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To eat healthy, you want to buy the leanest cuts of meat. Lean meat options deliver flavor without containing a lot of marbled fat. You’ll also be getting more bang for your buck, since lean meats contain more protein per pound than fattier meats. Look for these meats in the grocery store:
- Poultry — Skinless chicken breast or ground turkey or chicken are the leanest options. Skinless dark meat (thigh) is the second-best option
- Pork — Tenderloin is the leanest and healthiest option. Your second-best option is loin.
- Beef — Tenderloin (filet mignon) and 93% lean ground beef are the leanest options. Sirloin is a second-best option.
While these meat options are recommended for maintaining a healthy diet, that doesn’t mean you can never eat other cuts of meat. If you plan to use a fattier meat on occasion, just try to plan the rest of your meal accordingly. Pair a small serving of the meat with a larger portion of vegetables, a flavorful wholegrain carbohydrate, a sprinkling of sharp cheese, or other filling and satisfying ingredients.
When it comes to cooking lean meats, keep in mind that they cook more quickly than fattier cuts of meat. While it’s important to cook meat to a safe internal temperature, your meat will taste best if it’s not overcooked.
Lean meats tend to dry out and get tough when they’re cooked for too long or at too high of heat, tempting you to add extra calories with more oils and sauces. One way to prevent overcooking is to heat meat to about 5 degrees below the required minimum internal temperature. Then turn off the heat and let the meat rest for a few minutes before cutting or serving it. Its internal temperature will keep rising as the carryover heat within the meat continues to cook it. Before serving, check the meat again to ensure it has reached a safe temperature after resting. If not, reapply heat to finish cooking it.
Find others discussing ways to live well in the Healthy Living group.
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Am interested in eating healthier, but not willing to spend money, again, on plans I do not follow for various reasons.
Right now I’m looking for a Mediterranean cookbook. I do like that kind of food, but I would like suggestions for easy, simple meals without too many unusual ingredients.
Any suggestions?
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1 ReactionHi @margotcc My husband and I have been pretty much following the Mediterranean diet for 30+ years and it’s been a positive contributing factor to our overall good health. Not sure what you mean by unusual ingredients. We eat fairly basic foods, though we do add a lot of fresh herbs to our dishes. We eat very little red meat, tending towards chicken and white fish. But when we do eat red meat it’s a lean tenderloin steak or 96% lean ground beef. The focus is more on fresh veggies and whole grains, making the meat more of the side dish instead of the main entree. We have salmon at least once a week, lots of stir fries, grilled fish/meats, salads.
We’ve modified favorite recipes by swapping out unhealthy oils for EVOO or Avocado oils or substituting milk for cream. We use low fat or fat free cheeses, etc., and have refined our techniques over the years so that guests don’t even realize they’re eating low-fat, healthy foods…the food tastes yummy with no guilt! For the most part there no junk food/limited carbs, no prepackaged foods and very little added sugar to the diet. It’s not complicated but it takes time to check labels for saturated fats or trans fats. Once you get used to this way of eating it becomes second nature.
There are quite a few members in the forum interested in this healthy diet plan as well and we have some great discussions going. Here’s just one of many conversations that you might be interested in reading through and joining.
The Mediterranean Diet Anyone?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/the-mediterranean-diet-anyone/
More can be found by typing in Mediterranean Diet in the search bar on top! Lots of discussions pop up.
Also, if you don’t want to limit yourself to just one cookbook, there’s a plethora of recipes to be found online. Here is a good source for a few recipes that are easy and tasty. https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/7577443/mediterranean-diet-recipes-for-beginners/
I hope this gives you a few ideas. What do you think, will you give it a try?
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1 ReactionI definitely appreciate your suggestions. Will check those groups out.
Already have slowly changed my diet habits and am thankfully pretty healthy. Did the online recipe searches, and looked for books at B&N, but there are so many!
For unusual ingredients I mean onetime buys I never use again. Am frugal that way, cheap LOL.
Thanks again.
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1 ReactionI’m frugal and cheap too! 😅 Nothing wrong with that. But I admit, I’ve been suckered into trends sometimes and stumble across packages of food tucked way back in the kitchen cabinet that ‘sounded so healthy’ and for sure we needed to be eating…only to find it was a waste of time and money…and an offense to my taste buds! LOL
I think you’ll find the Mediterranean diet is pretty mainstream and not expensive. Just good, wholesome and tasty foods. Good luck!
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