Slow Cooker Korean-Style Flank Steak Lettuce Wraps are inspired by the sweet and salty punch of Korean barbecue known as bulgogi. Using a slow cooker is pretty far from barbecue — the word bulgogi means “fire meat.”
However, this popular flavor combination uses a less expensive—and leaner—cut of beef, and since it’s served in a wrap with slaw, it brings vegetables to the plate. Plant-forward and carb-free, it creates the perfect mash-up of savory beef and vegetables, making for a fun and Good and Good for You™ supper.
Welcome to the Good and Good for You™ newsletter, a quick 5-minute read with ideas and info on ways to help improve your life – including a tasty and healthful recipe. If you are new, thanks for being here!
This issue shares:
- Best Life Living Tip: Shout Outs, not Shut Ups
- Self-Care Strategy: Going Halvsies on the Plate
- Ideas and Inspiration: Save the Roadless Rule
- Good and Good for You™ Recipe: Slow Cooker Korean-Style Flank Steak Lettuce Wraps
Read on for more — including this Slow Cooker Korean-Style Flank Steak Lettuce Wraps. This is an easy weeknight or back-to-school supper, it’s a fun food for tailgate parties, and it’s perfect for lazy weekends when you want dinner to cook itself.
Best Life Living Tip
All too often, we’re quick to complain, but what about shouting out praise and showing some love?
We’re all tired of Karens – real-life Karens that need to mind their own business. And, no ma’am, you do not need to speak to the manager. We’re also tired of the misogyny of calling someone a Karen and the slur that gives rule followers a bad name. (Says a rule follower.)
We need shout-outs, not shut-ups!
Scientific research suggests that practicing positive thoughts through praising strangers can boost your own happiness and rewire your brain to focus on the good! Giving a sincere compliment is a small act of kindness with a powerful, two-way effect. While the recipient may experience a brightened mood, the giver also benefits from a surge of feel-good brain chemicals.
When you notice something good — shout it out.
- Tell the barista thanks for making a great coffee, and to have a good day.
- After a pleasant interaction with an employee, note their store and shout it out through social media, tagging their employer. “Susan did a great job today at the East Atlanta Kinko’s!”
- Pass some guys paving the road, yes, just doing their job. How about a hey, “Thanks for the new road!”
- End a conversation with a medical office, “Thanks so much, I know y’all are always so busy. I appreciate your time.”
It’s a connection. You see them not just as a bagger or as a voice on the other end of the line. Everyone loves praise, being told they’re doing a good job, and just a little bit of light.
Shine your light and shout out praise for what you see good in the world. You’ll benefit from it, too.
Give it a try!
Self-Care Strategy
This week’s recipe, Slow Cooker Korean-Style Flank Steak Lettuce Wraps, is made of flank steak. As a self-care strategy, I plan on eating beef or pork about once a week. Trouble is, I love a bone-in ribeye, effectively a single slab of prime rib.
Flank steak is a lighter and leaner choice. The flank is located below the loin. Cuts from this area are lean, very flavorful, and best when braised, or marinated and grilled. (Here’s another great flank steak recipe that will be perfect for fall.)
A 3-ounce serving of beef—about the size of an iPhone—provides more than 10 essential nutrients, including protein, iron, zinc and vitamins B12 and B6. One serving of beef contains about half of your Daily Value for protein in around 170 calories on average (and just 150 calories for a serving of lean beef.)
This week’s self-care strategy is going halvsies — eating a meal like these Slow Cooker Korean-Style Flank Steak Lettuce Wrap that’s half beef and half veg will satisfy your beef craving and get some vegetables on the plate, too.
Ideas and Inspiration
Remember The Lorax? He speaks for the trees. It’s time to be a Lorax.
We have until 19 September to submit our opinion regarding the rollback of the Roadless Rule.
Trump’s U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to undo a landmark 2001 policy called the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
It is the largest single evisceration of public lands protection in our nation’s history.
According to the Center for Biodiversity, ” This would open nearly 45 million acres of wild, unfragmented national forests to road construction, logging, and other development — killing imperiled species, fouling precious water, and raising wildfire risk.”
Rescinding the rule would affect roadless areas in national forests across 37 states that have been protected from roads and logging for decades. It would harm a long list of federally protected species, including American wolverines, gray wolves, Canada lynx, grizzly bears, Quino checkerspot butterflies, and northern spotted owls.
Contact the USDA and let them know you speak for the trees and want to keep the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in place and are opposed to its removal.
Good and Good for You Living Spotlight
Speaking of trees – there are a few spots open for our weekend at Hambidge! You can read all about it here.
We’ll have daily hands-on cooking classes with healthful recipes and include tips for maintaining
- healthy eating habits
- mindful consumption
- recipe makeover techniques.
We’ll explore nature in a variety of walks and hikes, divided into levels of ability.
We’ll talk — real-life conversations about real life!
We’ll create! Let’s make art and DIY with Self-Care Crafts and Gifts: Salves, Sugars, and Skin Care.
Make it Count
Thanks so much for reading. Hope you like the Slow Cooker Korean-Style Flank Steak Lettuce Wraps. So good! It’s meals like this that have enabled me to lose 65# and keep it off for over 4 years. I am happier and healthier than in my entire adult life! You can do it, too.
Please follow on IG @virginiawillis for more best life tips, self-care techniques, inspiration, and healthy recipes. And, if you need even more Good and Good for You recipes you can check me out in the AJC.
As long as you’re doing what’s Good and Good for You™ more often than not, you’re on the right track.
You can do it! 🙌🏻
Bon Appétit Y’all!
Virginia Willis
Slow Cooker Korean-Style Flank Steak Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1- inch fresh ginger very finely grated
- 2 pounds flank steak
- 1 16- ounce bag cole slaw mix preferably angel hair or shaved
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon Korean red pepper flakes or to taste
- 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 16 Romaine lettuce leaves stem ends trimmed, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in the insert of a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the beef and turn to coat.
- Cover and cook on low, turning occasionally, until the beef is tender and falling apart, at least 4 hours. Using two forks, pull the meat into shreds.
- When ready to serve, combine the cole slaw mix, scallions, onion, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Add the seasoned rice vinegar and toss to coat.
- To assemble the wraps, spoon ¼ cup of the beef into a lettuce leaf. Top with some of the cabbage salad. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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I have enjoyed your weekly newsletters with its drips and drops of mindful advice and healthier living information. As a retired public school and community college educator, I live by the creed, Don’t hold on to what should be shared.
Thank you! I’m grateful for your kind words. I write this for me to learn, too. Glad you enjoy it. Little things can add up. ❤️