Steamed Brussels sprouts & Butternut stir fry
This recipe is high in nutrients and fiber, includes some leafy vegetables and carbs as well as some red meat protein! Combine the taste delicate taste gently steamed of Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, onions and beef with cooking in the Vitaliseur steam cooker, and you will get a full mouth of fall flavors with the bonus of five stars health ratings!
Don’t you love watching the landscape turn to fall colors? As much as I live the bright colors of summers, I love the change to deep green, deep orange and brown colors too ! And so does my kitchen.
Today I am writing down one recipe I totally improvised and that had such a resounding “yum” in my family’s mouths I had to ask ” should I write it down?” and I got a non hesitant yes back.
Why you will love this meal:
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Why you will love the Fall Brussels sprouts & Butternut Steam & stir fry
Not unlike my previously posted fall recipe Fall Savoy Apple and Butternut Steam & Stir Fry, this recipe is high in nutrients and fiber. It includes some leafy vegetables and carbs, but it is not vegan! For protein, we chose red meat! Combine the delicate taste of gently steamed Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and onions and beef with cooking in the Vitaliseur steam cooker, and you will get a full mouth of fall flavors with the bonus of five stars health ratings!
Texture: The mix of leafy and crunchy sprouts with softer yet firm texture of squash is a pleasure for your palate!
Gentle colors:
Don’t you love fall colors? Well even fall colors will be more vibrant once cooked in the steam cooker ! Because you cook them a short time and the steam gently penetrates your ingredients, they cook fast enough while maintaining texture and preserving nutrient density! A true miracle your tastebuds will also enjoy!
Taste intensity: Gentle taste of butternut pairs well with more intense Brussels sprouts.
Onion gives it flair and volume. Herbs contribute heavily a big role in the taste intensity. Besides their antiseptic and antiviral medicinal properties, herbs underline and blends the tastes of ingredients together. Sage underlines the sweetness of squash. Thyme’s sharp, minty flavor intensifies the taste of both vegetables.
Low glycemic index: Do you have issues with blood sugar? Adopting steam cooking will help you without sacrificing flavors!
Learning how to cook for short times instead of slow cooking is not only great because it saves you time. It is also great for your blood sugar! Keep fiber contents up, sugar low, and enjoy the food you eat with gentle steam cooking!
Red meat: Steam cooking is famous for steaming vegetables or fish. Forget it: you can cook so much more in a good steam cooker !
Steam cooking is known for steam baskets, bamboo steamers. Once you try this, you’ll be glad it is much bigger for cooks many more ingredients and more effectively. What’s more, it detoxifies your foods from inflammatory compounds! Just try cooking meat in it and you’ll see ! Not only does it detox it, but the intensity of your red meat’s taste comes out even clearer! You will be amazed. And check the tank after you cook to see the fat plaques you spare your body. Want to know more about how gentle steam cooking is healthier? Check my recent post here
Ingredients
Brussels sprouts
Cruciferous vegetables are in season ! And they are a great taste and health ressource. May be you are aware, and may be not: there are so many crurciferous vegetables ! Broccoli, Kale, of course Brussels sprouts, green and red cabbages, savoy cabbages to name only a few.
Benefits of cruciferous vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables are known for being very rich in vitamin C, plant calcium – absorbed at higher rates than dairy – and sulfur. The sulfur is the reason cooking cruciferous vegetables too long gives them a repulsive odor. This is a similar smell to the one of hard boiled eggs, because both contain sulfur.
Cruciferous vegetables are also known for an antioxydant called sulforaphane. And this compound is known for anti cancer, health healthy, anti diabetes properties. It is also known for improving digestion. Check this page for a sum up of conventionally known benefits of sulforaphane.
One big benefit of sulforaphane I didn’t suspect is its benefits for the transition into menopause. According to Lora Briden, sulphoraphane upregulates healthy detoxification pathways in the body. She recommends eating foods with sulphraphane to support detoxification of environmental toxins in the framework of her body maintenance support protocol in the transition to menopause ( Lara Briden, Hormone Repair Manual, Greenpeak Publishings 2021 p.108).
Gently steam your cruciferous!
The good news is that if you aren’t too fond of sulfur smell or get heart burns from eating cruciferous veggies, you may just see a huge improvement by gently steaming it. And I don’t mean pressure cooking it! Gentle steam cooking seems to have positive effect on vegetables you cook in it. This is provided you keep cooking times short so it keeps COLOR, ODOR, FLAVOR and TEXTURE, which also means preserved fiber and plant chemical contents.
Color preservation is the first hint your precious nutrients were preserved during the cooking process.
Butternut squash
This squash is sweet, yet still savory so as to marry well with many green vegetables or even fruits! For an example of butternut and apple reccipe, check my Fall Savoy Apple and Butternut Steam & Stir Fry recipe!
Want to know what this squash brings to you nutritiously? Butternut squash rich in many nutrients, including vitamin A (over 400% RDI! for 200g), vitamin C ( over 50%), magnesium (15%), and potassium (17%RDI). So if you rely on it as your carb rather than rice, you will get many nutrients there! If you don’t, and let’s say you get 50g of squash in a meal, you still get good nutrition!
Want to preserve nutrient density? Steam it a short time, for cubes 1/2 inch cubes or 1.5 cm, 5 minutes are more than enough to keep integrity, a light crunch and enough softness. Besides, the closest food keeps from original texture, the lower glycemic index. The lower your food’s glycemic index, the more likely you are to keep insulin resistance at bay!
How do I cook the Fall Brussels sprouts & Butternut Steam & stir fry
Prepare the ingredients
Preparing a meal with the Vitaliseur steam cooker is very simple and quick ! Check these steps!
Turn on the stove. Add water to the tank and turn on the stove for the steam cooker to be ready when you need to steam.
Prepare the ingredients. Simply chop all vegetables on a cutting board. Mix the meat with finely chopped onions in a bowl.
Once the steam cooker is hot and steams abundantly and after your rice is cooked, steam all vegetables 4 minutes.
Heat the pan on low heat with olive oil and salt, thyme and sage.
Transfer vegetables into the pan and drizzle with olive oil and mix, keeping fire low. Meanwhile, steam the meat balls 5 minutes.
Transfer the meat balls from the steam cooker’s sieve over to the skillet. Mix all ingredients together. Add the rest of the dressing. Serve.
Tools
Choose a cooking tool that will deliver an ideal cooking experience
Adopting gentle steam cooking has only advantages ! The Vitaliseur delivers quick meals that are nutrient dense and detoxify many inflammatory compounds. If you can’t afford all organic, best quality foods, this already helps your health a lot! You can focus your budget on the most important quality items! Learn more here.
Get a Vitaliseur and Sell your rice cooker !
The Vitaliseur easily doubles into a rice or grain cooker ! No need for a duplicate!
If you need a side of rice, steam the rice in the steam cooker first. This steam cooker is gently steaming, It is NOT a bamboo steamer nor a pressure cooker first. Forget little steaming baskets and electric steamer ! This one is much more efficient and will last you a lifetime! And it will replace your rice cooker! One quality stainless steel bowl that will last your whole life and you can have rice cooked in 15 min, especially if you preheat your water to 160°F in a simple electric kettle ! Learn more on my “tools” page! To learn about how to steam rice, check post Steam Your Rice!
Find more recipes
For kids friendly meals, try the fried rice made with steamed ingredients, including steamed rice!
Into the fall season? Try the fall Butternut steam and stir fry!
Need more sulforaphane from cruciferous vegetables? Try salads that work all year round with the Rainbow Crunch Shrimp and Rice Noodles Salad , or the Lemony Goodness Quinoa Kale Salad.
We even have some dessert recipes that are cooked in the steam cooker that will impress your tastebuds: hazelnut chocolate bites or orange almond bites !
You can even make a filling, breakfast seed bread (gluten free) that holds together better if you make it in the steam cooker!
Recipe Card
Fall Brussels sprouts Butternut and meat balls steam and stir fry
You will enjoy this nutrient dense, low GI, gluten free fall meal ! Marry pre steamed Brussels sprouts and butternut squash into a skillet with meat balls. Perfectly cooked, all ingredients maintain their texture, a real pleasure for your tastebuds! You never thought making a meal would be that simple and taste so great while being so healthy! It is gluten free, dairy free, GMO free, seed oil free, made only with wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients
Meat balls
- 2 lbs or 1 kg ground beef
- 1/2 an onion, cut very finely
- 1.5 tsp grey salt
- Pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp sage
- 1/2 tsp thyme
Produce
- 1 lb (500g) Brussels sprouts, cut in four, lengthwise,
- 1 lb (500g) butternut squash, cubed,
- 1 whole onion, sliced
Herbs - for the sauté pan
- 1 tsp dried Sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
Other items
- 2 tbsp shaved almonds (no compulsory if you can't have nuts)
- Grey celtic or sea salt (1 tbsp) for the pan
- 3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil for the pan
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2/3 cup water for the pan.
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over the pan when mixing vegetables
Instructions
- Turn on the stove on high heat under the steam cooker. Add water 2 1/2 inches water to the tank and turn on the stove for the steam cooker to be ready when you need to steam.
- If you want a side of rice, pour 2 cups rice into a stainless steel bowl with 3 cups warm water ( preheated in your electric kettle at 160°F) and cook 15 minutes. This is easily done ahead of time.
- Prepare the ingredients. Simply chop all vegetables on a cutting board: cube butternut squash , cut the sprouts in four lengthwise, slice the onion.
- Mix the meat with half a finely chopped onions in a bowl, salt, pepper and herbs. Roll into 3 inches balls with your hands. Set aside.
- Once the steam cooker is hot and steams abundantly and after your rice is cooked, steam all vegetables together on the sieve 4 minutes, lid on.
- While vegetables steam, heat the pan on low heat with olive oil and salt, thyme and sage. Add 2/3 cup water.
- Transfer vegetables into the skillet and drizzle with olive oil and mix, keeping the heat low. Adjust salt to taste. Meanwhile, steam the meat balls 5 minutes.
- Transfer the meat balls from the steam cooker's sieve over to the skillet or sauté pan, keeping the heat low. Mix all ingredients together. Cover. Let ingredients sit together 5 minutes while preparing the table. Drizzle more olive oil. Serve!
Notes
1. You can steam meat balls longer, before transfering to the skillet. The longer you cook them, the drier they get! Simply cut one to see degree of cooking before transferring into the pan, and you will assess how much is left to cook in the pan.
2. Herbs, here thyme and bay leaves: I order them with friends at https://wholesale.frontiercoop.com/ on a facebook group in my area! Try this brand, you'll never go back! Use your old jars and pack them which high quality, highly flavorful herbs!
2. The Vitaliseur is the steam cooker I use. It is a French cooker designed to have a temperature not above 95°C /202°F, i.e. under boiling point. It gives your foods a steam bath and helps them sweat out toxins incl. pesticides. It also preserves more nutrients than other cooking methods! Check out my TOOLS page and learn more! Use my code "steamedcuisine" to save 10% and save on European sales tax. I've been using it for 30 years+, I can vouch for it!
3. When you cook with the steam cooker, it is important to have enough water ( at least 2-3 inches) in the tank so the steam that cooks your food is abundant. Do wait until you can see steam flow when you lift the lid, or even without lifting the lid.
4. Learn more about steaming diverse ingredients here, rice specifically, here.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 466Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 111mgSodium 567mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 2gSugar 2gProtein 35g
This table does not account for the rice side ! This nutrition tables are approximate readings of nutrition values in my dishes. Besides, note that much of the meat fat is sweat out into the steam cooker tank and does not end into your sauté pan, which makes this table inaccurate on the fat content. I don't believe calories are the most important. nutrient density is and amount of fibers are, as well as your cooking method. Nutrition density also depends on sourcing of your foods. These meals are made with quality ingredients and no processed foods ! My only guarantee is that your digestive system and your healthy will improve on them!
