Animals as food seem to be quite the controversy these days. You've probably heard about "Meatless Monday" trying to keep people from eating meat one day a week. My purpose today isn't to address the sides of the debate, but I do want to tell you how I see things.
I believe that one of the reasons animals were placed on earth is to provide food. I don't believe that animals should be mistreated in this process. We should treat them as humanely as possible and discourage waste. I also believe that we should eat meat sparingly so we don't have a need to mass produce animals to be used as food. That being said, I like meat. I think it is delicious. I don't eat organ meat because I think it tastes and/or looks gross. You can come up with your own opinions.
Meat I would recommend adding to your diet:
Seafood - I love seafood. When people tell me they don't like seafood, the first question I always ask is what they don't like about it. If it is the smell (and 99% of the time it is), I tell them to eat out when they get fish the first time (actually, every time until they start liking it). That keeps your house from smelling like fish and gives them the chance to smell other food while they eat their fish. If they don't like the texture, have them try something other than shrimp and calamari. White fish is usually a safe place to start. It can take on just about any flavor.
Poultry - Chicken and turkey are always mentioned when talking about lean meats. Light meat over the dark meat. It is super versatile and you can use ground in place of most recipes calling for ground beef or pork.
Beef - Lean cuts of beef include eye of round, bottom round, and top round steaks or roasts; top sirloin steaks; and sirloin tip side steaks. When I buy cuts of beef that aren't as lean, I do two things: cut off excess fat and cook it long enough to melt the fat. If you like ground beef, consider grinding your own - then you get to determine which pieces are included. (Note: You will need SOME fat in your ground beef, but isn't it nice to know that you get to determine how much?)
Pork - The leanest cuts of pork are the tenderloin, boneless loin roasts and chops, boneless ham, and Canadian bacon. Surprised that pork belly/bacon wasn't included? I'm not, but I do have a trick when looking for bacon. I actually look at it. Check out the window in the front AND back to determine how much fat is on it. Pick the packages with the least amount of fat. Easy as that! Even then, there are times that I will cook the bacon and still take off the big pieces of fat.
We don't eat game meat at my house. I think it was because my dad went deer hunting once. Bambi was hung up in the garage for a couple of days. It was pretty gross. My husband just doesn't like it. He didn't have to stare at Bambi out the window into the garage or walk past it to play in the back yard. I cooked with lamb, duck, rabbit, and veal in school but I didn't love any of it. I stick to the basics - they are easy to find and cheaper in my area.
Next, vegetarians and vegans find ways to add protein to their meals. Do we even need protein? Absolutely. Why? Good question. Protein is an important part of every cell in your body. Hair and nails are mostly made up of protein. Protein is used to build and repair tissue, to make hormones and other body chemicals, and is a building block in bones, muscle, skin, and blood. Proteins are the second most abundant molecule in the body. Water is the first. Protein doesn't have a reserve like fat does in our body so we have to continually replenish it.
I don't know how much protein you should be eating. That's up to you. You get to determine how much your body needs. I don't like to eat meat with every meal, but I do like to add protein every day in other forms. These are some of my favorites:
Milk - Remember the days when we actually drank milk? I like to drink mine with cold cereal, cookies, or graham crackers.
Cheese - So many varieties and options. Add them to béchamel to make delicious sauces. Eat them with apples, turkey slices, or alone.
Yogurt (especially Greek) - I am going to call this the second most versatile of the meatless proteins. Use plain Greek Yogurt in place of Mayonnaise in chicken and potato salads or deviled eggs, eat any flavor for breakfast or for a snack, add it to smoothies, freeze it in your ice cream maker for frozen yogurt, etc. This list is only limited by your creativity.
Eggs - Hello easy breakfasts! (fried, hard boiled, soft boiled, poached, baked, frittata, you get my point) Eggs can be added to salads, sandwiches, and fried rice. They are inexpensive to add into meals a couple of times a week.
Beans - I am going to call this the most versatile of the meatless proteins. There are so many variety and they can seamlessly take the place of meat in soups, salads, chili, and stir fry (soy beans work best for this one). Plus red beans and rice still tastes good without meat. Beans can also be used to make dips, baked for a snack, and used as a substitution in baking.
Soy - I know I already mentioned soy beans, but they are worth mentioning again. I love edamame. (Funny story about edamame - my husband and mom decided that my first daughter should be named Etta Mame. Poor girl is apparently not as bright as she should be and isn't attractive at all. The happy ending was that she ended up on the side of the hill for the coyotes to raise or eat. Saddest story ever.)
Quinoa - I like that quinoa is easy. Toss it in to simmering soup for about 20 minutes. It can be used in place of rice in most recipes. (No, I will not be making red beans and quinoa. I already gave up spicy sausage, there has to be a limit!)
Protein powder - This is my least favorite. I don't like the way protein powder tastes, but if I am making a smoothie, it is an easy way to add some protein.
Nuts/Nut butter - There are so many recipes incorporating nuts into recipes. My favorite? Peanut butter cookies. They are delicious! You can even add a tablespoon in with your smoothie.
I hope these have given you some ideas to add protein to your diet without adding meat. Another benefit is that most of these things are cheaper than buying meat so by cutting it out of a couple of meals a week, you can add $$ to your shoe fund. You're welcome. I will include meatless recipes as I make them!
(End of post pat on the back for making it through day one of the new format. I'm so proud of myself!)
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