Amongst the western world’s favorite meat products is beef, and given its taste and versatility, is it any wonder?.
In recent years, there has been plenty of controversial debate on the question of whether beef is a nutritious food that should be in every diet, or a cause of health problems to be shunned and eaten only in small quantities.
Amongst all the debate it is difficult to tell truth from fiction, even in scientific circles, opinion is divided, but further on in this column we will bring up many useful facts on beef, dispense with a few wellknown fallacies and make sure that you get the relevant facts required to make your own decision.
However, before that, here is a wonderful beef recipe which you can easily prepare for your children and family.
This is an enticing recipe for ‘macaroni beef chili’. It is quick to cook and is a rapid and efficient way to feed a family with lots of children.
Ingredients:
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Macaroni – uncooked : 1 x cup
Lean Ground Beef : 1/2 lb
Powdered garlic : a half teaspoon
Hot cayenne or chili Powder : 1 tsp
Salt : one small pinch
Freshly ground pepper : 1 x small pinch
Tomato soup : 1 x Can
Hard cheddar cheese : one ounce (finely grated)
Recipe method:
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Bring a good sized saucepan of water to a rolling boil add the macaroni, bring back to the boil and cook for 7 minutes approximately.
Brown meat in another large saucepan and very carefully remove any fat that has been rendered.
Mix in the garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper and then stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed.
Reduce the heat and cook gently for approx. five mins.
Stir in the macaroni and tomato soup, and bring to a rolling boil.
Cook for a an additional few minutes until soup and macaroni are heated through.
Just before serving add the cheese, and cook a little more till it melts.
Transfer into bowls and serve.
This is a great beef recipe to prepare in bulk as excess quantity can be kept in the fridge and served the next day.
If you want to cook a long time in advance, you can leave the cheese out and freeze portions for later. Simply add the cheese just before you finally serve the recipe.
This recipe is one of those delicious recipes using beef that some chefs believe benefits from being prepared the day before. If you want to find some other tasty ways to cook beef, why not search out a few recipes for a barbecue. If you are looking a wider variety of recipes, there are plenty of web sites which provide a free recipe collection online that will surely satisfy your needs.
So is beef good for us? here are some concrete nutrition facts for you:
1/. Just a 3 ounce portion of beef can give you over a tenth of your necessary daily need of phosphorus, vitamin b6, protein, vitamin b12, zinc, iron and niacin.
2/. Many people believe that if you want to lose weight, you should steer clear of beef. A little research shows us that this is not the case, the truth is that the 80g offering of quality beef that many experts prescribe as a healthy daily limit, is in actuality merely 10% of the regular 2000 calories daily diet target.
3/. Some folk hold the view that one should keep away from beef as they think it possesses increased levels of saturated fat. Although this might have been true a few years ago, lean beef produced at the moment is far less fatty than it was years ago, and over 50% of the fats found in modern beef are monounsaturated fats which are widely considered to be more ‘heart friendly’ than other fats.
4/. The zinc that is in lean beef is vital for human development, improves the body’s immune system, helps heal wounds, moderates hunger and even affects your ability to experience taste.
5/. If you think about it objectively, quality beef is just about as healthful as expensive multi-vitamin pills as it is a top notch provider of phosphorus, vitamin b6, protein, vitamin b12 and zinc.
6/. Lean beef is rich in Vitamin b6 and vitamin b12, which are believed by scientists to assist in preventing strokes and coronary disease and also aid the body to make erythrocytes.
7/. If we analyse the nutrional benefits of 100 grams of beef (raw weight), it has:
* 198 calories
* 319mg of Potassium.
* 1.84mg of Iron
* 20.71g of Protein.
* 12.15g of fat.
* 16mg of Calcium.
* 3.8mg of Zinc.
I hope this article has left you with a better understanding of the pros and cons of eating beef, and hopefully given you a flavorful new recipe for your recipe book.
