Using any branch will balloon the size of the repository. It's much better to use something like S3.
s3 is another service to manage which is annoying, but it probably is the best option.
It is a shame, I do appreciate Github needs to focus on what is important, but this change stopped it from being a one stop shop for quite a few OS projects.
You'd be amazed how even small zip files can quickly make a repo an unruly monster. Tread carefully if you take that route.