Looking for a New Year’s resolution you can actually stick to? I’ve got one that’s tender, juicy, and ready to fuel all your fitness endeavors. Read here and learn why January is as good a time as ever to lean in - to beef.

The content provided in this post is sponsored by the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program. As usual, opinions are my own, and, my advocacy for beef is longstanding and genuine. Thanks for your support as I partner with this fantastic initiative this year!

New Year’s resolutions: do you love them, or hate them?  As a dietitian, I’m not a huge fan of the media push toward fad diets and extreme exercise regimens that seem to crop up as soon as the calendar announces a new year.  Stop the cleanses and stop the madness, please!

However: I’m also human. And I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND the basic need to press the reset button after the two months of seemingly non-stop feasting between Halloween and New Year’s Eve. BUT - here’s the thing: resolving to eat more nutritiously - whether the goal is health or aesthetically driven (isn’t it a little bit of both, if we’re honest?), doesn’t mean having to sacrifice foods you love.  

In fact, rather than making a choice to resolve, I invite you to join me in choosing a nutritional THEME for 2019.  Last year, mine was sustainability. This year, I’m going to Lean In to Beef.

Fresh off a year-long burger quest, I might not be planning weekly outings for double patties with bacon and cheese throughout 2019, but I’ll still be eating beef - as many as five times per week.  Why? On Average, a 3 oz. serving of lean beef delivers the fuel for my active lifestyle: about 25g of protein for an approximate150 calories, plus ten essential nutrients, including zinc (an important component in aiding muscle healing), B12 (crucial to the health of nerve and blood cells), and iron (essential to the synthesis of hemoglobin, and therefor transport of oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body).  It’s no wonder why I’ve depended on beef to aid my strength gains (215 on my sumo deadlift in 2018, thank you very much!), and help maintain athletically-low levels of body fat.

If you’re ready to lean in to beef, here’s the skinny on choosing lean cuts at the meat cooler.  My quick cheat? Just remember loin, strip, and round. When it comes to ground beef, 95/5 is your leanest bet – and still incredibly satisfying.  Think about swapping out chuck chunks for round when making your next batch of chili or stew, creating a satisfying strip steak salad, or leaning out your tacos or burgers with 95/5 ground beef.  Hungry for more ideas? Check out these test-kitchen approved recipes and get a taste of where protein meets pleasure.  

I’d love to hear your nutritional theme for 2019.  Drop me a line in the comments below!

Enjoy your food.  Enjoy your life!