Serves 4

Grass-fed beef is the bomb. Let’s count the ways…

 There’s health: Nutrient dense food, higher amount of vitamins, minerals and proteins per calorie.  For every 6 oz. serving, it has 100 calories less than grain-fed beef.  Two to six times more of the omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef. What an animal is fed, greatly affects the nutritional value of the beef from that animal.

 There’s the environment: Grass fed is the most natural way to produce beef.  Cows, by nature, are ruminants.  They are designed to eat grass.  Their body does not handle the eating of grain.  So they are given antibiotics and hormones to counteract this problem.  That’s no bueno.  Beef raised on grass and roughage stimulates the grass around them to produce better tasting, more nutritious grass.  Which in turn makes better tasting, more nutritious beef.

And my favorite, flavor: Cattle raised on grass take a longer time to put on weight, so they live a lot longer than typical grain-fed beef.  The longer they live and eat, the more flavor is found within their delicious little muscles. 

They tend to have a more toothy texture, but they can be cooked slowly to help break down the muscle better.  At the restaurant we use Open Space Meats grass-fed beef.  It is run by Seth and Mica Nitschke and they are located in central California.  They have much more information regarding grass-fed beef at their website openspacemeats.com.

This recipe is perfect for the first signs of spring/summer.  Kick up the grill, grab a couple of steaks and a couple friends and you’re done!!

2        Heads                   Broccoli Florets

2        Each           Garlic Cloves, Minced

1        Teaspoon    Chili Flakes

1        Tbl              Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2        #                 Spring Onions

4        ea                6 oz. Grass-Fed Ribeye Steaks

To Taste               Kosher Salt

To Taste               Black Pepper

Preheat grill, then oven to 500°.

Toss broccoli, garlic, chili flakes and half the oil in a bowl.  Season with a sprinkle of kosher salt, mix well.  Place a cookie sheet in oven for ten minutes.  Add broccoli mixture to pan and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes.  Remove and reserve.

Season spring onions in bowl with rest of oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Add to grill and cook until charred and tender.  Remove and add to broccoli.

Season steaks liberally with salt and pepper.  Add to grill and cook three minutes per side, rotating 90 degrees until cooked to desired doneness.  Cooking times vary based on heat of grill, size and thickness of meat.  The best way to check for medium rare is to stick a cake tester (any thin piece of metal will work) in the thickest part of the steak and leave it for ten seconds.  If it is a bit hotter (but not painful!!) than the cleft of your upper lip, it is medium rare.  Once cooked, remove from heat and let rest ten minutes prior to slicing.  Serve with broccoli and grilled onions.

*For Jumpstart patients, eat half of the protein, and ¼ of the vegetables.  That will give you a nice, light meal of 3 Protein boxes, and 1 Carbohydrate box

Restaurant info: 231 Ellsworth

                        231 South Ellsworth Avenue

                        San Mateo, CA 94401