Sometimes a salad is not just a salad…it is an entire meal. Cilantro and lime add delicious flavor to the light marinade, and strips of beef and mushrooms add protein and substance to the salad. Add some crusty whole grain rolls and a frozen yogurt dessert and you have a well balanced and healthy meal. Try to use fresh snow peas if you can; if not, frozen will do. When choosing your leafy greens, remember that the darker leafed lettuces are healthier for you than the lighter leafed lettuce. Try introducing the darker lettuces to your family by mixing them in with iceberg lettuce. This salad recipe is a good one to try mixing iceberg, Bibb, and red leaf lettuce with Belgian endive and radicchio.
Ingredients:
12 ounces beef round steak
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups fresh snow peas
8 cups mixed salad greens (see note above)
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 cup sodium reduced chicken broth
1/3 cup sodium reduced soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup sliced green onion or chives
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
Green onion or chives to garnish
Method:
Trim the beef and slice it into 1/4 inch thick strips. Wash and trim the snow peas. Set aside. Use a shallow glass dish (I use my 13 x 9 inch pyrex lasagna pan) to prepare the marinade. Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, cilantro, lime juice, and green onion or chives. Mix it well, and set aside 1/2 cup of the prepared marinade. Add the beef strips to the remaining marinade, and turn each piece over so that they are all well coated. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Remove the beef and discard the marinade from the glass dish. Use a large nonsticket skillet, wok, or frying pan, cook the beef in 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until it is browned. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Add the snow peas and cook for about 1 minutes, stirring constantly, until the snow peas are tender yet crisp. At the same time, use a small saucepan to warm the reserved marinade over low heat for about 2 minutes. Place a handful of mixed salad greens on each of four dinner plates, then divide the beef mixture equally between the plates. Garnish with sliced mushrooms, feta cheese, cilantro leaves and green onions or chives, and drizzle the warmed marinade or dressing over each plate.
This recipe makes four servings. Each serving has 218 calories, 13 grams of carbs, 30 grams of protein, 940 mgs of sodium, 5 grams of fat and 66 mgs of cholesterol.
Variation: This recipe is also delicious served over brown rice instead of mixed greens.