Fancy Pants

We've already established in a previous post that the kid enjoys steak. I'm not entirely sure why, since he doesn't like hamburgers, but steak is always a go in our house. He's high-end, I guess.

Since we are only eating together twice this week (as of now) due to schedules/social events, I decided to forgo our typical Meatless Monday for one of the kid's favorite meals - steak tacos. I guess not only did I skip Meatless Monday, I went all out in the opposite direction.

In addition to our usual refried beans, I added a side dish of Mexican Rice from one of my favorite cookbooks, 500 Low Sodium Recipes. This recipe, with only 41mg sodium/serving, beats eating boxed Mexican-flavored rice, which can have hundreds upon hundreds of milligrams of sodium. And since I try to keep my sodium to approx 1500mg/day, and since all that sodium is kind of nasty anyway, that won't do.

The Mexican Rice recipe is chock full of diced tomatoes. I do not like raw tomatoes except in rare moments of tomato weakness, but I don't shy away from canned tomatoes/sauces when selecting my recipes. I probably don't have to tell you, but tomatoes in all forms pack a healthy and nutritional punch - with lycopene, Vitamin C and Vitamin A leading the way (remember, I am not an expert on nutrition - just someone who can Google). There have been a lot of studies published about the cancer-fighting agents found in cooked tomatoes/sauces, etc.

Steak Tacos
Source: Clean Eating magazine, May/June 2010

Note: This recipe also includes directions for avocado cream sauce, but I just did the steak part. It also calls for corn tortillas and other random ingredients, but I used La Tortilla Factory Low-Carb, High Fiber Whole Wheat Tortillas (50 cals/wrap!), so I am not going to include nutritional information. I added Newman's Own salsa and some fresh avocado to mine, the boys added cheese.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb lean round steak, thinly sliced into 1/4-inch-thick strips
• 1 tsp Mexican seasoning
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I used refrigerated)
• Salt & pepper to taste (skip)
• Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

• In a large resealable plastic bag, place steak, Mexican seasoning, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, salt & pepper. Seal bag and shake to evenly distribute seasonings and coat steak.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat for one minute. Reduce heat to medium-high, mist skillet with cooking spray and saute steak until preferred doneness.

Mexican Rice
Source: 500 Low Sodium Recipes by Dick Logue

Ingredients:

• 1 c. uncooked rice (used brown rice, obvs)
• 1/3 c. onion, chopped
• 1/3 c. green bell pepper, chopped (skip - don't like green peppers. Have used red before when I have them on hand)
• 2 c. no-salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola)
• 1/2 tbsp black pepper (skip)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp low-sodium beef bouillon (make sure low- or no-sodium since regular bouillon packs a serious sodium punch)
• 1 c. water

Directions:
Saute rice, onion and pepper in oil in heavy saucepan until onion is tender. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (I assumed 2/3 c. = 1 serving, per the rice)
Per serving: 142 cals; 2g protein; 7g total fat (1g sat; 2g mono; 4g poly); 18g carb; 2g fiber; 4g sugar; 50mg calcium; 41mg sodium; 0mg cholesterol

Reviews:
I have made both recipes a bunch and everyone loves both (except the kid doesn't like the rice). I make the rice first, and while it is cooking, prepare the steak, and it times out perfectly. I will honestly miss not making the Mexican Rice because it is such a great go-to side for tacos.



Looking good!