A week or so ago, I was honored to have been invited, along with many other Houston Bloggers (and some Dallas favorites too) to Appetite for Inspiration, an event hosted by the Texas Beef Council to help educate about the nutritional benefits of beef!

Now, I am a Texas girl.  We eat a lot of beef.  But I usually buy the same thing time after time because I look at the long rows in the grocery store and never know what is what.  So we eat a lot of Pot Roasts and steaks that I buy that are the cheapest cuts.  So, joining the Texas Beef Council and Celebrity Chef Richard Chamberlain to learn something new about beef was very exciting for me!

My first lesson… the people at the Texas Beef Council, from Erin Johnston to Stacey Bates and so many more who were on hand are amazing!  Probably some of the nicest people I have met.  And Chef Richard Chamberlain is as amazing as are his wonderful creations!

We started out with a very informative lesson on why lean cuts of beef, the leanest coming from the shoulder and loin, are just as nutritious and beneficial for you as any other lean meat.  In  fact, there are 29 beef cuts that are leaner than skinless, dark meat chicken. Yes, I was shocked too!  In addition, a portion about the size of an iPhone (3 ounces) per meal can provide more than 10% of your daily required nutrients.  And each serving is around 180 calories!

Chef Richard Chamberlain and Me

Dietician Stacey Bates went on to give some very useful tips on how to get your family to eat healthier as well.  Great ideas from making food fun by having a ‘theme’ dinner to playing games while you eat to making sure you truly praise kids for eating the ‘good’ stuff.  Keeping a plate colorful, getting everyone involved and enjoying family meals were all discussed as well!

We were then treated to some amazing meals and cooking tips from Celebrity Chef Richard Chamberlain, owner of Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House and Chamberlain’s Fish Market Grill, both in Dallas, TX.   Watching him cook and listening to him explain the hows, whys and whats to cook was a highlight for sure.  Eating the food he created was somewhat sinful!  SOO delicious!

They then let us bloggers loose to prepare recipes with the threat promise that we would all be sharing what we made with each other for lunch.  I was on the team that prepared the Chipotle Sloppy Joes and Crunchy Cole Slaw.  Everyone’s meals turned out to be some of the best recipes I have ever eaten!  The Sweet Hawaiian Mini Burgers were probably my favorite!  Check out Chef Chamberlain’s The Healthy Beef Cookbook: Steaks, Salads, Stir-fry, and More – Over 130 Luscious Lean Beef Recipes for Every Occasion for these and more healthy beef recipes.

And if you want even more fantastically easy to make, healthy beef recipes, they are updated almost daily on the Texas Beef Council’s website!  Just click the Recipes tab!

This was a great event and I thank the Texas Beef Council, Chef Chamberlain and the other fantastic people whose hard work went into this very well organized and educational event!  A special thanks to fellow Houston Blogger, Lisa at MileHiMama.com for inviting me to participate!

Other FANTASTIC Bloggers who attended the event:

(Not in order of photo)

Amy, Mom’sToolbox.com – Brenda, MealPlanningMagic.com – Cammie, MomsMaterial.com –  Christina, RantRaveRoll.com – Heather, FrugalReality.com – Heather, Freebies4Mom.com – Holly, JuneCleaverNirvana.com – Kelly, TexasTableTop.org – Kristi, FrugallyThrifty.com – Kristin, CouponKristin.com, LeeAnn, MommysWishlist.Blogspot.com – Lisa, MileHimama.com – Missy, ItsAlmostNaptime.Blogspot.com – Paul, IHeartTheMart.com – Sarah, WaterWaterEverywhere.net – Stacey, treerootandtwig.com – Tiffany, MyLitter.com 

**I was invited to this event as a guest and received gifts as a result of my attendance.  No compensation was received for the sharing og this information.**