[olivia627]

Anyone else not eating red meat? I just realized that I haven't eaten ANY red meat since starting this! And I don't miss it. I realized it today at the market when I walked to the meat section, something I've always automatically done, and realized that I wasn't buying any red meat. Usually I go by that section and always come home with SOME type of red meat. And I love steak! But I don't want it right now. I don't think I could fit it in even if I wanted to!

Wierd!

[Glory87]

I don't, but it's a combination of health reasons and my unhappiness with the meat industry. I don't want to get all political though! Plus, I'm being a hypocrite and eating chicken/turkey these days. Don't know why I consider pigs/cows more special than a chicken!

[trishn222]

I have not had much red meat since starting either. Just don't have room.

[sugarlove]

Count me in, too - we've never really eaten much red meat, though.

I'm in agreement with Glory about the meat industry - it's the reason we only purchase organic poultry and occasionally beef from local farms. The side effect of that is that the meat is more expensive, so we have to eat less of it anyways!

[phantastica]

I still eat red meat (hamburgers, steaks, and roasts in the cooler weather) about once a week. It's DS's favorite, so I try to incorporate it for him once in a while.

[Suzanne 3FC]

I haven't eaten red meat in ages. I don't miss it. I used to enjoy cookouts with the family, when we grilled tenderloin steaks. They really were good. But I love grilling veggies at cookouts now, and they are better!

[blondie728]

i love meat, used to eat it all the time, but now i struggle with getting enough protein! i've been eating all that good stuff and super foods hehe I went shopping with my mom and wouldnt let her buy processed food and made her buy strawberries and broccoli. but any ideas of protein? it either has fat or too much sodium. i try to stay 40 30 30, but i struggle with the protein.

[olivia627]

blondie728,

I struggle with protein as well! Most of my calories seem to be coming from carbs. I would like more to come from good lean protein, but I can't figure it out. Maybe I should eat eggs for breakfast. That'll boost the protein percentage. For lunch and dinner, I try to eat turkey, chicken or fish. I'm just too full off of the other foods to fit in more protein!

[Glory87]

Originally Posted by blondie728

but any ideas of protein? it either has fat or too much sodium. i try to stay 40 30 30, but i struggle with the protein.

Good sources of protein:

lean cut of meat - chicken breast, turkey breast
fish - including crabs and scallops and tunafish
beans - lentils, kidney beans, black beans, chicpeas, sugar snap peas
low fat dairy - cottage cheese, yogurt, string cheese
soy - edamame, tofu, tempeh
eggs - particularly eggwhites or egg beaters
nuts/nut butters (although also high in fat/calories, so plan accordingly for your daily total)

I usually plan my meals several days in advance in Fitday, that way I can tweak the percentages a bit to ensure I get at least 100 grams of protein a day.

High protein meal ideas:

Breakfast
egg beaters, spinach, salsa wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla
Whole grain toast, natural peanut butter, small glass skim milk

Lunch ideas
spinach salad with grilled chicken breast, tomatoes, peppers, onions, edamame, low fat dressing on side
Salmon salad made with canned salmon, low fat mayo, pickles onions in a whole wheat pita with tomato/lettuce
Lentil soup or vegetarian chili with half a turkey sandwich wrap

Snack ideas
low fat cottage cheese mixed with strawberries
string cheese, 15 almonds
cut up veggies (carrots, sugar snap peas) dipped into home made hummus


Dinner ideas
Grilled salmon, steamed vegetables, baked sweet potato
Eggwhite omelette with shrimp, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, a little low fat feta
Tofu stir fry with broccoli, peppers, mushrooms

[WaterRat]

We've never eaten large quantities of red meat, though I like a good steak once in a great while. I've pretty much given up hamburger after all the problems they've had with it being contaminated. I use TVP or some other soy product in spaghetti sauce or chili. When I do buy a steak, we each only eat about 4 oz rather than the 6-8 most Americans consider a "normal" portion. I much prefer chicken/turkey or fish/seafood. I've had shrimp in my lunch salad for the past two days.

I do pretty well with protein I think (haven't done Fitday in about 10 days - bad me). I eat cottage cheese most days, as well as a hard-boiled egg. I tend to eat a lot of bean on my salads too, and of course we usually have fish or chicken (DH calls it yard bird) for dinner.

[Jayde]

We don't eat large quantities of red meat. Probably this past week was the most in a long time as we were given some pork and had company. We eat very very little beef. I don't believe it is healthy, and our dog is allergic to it . Probably the most beef we get is in a soup stock.

When I was a kid this was not the case. Meat was seen as some necessity that you centered the whole meal around. It was usually beef or chicken.. the beef was stretched to feed everyone... casseroles etc but was seen as some delight when it could be eaten in large quantities. The question "what are we having for dinner" was always answered with the meat. The starch was almost always potatoes or pasta and then there was a small side of a frozen vegetable.

Sometime after getting married I couldn't eat red meat at all. It was related to dream I had. For about 5 months I didn't have it and only bought it when my husband insisted. But then I struggled to cook it. I think I would still not be eating it or buying it if it weren't for the fact that others around me wanted it. My husband, mother-in-law, and of course friends and other family. If I had continued not to eat it I imagine I would probably have given up poultry too.

But fish and other seafood... I couldn't imagine not eating that.

[DollyR]

When it is summer I am a fish-a-holic. The fish is wonderful here. So I tend to eat a lot more of it. In Korea in the past three years I have eaten a lot of red meat. This year I am not certain I will be doing that as I have purchased a new grill pan for chicken and I plan on "cleaning" the house and trying to make a lot of things that super foods friendly for dinner.

[catrinaH]

we stopped eating red meat when i decided i wanted to lose weight. Even the leanest cuts of beef are alot more fattening then a piece of chicken without the skin.
Also what i did to up my protein was eat more fish at lunch time. Like tuna or sardines if you want something fast and easy.

[alinnell]

I still eat red meat, but I'm amazed at how little I do now. It used to be 2 to 4 times per week, and now it's more like once every other week.

What is really amazing is how much I am craving fish! I've never been a big fish eater, but a few months ago, I visited a restaurant and ordered sand dabs. I'd always seen them on menus, but never tried them. They were fabulous! I even found some at the store and fixed it at home and my DS loved them (DD is still not a fish lover, but on nights when I make fish, she gets fish sticks!).

[nelie]

I'm amazed in general how little meat I eat now. I used to eat red meat pretty frequently as well as other meats. I'm now down to infrequent meat eating with lots of veggie proteins.

One thing I thought was interesting from the SuperFoods RX chapter on Soy is how little protein meat really has. I mean it has protein but it isn't packed like soy packs protein. Also the fat in meat is generally bad while the fat in soy is good fat. The exception of course is fish and I'm not to the Turkey chapter yet so I'm not sure what he has to say about that.