Mad Cow Musings

Worried about mad cow disease? This past year's largest meat recall in U.S. history, involving a massive 143,383,823 pounds of raw and frozen beef probably only contributed to your concern. The recall was due to one meat packing company in Chino, California, which appeared to be processing so-called "downer" cows, livestock that cannot walk, which is against USDA regulations for good reason.

One of the reasons that livestock cannot walk is infection with "mad cow disease" or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). If passed on to people by infected beef, it can cause a deadly brain disease known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. According to the USDA, out of about 800,000 cows tested since 2004, two have tested positive for BSE and none have shown up in the food supply.

Just in case you want to know what you can do in your supermarket and your kitchen to reduce your risk of BSE...

• Eat less beef in general. Simply put, the less beef you eat, the lower your risk of eating contaminated beef.


• Avoid ground beef; or buy it from a store or butcher you trust, or grind it yourself. (Ground beef is a little more likely to contain the proteins that cause BSE in cows than steaks, because ground meat can come from several cuts of meat and include bone marrow or other questionable parts - depending on the company.)


• Buy cuts of lean beef that are boneless to avoid contact with bone marrow.

Related Topics:

• Greener Pastures
• WebMD Video: Keeping Meat Safe

Fall Favorites: Super Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Week #2 SUPER SLOW COOKER POT ROAST

Photo Credit: Elaine Magee

The slow, moist simmering of a slow cooker can turn an extra lean cut of beef into a tender, flavorful entrée. So, armed with the mighty magic of a slow cooker, we can take the leanest roasts around (a lean chuck arm pot roast with no visible fat and a beef bottom round roast with no visible fat) and turn them into a tender and savory pot roast. What makes this pot roast "super" special is the high antioxidant and phytochemical-packed veggies cooked with the roast.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
4 tablespoons merlot (or other red wine), non-alcoholic beer, or water
2 medium onions, outer skin peeled and top trimmed off then each cut into 8 wedges
About 16 whole garlic cloves, peeled (about 1 bulb)
4 cups baby carrots (16 ounce bag) or 4 medium carrots, cut into three or four pieces each
1 chuck arm pot roast, beef chuck cross rib roast or beef bottom round roast, lean with no visible fat (about 2.5 pounds)
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

1. In measuring cup, combine flour and red wine. Add to crock of slow cooler and stir in onions, garlic cloves, and carrots.
2. Sprinkle the outside of roast with salt and pepper and set on top of carrot/onion mixture. Pour Worcestershire sauce over the top of the roast, Cover slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for 5 1/2 hours or on LOW for 9 hours.
3. Spoon the juices from the bottom of the slow cooker over the vegetables and roast then sprinkle fresh parsley over the top and continue to cook 30 minutes on HIGH or 1 hour on LOW.
4. Place roast on a serving plate and let sit 10 minutes. Place vegetables in a serving dish and pan juices in a gravy boat. Cut the roast against the grain into slices with your desired thickness and serve!

Yield: Makes 8 servings

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members journal as: Per serving: 279 calories, 35 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 77 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 148 mg sodium (365 mg sodium with added salt). Calories from fat: 26 percent.

Week #1: Topless Chicken Pot Pie
Week #2: Super Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Week #3: Spiced Apple Cake
Week #4: Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Related Topics:

• Slow but Sure Recipes
• Greener Pastures