NuStart · Recipes · Main Dishes

Beef Stew BfG

Name: Beef Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 h 50 min
Total time: 6 h
Yield: Makes 8 servings · ~1 cup stew over ½ cup brown rice
Ingredients: 6 large potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces; 6 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces; 3 lb lean grass-fed and grass-finished stew beef; ¼–⅓ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (Kikkoman Less Sodium, or any reduced-sodium soy sauce); 1 tsp paprika; ½ tsp pepper; 3 Tbsp flour; 1 onion, coarsely chopped; 1 can (14.5 oz) low-sodium beef broth, about 1¾ cups (Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium, or any low-sodium brand); 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce; 1 cup water; 4 cups cooked brown rice (for serving)

Oven · ~6 hr · Serves 8 · ~1 cup stew over ½ cup brown rice

Protein 30 g · Fiber 4 g · Calories 380

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Sodium about 600–690 mg per serving, about 26–30% of the 2,300 mg daily maximum, counting every ingredient; the spread follows how much soy sauce you use

Ingredients

6 large potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
6 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 lb lean grass-fed and grass-finished stew beef
¼–⅓ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (Kikkoman Less Sodium, or any reduced-sodium soy sauce)
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp pepper
3 Tbsp flour
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) low-sodium beef broth, about 1¾ cups (Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium, or any low-sodium brand)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup water
4 cups cooked brown rice (for serving)

Directions

Tap a step to mark it done.

Layer the potatoes and carrots in the bottom of a Dutch oven and top with the beef.
Pour the soy sauce over the meat and add the paprika, pepper, and flour; add the onion.
Combine the beef broth, tomato sauce, and water; pour over everything.
Cover and bake at 250°F for 4–6 hours (or use a slow cooker on low for 6–8 hours).
Serve over the brown rice.

Note. Use grass-fed and grass-finished beef when you can. Compared with grain-fed, it tends to carry a somewhat better mix of fats and a little more of certain vitamins. Read the label: “grass-fed” alone can still mean grain-finished, so look for “grass-fed and finished” or “100% grass-fed.” It’s a nice upgrade, though it’s still red meat, so keep beef an occasional choice (its nutrition rating stays Medium).

Ingredient tip. When a recipe uses a packaged or processed food, choose a version with five or fewer ingredients on the label.

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Produce

Meat & poultry

Pantry & dry goods

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Broth. Any broth labeled low sodium or unsalted works here. Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium is the one we tested with; its carton lists 50 mg of sodium per cup for chicken, 140 mg for beef and 120 mg for vegetable, against roughly 860 mg a cup for regular broth. The brand is not the point; the label is. Low-sodium broth does taste thinner than salted, and that is the whole idea: salt at the end, where you can taste it, instead of at the start where the carton decided for you.

No reduced-sodium soy sauce in the house? You do not need to buy a second bottle. Mix 3 parts regular soy sauce with 2 parts water. That lands within a few milligrams of the reduced-sodium version and keeps the liquid the recipe is built around, which is what you want in a dressing or a marinade. If you would rather not add water, use a scant 2 teaspoons for every tablespoon called for. That is the simpler move and it works well in a stew or a stir-fry, where a little less liquid will not be missed. Either way, taste before you add more.

Adapted from the Body for God Cookbook by Lisa Young.

Per-serving values are approximate and vary with brand, variety, and preparation.