Paleo quiz time: which do you think is the more nutritious of the pair: beef or broccoli?
If you said “both,” then congratulations! You're right on the money.
On the other hand, if you picked broccoli, take a look below. Comparing approximately one serving of beef (6 ounces, if you’re keeping track) to one cup of broccoli, here are the winners for each nutrient:
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Beef:
Riboflavin (B3)
Niacin (B5)
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Iron
Phosphorus
Zinc
Copper
Selenium
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Broccoli:
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Thiamin (B1)
Folate
Calcium
Magnesium
Potassium
Manganese
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So much for red meat being “empty calories”! What we really need is a balance of meat and vegetables: they fill in each other’s gaps, and even better, they taste delicious together.
The broccoli in this recipe is added right at the end of cooking, so it's still crisp and bright green when you serve the dish: it's all the convenience of slow cooking, but without the fear of mushy or soggy vegetables.
The whole recipe picks up a rich flavor as the beef simmers away, and adding an apple at the beginning is a special touch that adds just a little something to the sauce.
As well as that background hint of sweetness from the fruit, this recipe calls for some tapioca starch to thicken the sauce. Tapioca starch is just pure carbohydrate refined out of the yucca plant.
It’s perfectly Paleo-friendly, but it can also be a pain in the neck to buy a whole new bag of tapioca starch just for one recipe. So it’s really up to you whether to include it or not: if you don’t mind a thinner sauce, you can skip the starch.
With such an incredible nutrient profile – not to mention a family-friendly cooking method – this is a perfect recipe to pull out any time you need a true power meal.
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli Recipe
SERVES: 4 PREP: 15 min COOK: 5h30min
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless chuck roast, sliced into thin strips;
- 2 to 3 cups fresh broccoli florets;
- 1 apple, thinly sliced;
- ½ cup beef stock;
- ⅓ cup coconut aminos;
- ⅓ cup raw honey;
- 3 cloves garlic, minced;
- 1 tbsp. tapioca starch; (optional)
Preparation
- In a slow cooker, combine together the beef stock, coconut aminos, honey, garlic, and sliced apple.
- Add the beef to the slow cooker and stir.
- Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4 to 5 hours.
- When the time is up, combine the tapioca starch with some of the liquid from the slow cooker in a small bowl. Pour it back into the slow cooker and stir well.
- Add the broccoli and cook for another 30 min.
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless chuck roast sliced into thin strips
- 2 to 3 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 1 apple thinly sliced
- ½ cup beef stock
- ⅓ cup coconut aminos
- ⅓ cup raw honey
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp. tapioca starch optional
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, combine together the beef stock, coconut aminos, honey, garlic, and sliced apple.½ cup beef stock, ⅓ cup coconut aminos, ⅓ cup raw honey, 3 cloves garlic, 1 apple
- Add the beef to the slow cooker and stir.1 lb. boneless chuck roast
- Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4 to 5 hours.
- When the time is up, combine the tapioca starch with some of the liquid from the slow cooker in a small bowl. Pour it back into the slow cooker and stir well.1 tbsp. tapioca starch
- Add the broccoli and cook for another 30 min.2 to 3 cups fresh broccoli florets
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