Craving Steak? Try This Lighter Tomato Herbed Steak
Here’s a high-protein entree, made a little lighter.

Looking for a healthy steak dinner? It might seem like an oxymoron, but a little planning will make this meal a lot lighter than what you might find on a restaurant menu:
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Choose a lean beef, like a top loin cut. Trim off any excess fat.
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Monitor the portion size carefully. The recommended serving size for steak is just 3 ounces, despite the fact that most restaurants serve steaks that are three to five times larger than that! A portion that large has way more cholesterol than your body needs or wants, so your heart will benefit from keeping this steak to no bigger than the palm of your hand.
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Preparation matters. Instead of breading and frying or sauteing in oil or butter, use nonstick cooking spray and sear your steak in a saute pan.
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Many restaurants serve steak with a slab of butter. This recipe shows a way to infuse extra flavor to the steak without adding extra cholesterol and saturated fat. The tomato and herb mixture brightens up the dish and adds important nutrients. In fact, the vitamin C in the tomatoes is a necessary factor in boosting iron absorption, so pairing the two together will maximize the iron content of the lean beef.
For a healthy steak dinner, remember to include light, nutrient-rich side dishes like an easy salad or blanched asparagus. FYI, those veggies should take up half your plate. Include whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, or a 100% whole-wheat dinner roll. Creating this balance on the plate will help you get the healthiest steak dinner possible.
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ouce) beef top loin steak, cut 3/4-inch thick
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1 teaspoon snipped fresh basil, or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
- 1/2 cup chopped tomato
Instructions
1. Cut steak in half. Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper. 2. Coat an unheated heavy medium skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. 3. Add steaks; reduce heat to medium. Cook until desired doneness. Allow 10 to 13 minutes for medium-rare doneness (145 degrees F) to medium doneness (160 degrees F), turning once halfway through cooking time. Remove steaks from skillet and keep warm. 4. Add green onions and basil to hot skillet. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until green onions are tender. 5. Stir in tomato; heat through. Serve tomato mixture over steaks. Makes 2 servings.Nutrition Information
Nutrition Information Based on a Single Serving
*Percent Daily Value are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Dietary Needs



Carbohydrate

Fiorella DiCarlo is a registered dietitian in New York City.
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[SOUND].
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We are making tomato herb steak today.
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And yes, so juicy steak can be
very much part of a healthy diet.
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The first thing you wanna do is you
wanna pick a lean cut of steak,
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is a top loin cut.
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If there is any excess fat around it,
you can trim that off.
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So what we're going to do,
is we're going to cook that first and
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then add our veggies later.
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We're going to add a non-stick
cooking spray to a pan.
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Turn it on to medium to high heat,
so it becomes really hot.
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So that as soon as we put the meat on
the pan, you're going to hear a sizzle.
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Which is what we want,
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because it's going to create that crust
that we're looking for in a steak.
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I'm going to season my steak with
just salt and pepper, very simply.
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That should be enough.
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And at this point my pan is hot enough,
and this is what you wanna hear.
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[SOUND] There you are.
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That's what you're looking for.
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So, wait before you add the other piece.
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Because if not,
if you add too much at one time,
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it's gonna bring down
the temperature of the pan.
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And it's going to broil your meat and
you don't want that.
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We want it to have kind of a crispy crust,
okay?
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So, now we're waiting.
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And we can go.
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There we go, all right.
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So, now we could do this steak, as a
medium rare for about eight to 10 minutes.
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If you want to do fully medium,
you could wait for about 10 to 13 minutes.
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Cooking techniques here are very
important in keeping a healthy diet,
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particularly when you're cooking proteins.
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Because you don't wanna fry,
you don't wanna bread your meats and
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add a lot of oils and fat.
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What you wanna do is keep them lean and
use very low fat cooking techniques, and
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one of them is this type of
technique we're using here.
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All right, I think we are kinda,
there we are.
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That's what we're looking for,
we're looking for
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that kind of browning on this side here,
if you can tell there.
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That looks great, there we are.
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So the outside is crusty, and
the inside will be nice and juicy.
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We're gonna turn that off, and
we're gonna put this on our plate.
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In the meantime,
we're going to use the lovely
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juices that have been left
in that pan to go ahead and
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saute some green onions,
some scallions in here.
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All right, and then our pan is still
sizzling a bit, although it's on low.
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And we're going to add some spices here,
some pepper and some salt.
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Okay, you wanna do this to taste.
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Herbs sometimes do take a little bit more
salt to enhance their natural flavors.
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And these are so great because they're
filled with a sulfur compound that
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have a lot of anti-cancer
fighting properties.
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We just want to lightly saute it.
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We don't really need to cook
it all the way through,
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because it might lose its
flavor once you do that.
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So, there you are.
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I think that's just about
enough time to keep that on.
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And now we're going to
turn to our tomatoes.
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These are diced, and
we're going to add this to our mix.
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Now we're only gonna keep this
on very short period of time,
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because we don't want them
cooked completely through.
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We like to keep them nice and
pert for the steak.
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Tomatoes are super, super healthy for you.
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They're filled with fiber as well and
also contain lycopene,
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which is another antioxidant
that is vital for health.
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And also is activated
when you cook a tomato,
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cuz they're filled with beta-carotene and
vitamin C, which is really, really great.
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And I'll give you another tip.
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To enhance the iron in that steak,
if you add vitamin C or
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a vitamin C-rich vegetable, or
even a squeeze of lemon to it,
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it enhances the iron
absorption in your body.
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So that's really,
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really good added benefit to
putting these two things together.
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And I think that's good.
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People always ask me, do you eat meat?
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Of course I eat meat.
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I describe myself as
a plant-based carnivore.
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That means eat your meat but
add veggies to it.
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And that's what we are doing it today.
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I will not lead you astray here.
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There we are.
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Now while these are warm,
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the best thing that you can do is
grab a really fresh herb, like basil.
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And what we're gonna do,
is we're gonna chop up this basil.
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And this is releasing the essential
oils of the basil there, and
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releasing the vitamins and
all the enzymes.
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And we're going to add
that right to the top.
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It's going to warm down with the tomatoes,
and enhance the aroma.
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Look at that, that is beautiful.
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There you have it, herb tomato steak.
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[MUSIC]
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Thanks so much for
joining us at Diabetes Bites.
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See you next time.
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[MUSIC]