Kait’s Meal of the Month: Crock Pot Beef Stew
Editor’s Note: Tired of hearing why it’s important to eat healthy and what your diet should consist of? If you’re a STACK reader, you know by now that certain foods are better than others; but how do you actually apply that knowledge to your daily eating habits?
We are pleased to announce a solution. Each month STACK Expert and sports dietitian Kait Fortunato provides a recipe to STACK athletes right out of her own kitchen! Each recipe is accompanied by a catalog of its benefits to athletes and Fortunato’s advice about the best time to consume it. All of the recipes are healthy, quick and easy to prepare and, best of all, great-tasting.
Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe
In the cold dead of winter, there’s just something about coming home from a long practice to a stew that has been simmering all day. The leftovers are even better the next day because the flavors intensify from sitting.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1.5 pounds lean beef
- 5 cups mixed veggies — I use carrots, snap peas, spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, and celery
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 packet of beef stew seasoning mix
Instructions
- Place diced beef and vegetables in crockpot
- Mix seasoning packet with water and pour over meat and vegetables
- Cook on low for six to eight hours.
Beef Stew Nutritional Information (per serving)
- Calories – 416
- Fat – 10g
- Carbohydrates – 21g
- Fiber – 4g
- Protein – 55g
Athlete Benefits
This is also my favorite way to prepare lean beef, which I like to include in my diet about every two to three weeks. Buy the leanest cuts and cook the meat long and slow so the flavors and tenderness stay. Leaner cuts of any meat will not taste good if you overcook them, because they have less fat. Beef is a great source of:
- B vitamins that help release energy from food
- Iron to carry oxygen through the blood
- Zinc for a healthy immune system
- Phosphorous for strong bones
Feel free to sub in different vegetables; the combinations are endless, providing a variety of colors and therefore a large amount of vitamins and minerals.
In this particular recipe, you are getting antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits from the spinach and the snap peas. Snap peas and carrots are also higher starch vegetables, which help stabilize blood sugars. The mushrooms, besides providing more antioxidants, also provide Vitamin D, which is hard to come by in the American diet.
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Kait’s Meal of the Month: Crock Pot Beef Stew
Editor’s Note: Tired of hearing why it’s important to eat healthy and what your diet should consist of? If you’re a STACK reader, you know by now that certain foods are better than others; but how do you actually apply that knowledge to your daily eating habits?
We are pleased to announce a solution. Each month STACK Expert and sports dietitian Kait Fortunato provides a recipe to STACK athletes right out of her own kitchen! Each recipe is accompanied by a catalog of its benefits to athletes and Fortunato’s advice about the best time to consume it. All of the recipes are healthy, quick and easy to prepare and, best of all, great-tasting.
Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe
In the cold dead of winter, there’s just something about coming home from a long practice to a stew that has been simmering all day. The leftovers are even better the next day because the flavors intensify from sitting.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1.5 pounds lean beef
- 5 cups mixed veggies — I use carrots, snap peas, spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, and celery
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 packet of beef stew seasoning mix
Instructions
- Place diced beef and vegetables in crockpot
- Mix seasoning packet with water and pour over meat and vegetables
- Cook on low for six to eight hours.
Beef Stew Nutritional Information (per serving)
- Calories – 416
- Fat – 10g
- Carbohydrates – 21g
- Fiber – 4g
- Protein – 55g
Athlete Benefits
This is also my favorite way to prepare lean beef, which I like to include in my diet about every two to three weeks. Buy the leanest cuts and cook the meat long and slow so the flavors and tenderness stay. Leaner cuts of any meat will not taste good if you overcook them, because they have less fat. Beef is a great source of:
- B vitamins that help release energy from food
- Iron to carry oxygen through the blood
- Zinc for a healthy immune system
- Phosphorous for strong bones
Feel free to sub in different vegetables; the combinations are endless, providing a variety of colors and therefore a large amount of vitamins and minerals.
In this particular recipe, you are getting antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits from the spinach and the snap peas. Snap peas and carrots are also higher starch vegetables, which help stabilize blood sugars. The mushrooms, besides providing more antioxidants, also provide Vitamin D, which is hard to come by in the American diet.