Add diced bell peppers to the skillet and stir quickly. As much as possible, try to sear the bell peppers. Cook for about three minutes and then add the broccoli florets.
Step 6: Cook the beef and broccoli together for about five minutes and continue to stir with a spatula. Finally, reduce the heat to medium and pour in the sauce. Stir the mixture or shake and toss the food in the wok to ensure the stir-fry is evenly coated in the sauce. Cook and stir for another 2-3 minutes and then serve.
Step 7: Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds. Now put up your feet and enjoy the stir-fry with a serving of noodles, brown rice or quinoa.
– RELATED:  Which Cruciferous Vegetable Is Best For You? –
Your superfoods
Broccoli strengthens bones
Love it or hate it, you might be surprised to hear broccoli supplies you with 3g of protein per 100g. It’s also full of all the vitamins and minerals you need for good health. But there’s more: a compound in broccoli will stave off arthritis, found scientists at the University of East Anglia. It also has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, to shore up your entire body’s defences.
Boost your brain with blackberries
They might be an odd addition to a beef dish, however, proof is in the pudding – the main course pudding. These berries have high levels of antioxidants that protect your brain from harmful free radicals and can even improve the way neurons in your brain communicate, found research in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. This means they’ll help make you smarter and fend off age-related mental decline so your brain remains unwilling to take up the rocking chair even if your body is game.
Sesame oil keeps your heart healthy
A more aromatic cooking oil you’re unlikely to find, and with this flavour comes a swathe of health benefits. Research by the American Heart Association found it lowers blood pressure by as much as 14 points and lowered the LDL (bad cholesterol) by 26%. Think of it as cooking with the best medicine for your heart.
