Monday Meal Makeover: Local Beef and Veggie Stir Fry

A stir fry is a great way to ensure that you’re eating a rainbow of colors (and therefore a variety of nutrients) all in one meal.

Shop your farmer’s market for vegetables that are in season and pick up some local organic chicken or grass-fed beef while you’re there.

Ingredients:

1-pound organic or grass-fed beef (a flank steak or boneless sirloin steak works well)

2 tablespoons canola oil

1-2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger root

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 cloves garlic

1 large onion, minced

1 small head broccoli, chopped

1 red pepper, diced

2 small zucchini, diced

? pound mushrooms, quartered

1 head bok choy (spinach could also work), chopped

Soy sauce to taste

Brown rice

Nori (a sea vegetable) sheets, toasted

Garnish:

1/4 cup sesame seeds

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 tablespoons shredded nori

Directions:

In a rice pot, cook the brown rice according to package directions.

In a sauté pan, heat the canola oil lightly. Add beef (chopped into small pieces), 1 tablespoon of grated ginger and the ground pepper. Sauté until the meat is cooked through. Remove and keep warm.

Recoat pan with more oil if needed, then add the garlic and onion. Sauté until slightly transparent. Add chopped broccoli, red pepper, zucchini and mushrooms. Sauté, stirring frequently, 3-5 minutes, until vegetables are almost cooked but far from droopy. Add bok choy (or spinach), sauté another 2 minutes.

Add the cooked meat back into the pan.

Toss in 1 tablespoon more of freshly grated ginger and some soy sauce. Place the lid on and reduce heat to simmer for 2 minutes.

Using a mortal and pestle, grind together the sesame seeds and sea salt. Add in the shredded nori. Lightly sprinkle each dish with this mixture.

Serve with brown rice and sheets of toasted nori.

To toast the nori, lightly lay each sheet, first on one side then flipping it over to the other, on a cast iron skillet over high heat. A riskier option is to lightly and quickly drag each sheet over a hot burner.

As an Emmy-winning television producer and news anchor, Sara returned to her roots and became creator and host of two TV series for the Discovery Networks with practical advice on living green: "Living Fresh" and "Get Fresh With Sara Snow." Sara is a featured blogger on www.treehugger.com and her first book, "Sara Snow's Fresh Living" was released in March.