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Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

Yum

January 4, 2018 By Laura Ligos, MBA, RD, CSSD 5 Comments

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Holy cold weather, am I right? I can’t remember the last day it was above 25 degrees and I’m {mostly} over it. I have a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with winter. Just ask my family…

The only perk of cold weather is a plethora of comfy blankets, sweatshirts (my latest obsession that was a gift this year) and comfort food. I crave rich tasting, warm, and comforting foods this time of year. I want chilis, stews, nachos, potatoes, etc. I want to feel warm from the inside out. Good thing I have my favorite pressure cooker to help with this.

My Instant Pot has been living on top of my counter (for easy access) and this Mongolian Beef is on repeat in our kitchen. I love a healthy meal but I love it even more if it is simple, quick and on my plate in a fast manner. Nobody likes a hangry Laura, I can promise you that.

Instant Pot

If you have been around me the last year, then you know that me (and all my friends including my mom) are obsessed with this amazing tool. Now, there is nothing new about pressure cooking, it’s technically been around since the 1600s. The new surge has come because the Instant Pot literally makes pressure cooking so easy even a caveman could do it.

Dinner is ready in MINUTES. It takes slow cooking to a new level. I am a fan of slow cooking, don’t get me wrong, but how many times have I forgotten to get dinner going, gotten sidetracked or was missing an ingredient?! Only every other time. The Instant Pot (no this is not an ad or even a sponsored post) has been a game changer in our household and I cannot remember what life was life before it (nor would I want to).

Sold yet? You can snag your own Instant Pot on Amazon (when back in stock) or at your local Target. It also appears you can buy them at any of these locations listed here as well. 

Mongolian Beef

Now for the real reason you stopped by, the recipe. I’m a fan of a good stir-fry dish, a good rice dish and really any dish that has good flavors. This one is a combo of all the above. The best part? You get to throw it all in a pot, set it, forget for 20 minutes and boom dinner is served.

Mongolian Beef is a Chinese-American dish traditionally made with flank steak, veggies & a brown sauce. Welp, that is exactly what I am bringing you today, with a sassy touch of course. I tried to cut down on the sugar, add in some fresh squeezed orange juice and up the veggie content, because, well, I’m a dietitian (sorry, not sorry.)

Pro tip: Do yourself a favor this year and treat yourself to some knife skills. There are usually ones in your area at a cooking store or at a place like Sur La Table. You can also, conveniently, find them on Youtube. It will make this recipe, and most others that much easier. 

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Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
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Ingredients

  • 1–1/2 lb flank steak, sliced into 1/2″ strips (~3–4 inches long)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
  • 1 large carrot, peeled & sliced thin
  • 1 red onion, sliced thin
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 3/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp water
  • 2 oz. orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • Red pepper flakes, optional
  • Green onion, sliced thin, optional

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients except 2 Tbsp water and cornstarch in a pressure cooker (I used Instant Pot), stir well to combine.
  2. Close pot (make sure vent is closed) and cook on manual mode for 8 minutes.
  3. Allow beef to cool in pot via natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
  4. Open pot (may need to vent before opening), cancel manual and turn to Saute mode.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp water + 2 Tbsp cornstarch. Add to pot, stir and allow to cook for ~3-4 minutes to thicken.
  6. Serve over rice, top with red pepper flakes & green onions if desired & enjoy!

Notes

Slow Cooker Directions: Follow the same directions, cook on low for 6-8 hours and then add in cornstarch/water mixture.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @@thesassydietitian on Instagram

xoxo,

Sassy

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Mongolian Beef

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@thesassydietitian

We’ve made it over a week together and it feels We’ve made it over a week together and it feels like it’s always been this way.

Motherhood is a wild ride & it’s only getting started. I have never been so tired & simultaneously so fulfilled in my life. That’s not to say it’s not filled with tears, worries and doubts but what fun would it be if it were all sunshine and roses anyway?

Going into this all I have felt so supported by friends going through this with me BUT I felt so unsupported by the general public. It seems like we want to fear and shame moms because misery loves company, right?!

The focus quickly shifts from mom to baby (still shocked that I only have an appointment at 6 weeks even though my body went through the biggest event of its life) and there also seems to be this shift from joy to shame & guilt.

Here’s some of what I heard from people:

😕Sleep when baby sleeps. You’ll never sleep again.
😕Don’t let baby sleep in a car seat, or a bouncer, or anywhere but their crib EVER. 
😕You’ll never have time to shower again, enjoy it now. 
😕Cry it out is cruel and harmful to the baby. 
😕Get baby on a schedule/never put baby on a schedule.

These are all things I heard and that truly led me to believe I was going to lose all sense of who I was and my life as I knew it.

What I wish people had said instead were:

🥰Your heart will grow bigger than you could imagine.
🥰You’ll cry the happiest tears you’ve ever cried.
🥰You’ll feel like a giant hole was filled that you didn’t even know was there.
🥰You won’t feel guilty about cleaning your house, it just won’t matter anymore.
🥰Babies pooping will make you laugh so hard you will feel like a kid again.
🥰You will have time to eat and shower and you don’t have to neglect yourself.

We need to do a better job of building each other up, supporting one another and our decisions while refraining from offering unsolicited advice and opinions. 

So for all you future mamas and new mamas out there, I see you, I’m proud of you and I cannot wait to share our stories with one another and the world.

Let’s stop fear mongering (just like the diet world) and start building one another up.

Xoxo,
Sassy & lil sassy man
🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s b 🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s been a long year of loss, unknowns and worry but it’s all been worth it to get to meet my lil man🥰
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Now time to introduce this sassy human who is already so well loved to the world...
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Introducing 

💙 Connor James Ligos 💙
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After an almost 24 hour labor, Connor joined us over a week past his due date on 2/12/21 at a whopping 9lb2oz & 22.5 inches long with a full head of hair and lungs to scream hello to us with.
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We are so in love already and cannot wait to share him with the world. Thank you for all the love and support from friends and family and to all those that helped us in the hospital. Holy cow labor & delivery teams are truly magical and I cannot imagine doing it without all of their support.
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Now back to snuggling this human of mine and trying not to cry at every last thing he does 🥰 
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Mom, Dad & Bode are all doing well!
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#babyboy #pregnancyafterloss #rainbowbaby #birthdayboy #birthannouncement
I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk t I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk to others about what worked for us. That's great!
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What's not great is when we push our nutrition and eating behaviors onto others ESPECIALLY when we are not qualified to do so.
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So often when people meet me for the first time they are worried to eat around me and/or buy groceries around me. My friends can attest I am not judgemental around food and will gladly eat that cake, queso dip or sip on that glass of wine right alongside of you. I am not the food police and do not offer unsolicited nutrition advice unless it's a client who is paying for my help OR on Instagram and other social media platforms where my goal is to educate.
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Why do I share this? 
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Because I see far too many people diving down diet rabbit holes, finding success & then claiming to be nutrition experts purely because something worked for them. 
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I've also seen this alot being pregnant, everyone wants to tell you what worked for them. IF you use that stipulation of "this worked for me" then fine, share away but if you start doleing out advice please pause, take a breath and think about NOT doing it.
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People are OVERWHELMED by diet culture and some so badly want to change but YOUR way is not the only way and it most likely is not what will work for your friend/coworker/cousin/neighbor so please, stop trying to be an expert in something you aren't.
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Got it!?! 
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Ok, carry on.
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xoxo,
Sassy
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#nutrition #nutritiontips #nutritionist #dietitianapproved #rdapproved #rdchat #dietitiansofinstagram #dietitian #dietitiansofig #albanyny #albanynutrition #albanynutrition
Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. I'm not saying you have to find perfect balance (does that even exist?) but I am saying that we shouldn't feel like either we have to eat perfectly or that we might as well give up.
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Instead we should look to the grey area in between for our nutrition guidance. 
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What do I mean?
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I mean that we need to realize that we can still eat cookies but we probably should throw some veggies in there. 
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We can have a glass or 2 of wine but we should probably also drink some water. 
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We can take rest days but we should also find ways to move our bodies regularly.
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And the list goes on.
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It's not about all or nothing it's about doing something daily to help your health and nutrition without it feeling like a set of rules or a free for all.
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How do we find that grey area in between?
👉🏻 stop hopping on and off fad diets
👉🏻listen and trust your self, not your coworkers and cousins 
👉🏻focus on the simple things (ie drinking water instead of worrying about supplements)
👉🏻work to remove guilt and shame around food & body
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Where do you currently fall Right now?!
🤪 all
👍🏻in between 
🙅🏻‍♀️ nothing 
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Xoxo,
Sassy
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#dietitian #dietitiansofig #dietitiansofinstagram #nutrition #nutritionist #nutritiontips #thesassydietitian #rdchat #realtalk

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