The Healthy Beef Cookbook helps you keep New Year's Resolutions, without giving up great taste

CHICAGO, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans tend to ring in the New Year with renewed goals for eating healthier and exercising more regularly. However, after just a few weeks, many of those New Year's resolutions are easily forgotten. This year, don't give up too soon ... now there's an easy way to eat healthy without sacrificing taste.

Great taste and nutrition come together in The Healthy Beef Cookbook: Steaks, Salads, Stir-fry and More -- Over 130 Luscious Lean Beef Recipes for Every Occasion (Wiley). The book is produced by the food and nutrition experts of the American Dietetic Association and the beef authorities at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, on behalf of the Cattlemen's Beef Board. The Healthy Beef Cookbook is now available in bookstores nationwide and on Web sites like http://www.amazon.com/ for $21.95.

Co-authored by Richard Chamberlain, nationally known chef and owner of Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House in Dallas, Texas, and registered dietitian Betsy Hornick, The Healthy Beef Cookbook contains more than 130 delicious and nutrient-rich recipes, color photos, nutrition tips and culinary techniques that feature lean beef. Many of the recipes take 30 minutes or less to prepare.

"Consumers can eat healthfully and enjoy their favorite foods," said registered dietitian Neva Cochran, chair-elect of the American Dietetic Association Foundation. "The Healthy Beef Cookbook offers everyone ways to easily prepare delicious meals that are loaded with nutrients."

The Healthy Beef Cookbook Recipes: Getting More Nutrition in Your Calories Consumers increasingly want resources to help them easily enjoy the foods they love as part of a healthful lifestyle. The Healthy Beef Cookbook makes it simple for people to follow the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid, which were released earlier this year, to "get more nutrition from their calories," without sacrificing taste. For example:

  --  More than 50 percent of the recipes incorporate all food groups.

  --  93 percent of the recipes are good or excellent sources of protein,

      iron, zinc, vitamins B6 and B12 and selenium.

  --  66 percent are good or excellent sources of fiber.

  --  76 percent are good or excellent sources of potassium.

  --  55 percent are good or excellent sources of magnesium.

  --  68 percent are good or excellent sources of vitamin A.

  --  74 percent are good or excellent sources of vitamin C.

  --  The recipes are satisfying and delicious for people watching their

      weight -- nearly 75 percent have less than 400 calories per serving.

 

  The Healthy Beef Cookbook: Features New Leaner Beef Cuts

The United States Department of Agriculture has updated its Nutrient Database to include 29 beef cuts that meet government guidelines for lean, meaning fewer than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat and fewer than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per three-ounce serving (and 100 grams). The 29 cuts are featured in The Healthy Beef Cookbook and include many of Americans' traditional favorites -- flank steak, tenderloin, 95 percent lean ground beef and T-bone steak -- as well as newer cuts of beef, such as the Western Griller steak and Ranch steak. All 29 lean beef cuts have, on average, one more gram of saturated fat than a skinless chicken breast per three-ounce serving.

"Today's beef simply isn't your father's steak anymore. America's beef producers have devoted significant resources to offer consumers a wider variety of leaner cuts that are delicious and easy to prepare," says registered dietitian Mary K. Young, executive director of nutrition, NCBA. "The beef Americans love is good for them too. Lean beef is a complete recipe for better health: lean protein, essential vitamins and minerals and great taste."

The Healthy Beef Cookbook: Pairs Beef and Nutrition Experts

Co-authors Richard Chamberlain and Betsy Hornick combine their culinary and nutrition expertise to bring great-tasting lean beef to the table. Chamberlain, culinary director at Envy Steakhouse in Las Vegas and Elk Mountain Resort near Telluride, Colo., adds his creative touches to bring out the delicious flavor in lean beef. Betsy Hornick offers consumers real-life tips to help them enjoy more nutrient-rich foods as part of a healthful, balanced lifestyle.

Each recipe in The Healthy Beef Cookbook was thoroughly tested at the checkoff-funded Culinary Center at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association to ensure they would be tasty and easy for any home cook to prepare.

The Healthy Beef Cookbook was funded by America's Beef Producers through the Beef Checkoff Program. Health professionals can find more lean beef nutrition information at http://www.beefnutrition.org/ . Consumers can download lean beef nutrition facts and a Lean Cuts Wallet Card and purchase The Healthy Beef Cookbook at http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/ .

The American Dietetic Association is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. With nearly 65,000 members, the Chicago-based ADA serves the public by promoting optimal health and well-being for all people. Visit ADA at http://www.eatright.org/ .

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef. Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the NCBA is the trade association of America's cattle farmers and ranchers and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation's food and fiber industry.