There are a lot of blogs out there promoting something called “Meatless Monday.” They cite that Meatless Monday allows you to start the week off on a healthy note through mass consumption of vegetables for one day. I don’t buy it. While there is nothing wrong with the occasional meal devoted to either fruits or vegetables, I disagree that it’s the best way to kick off a week. In fact, I think that the Meatless Monday concept might do more harm than good for people who are new to meal planning and nutrient-dense eating. What’s to prevent someone from thinking that a healthy day like Meatless Monday can be preceded and followed by two days of unhealthy eating dubbed Sunday Funday and Tostada Tuesday? I’m no expert (and I’m clearly not a vegetarian), but I think nutritional success is best won through consistency – and for me that means getting ample protein and carbohydrates every day.
On that note, let me introduce you to Meat and Potatoes Monday – a semi-regular feature in which I provide an antidote to Meatless Monday (for those of you like me that couldn’t dream of leaving meat behind for a day). This week, I marinated a fairly large top round sirloin overnight before broiling and serving alongside garlic-mashed sweet potatoes and baby broccoli. This meal was stick-to-your-ribs delicious and kept me full through a full night of work at the restaurant – which is legitimately difficult to do. Will definitely be serving up Meat and Potatoes Monday whenever I have a long night or early morning run the next day.
Broiled Round Steak
Ingredients:
1.5 lb. top round steak, trimmed of visible fat
3/4 c. balsamic vinegar
3 tsp. black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
Method:
1) In a tight-lock ziplock bag, combine vinegar, pepper, garlic, onion and salt. Butterfly your top round so that it is 1 1/2″ thick. Massage meat in marinade for 5 minutes before refrigerating it. Marinate meat overnight for best results.
2) When ready to cook, preheat the broiler. Place meat and marinade into oven-proof baking dish. Broil meat for 10 minutes on each side, turning once. This will give you a medium-rare finish to the steak. Add additional time for more well-done preparation.
3) Remove from oven and allow meat to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes (plus overnight marinade)
Garlic-Basil Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
4 small(er) sweet potatoes, diced (I love potato skins… peel your potatoes before dicing if you’d like to omit them)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 c. unsweetened coconut milk
2 tsp. dried basil
2 Tbsp. coconut oil (or fat of your choice)
1 tsp. garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1) Heat a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Drop in sweet potatoes and cook for approximately 20 minutes, until fork pierces potato easily.
2) Drain potatoes and place in large bowl. Using potato masher or electric mixer, mash with remaining ingredients until desired smoothness is reached. I like a rustic mash, so mixed everything together until they were just barely incorporated.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 servings