KOREAN BEEF MEAL PREP (GLUTEN FREE)
This Korean Beef Meal Prep is gluten-free, dairy-free, macro-friendly, and absolutely delicious! I love the sweet and savory unami flavors together with the pickled vegetables and fragrant jasmine rice. It makes a delicious and easy family meal, too!
Did you know? Beef is an excellent source of various vitamins and minerals, especially iron and zinc. Beef also offers vitamin B12, selenium, niacin, and vitamin B6. (source) I always look for grass fed beef free of hormones and antibiotics!
Choosing the best beef
Beef comes in many different quality levels. I always look for choice or prime angus (if it doesn't say angus, the beef could come from discarded dairy cows).
Secondly, I prefer 90-93% lean ground beef to minimize the amount of saturated fat. Too much dietary saturated fat has been shown to contribute to insulin resistance and increased LDL cholesterol.
Third, I look for "grass fed" raised without hormones or antibiotics. Grass fed cows have been showed to have significantly more anti-inflammatory fats, not to mention, a healthier life. Hormones persist in the end product and may contribute to early puberty, excess estrogen and more. Antibiotics are usually an indication the animal was sick or around other sick animals. It's less of a concern than hormones, but I avoid it if I can.
Coconut aminos vs. tamari sauce
You can use either in this recipe, however, you'll need to make some adjustments depending what you go with! Coconut aminos are sweeter and less salty than tamari, with a lighter unami flavor. If using coconut aminos, use just one tablespoon of brown sugar alternative (or none at all) and add at least half a teaspoon of salt to the sauce.
Tamari has a stronger unami flavor, and is less sweet and more salty. I do recommend using reduced sodium tamari and skipping the added salt to start, then add salt to your personal tastes. I would also use the full two tablespoons of brown sugar alternative in the sauce.
You can also use gluten-free soy sauce! Though harder to find, and usually not available as reduced sodium. Use the same recommendations above for tamari ;)
Brown sugar alternatives
Since this recipe doesn't call for much, you can totally use regular brown sugar if you like! However, I try to minimize my intake of added sugars so I used a sugar free brown sugar alternative. Brands I like include Besti, Lakanto Golden, Sukrin Gold, and Truvia Sweet Complete Brown.
Other sauce ingredients
You only need a few ingredients besides the coconut aminos (or tamari) and brown sugar alternative. You'll also need rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, black pepper, red pepper, and maybe a little salt.
Pickled vegetables
For these simple pickled vegetables, all you'll need is cucumber, radishes, carrots. rice vinegar, water, a little sugar, and salt. I just combined the vinegar, water and salt in a bowl then tossed with my sliced veggies. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes before serving! I know a lot of people boil the vinegar and sugar and soak the veggies for hours, but I didn't find that necessary. They came out perfectly crisp tender with a little tang!
You might want to keep the pickled veggies in a separate container if meal prepping. Then, just add them after you reheat the rest!
Here is the printable recipe for this Korean Beef Meal Prep (Gluten Free). I hope you love it as much as we did!
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