These days, it seems every other news story is talking about the merits (or pitfalls) of the low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet, also commonly referred to as the Keto Diet.
So what is it and should you follow it? In a nutshell, the majority of the calories you consume in a day are primarily derived from foods that are low in carbohydrates, which historically have been thought of as the main fuel source required by humans to keep our motors running throughout the day. Research is now showing that we are able to derive more than enough energy from protein, fat, and other low-carb food sources like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
It is important to keep in mind that, like anything health-related, this is not a one size fits all solution…The most important thing to remember when it comes to deciding your diet is this: it should be made up of whole foods including vegetables, meat, seafood, healthy fats and oils, nuts, seeds, fruits, and full-fat dairy if you can tolerate it.
I like to make this when I have leftover tri-tip or roast beef in the refrigerator. If you don’t have leftovers, buy a thinner cut of sirloin steam to reduce the cooking time. If you don’t have avocado oil on hand, use coconut oil, which will work well with the flavors in this dish. A food processor also helps to speed the preparation along, and if you don’t have one, you should!
Thai Beef Stir Fry, Serves 4
Recipes by Cassie Elliott
Photograph courtesy of Cassie Elliott
THAI SAUCE
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
Instructions
- Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
BEEF STIR FRY
Ingredients
- ½ bunch cilantro
- 3 stalks green onion
- 1 Thai pepper with seeds
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil
- 4 ounces thinly sliced cooked beef
- ½ each red and orange bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 12 ounces bean sprouts
- 3 ounces snow peas
- 8 ounces oyster mushrooms
- 2 cloves fresh-minced garlic
- ½ cup chopped cashews
- ½ lime, or juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Add cilantro, 2 stalks green onion, Thai pepper, and ginger to food processor and chop until fine.
- Heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil in wok over high heat.
- Add mushrooms and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons avocado oil to wok and heat until smoking. Add ingredients from food processor and stir.
- Add garlic and continue to stir until fragrant.
- Add peppers, 6 ounces bean sprouts, and snow peas to wok and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add mushrooms, beef, and ⅔ of cashews, reserving remaining ⅓ cashews for garnish.
- Add Thai sauce and cook until heated through.
- Squeeze the juice of ½ lime over all, then remove from heat.
- Put remaining bean sprouts in bowls and top with stir fry. Slice remaining stalk green onion and garnish bowls with green onion and remaining cashews.
