Healthy meat recipes

The core logic of meat selection in healthy recipes is actually very simple - give priority to categories with low saturated fat content and high quality protein density. The daily intake is controlled at 40-75g (in line with the recommended standards of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2022"). During processing, try to avoid frying, smoking and grilling that are high in oil and salt. There is no absolute "inedible" meat, only the best choices to suit different physical conditions and dietary goals.

When I was doing community nutrition consultation in the past two years, I met two consultants with completely opposite needs: one was a mother who had just given birth to a baby three months ago and needed to control the weight gain during pregnancy and ensure the quality of her milk. The other was a sophomore boy who practiced powerlifting to gain muscle mass and planned to gain 15 pounds in six months. In the recipes listed for them, the proportion and type of meat were very different. There was no "universal healthy meat list".

Many people regard skinless chicken breast as the ceiling meat during the fat loss period. I ate it over and over again when I was losing fat a few years ago. I felt nauseated when I saw the chicken breast at the end. Later I discovered that the saturated fat content of skinless duck leg is actually lower than that of skin-on chicken breast. If it is stewed until soft, it can be eaten by the elderly with bad teeth and children who don't like to chew. The price/performance ratio is two to three yuan per pound higher than that of chicken breast. Now I give it priority when preparing meals for ordinary families. Oh, by the way, many people have recently asked about the difference between Longli fish and Pangasius fish. In fact, if you don’t care about the place of origin and eat it daily, the protein content of the two is about 0.5g. Pangasius is half the price, so there is no need to waste money on the so-called “imported Longli fish”.

The controversy about red meat has indeed never stopped. Supporters of low-fat diets believe that red meat is high in saturated fat and can easily raise blood lipids if eaten in excess. It is recommended that red meat be eaten no more than twice a week.； However, the ketogenic and original diet schools prefer grass-fed red meat. They feel that the content of conjugated linoleic acid, heme iron and vitamin B12 in it is much higher than that of white meat. It is more friendly to girls who are vegetarians all year round and are prone to anemia. I have personally experienced this myself. The year before last, I ate white meat for three months in order to reduce body fat. During the physical examination, my hemoglobin dropped directly to the critical value. Later, I added lean beef and stir-fried green peppers twice a week, and ate a palm-sized amount each time. After three months, it returned to the normal range when I checked again. There is no clear conclusion in the academic circles that red meat is completely harmful. As long as you don’t eat high-fat dishes such as braised pork belly and sauced elbow every day, and eat lean beef tenderloin and pork tenderloin 2-3 times a week, it is completely fine.

Oh, by the way, there are still many people who tend to ignore animal offal and think that high cholesterol is unhealthy. In fact, normal healthy people eat about 50g of pork liver and chicken gizzards 1-2 times a week. The iron and vitamin A supplements are more effective than taking many supplements. I have several friends who are vegetarians all year round. They all rely on eating braised pork liver once a week to stabilize their hemoglobin indicators. It is much better than taking iron supplements, and they have not suffered from the side effects of constipation after taking iron supplements.

On the other hand, you really need to avoid processed meat. It is not recommended as a daily source of meat regardless of the diet. The World Health Organization has long included processed meat products such as ham, bacon, and sausages in the Class 2A list of carcinogens. I once met an old man who loved to eat sausages for breakfast. He ate sausages for more than half a year, and his blood lipids soared to more than twice the normal value. Later, he changed the sausages for breakfast to boiled eggs and a few slices of braised beef, and it dropped back in three months. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t eat it at all. Occasionally, you can eat a few skewers of grilled sausages when camping or gathering to satisfy your cravings. As long as you don’t eat them every day, you don’t have to worry about it at all.

To put it bluntly, there is really no need to have so many dogmas when it comes to eating meat. If you just love braised pork ribs, eating one or two pieces a day a week, as long as you reduce the amount of other meats that day, is much better than forcing yourself to eat boiled chicken breasts that you can’t swallow, and finally being unable to resist ordering a large portion of fried chicken late at night. After all, healthy eating is something that needs to be adhered to for decades. Eating comfortably and being able to stick to it for a long time are the core standards.