Reader questions
March 10th 2008 17:35
After eating tea tonight, I have a question. Which red meats are low fat? What cuts of beef/lamb wouldn't be as fatty? I am also having trouble thinking of ways to cook meat. Any advice you would have would be helpful! By the way, how much meat is the maximum serving you should be eating?
I had a look around and I found that venison contains 7g fat/100g, lamb has 23g fat/100g, and beef is 5-30g fat/100g. When looking for low fat cuts of meat go for the ones with the least visible fat, or cut it off. To reduce the fat content of your meals, you could try grilling, baking and frying with nonstick cookware, and stewing meat and then skimming excess fat off the surface of the stew. You could also try the following yummy recipe.
Caroline's Beef Goulash
Ingredients
• 500g beef stew/casserole steak (with visible fat removed)
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can thick tomato soup
• 1 tsp of paprika
• vegetables, e.g.: carrot, capsicum
• (optional) 6-10 washed potatoes
Instructions
1. Cook steak in a large pan with the oil.
2. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, capsicum etc.
3. Add the soup, tomatoes, paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Simmer for 30-60 minutes (the longer you leave it simmering, the more tender it will become!).
5. Serve with optional boiled potatoes.
To answer your last question I had a look at the Ministry of Health (http://www.moh.govt.nz) guidelines, and it said that you need at least 1 serve of meat (or meat alternative) per day and there is no upper limit (however, I have heard that you shouldn’t eat more than 3 serves of meat per week). A serve can be 120g steak, 2 drumsticks (110g), 1 medium cooked fish fillet (100g), or 3/4 cup mince (195g). I also recommend that you eat 6 serves or breads and cereals, 2 serves of dairy products or dairy alternatives, lots of fruit and veg.
I have another question. Which cooking oil is the best to use? Which is better, canola or olive?
Canola, olive, sunflower, and soybean all have their good points, so I don’t think there one which is the better than the rest. Canola oil is low in sodium (too much sodium isn’t good for cardiovascular health) and it is a good source of vitamin K (which is used to make blood clotting and bone proteins). It is also very high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are good for your cardiovascular system. However, it does contain trans fatty acids (1.8g/100g of oil), which can increase total and LDL “bad” cholesterol and decrease HDL “good” cholesterol.
Olive oil has no trans fatty acids and is low in sodium. It is high in monounsaturated fatty acids (73.0g/100g of oil) and it contains 10.5g polyunsaturated fatty acids per 100g.
Sunflower oil is low in sodium and is a good source of vitamin E. It also contains trans fatty acids (0.2g/100g of oil) and it is high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.
Soybean oil is also low in sodium and a good source of vitamin K. It has no trans fatty acids, and it is high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
In conclusion, olive, soybean, sunflower, and canola oils are all very healthy in their own ways.
I had a look around and I found that venison contains 7g fat/100g, lamb has 23g fat/100g, and beef is 5-30g fat/100g. When looking for low fat cuts of meat go for the ones with the least visible fat, or cut it off. To reduce the fat content of your meals, you could try grilling, baking and frying with nonstick cookware, and stewing meat and then skimming excess fat off the surface of the stew. You could also try the following yummy recipe.
Caroline's Beef Goulash
Ingredients
• 500g beef stew/casserole steak (with visible fat removed)
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can thick tomato soup
• 1 tsp of paprika
• vegetables, e.g.: carrot, capsicum
• (optional) 6-10 washed potatoes
Instructions
1. Cook steak in a large pan with the oil.
2. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, capsicum etc.
3. Add the soup, tomatoes, paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Simmer for 30-60 minutes (the longer you leave it simmering, the more tender it will become!).
5. Serve with optional boiled potatoes.
To answer your last question I had a look at the Ministry of Health (http://www.moh.govt.nz) guidelines, and it said that you need at least 1 serve of meat (or meat alternative) per day and there is no upper limit (however, I have heard that you shouldn’t eat more than 3 serves of meat per week). A serve can be 120g steak, 2 drumsticks (110g), 1 medium cooked fish fillet (100g), or 3/4 cup mince (195g). I also recommend that you eat 6 serves or breads and cereals, 2 serves of dairy products or dairy alternatives, lots of fruit and veg.
Canola, olive, sunflower, and soybean all have their good points, so I don’t think there one which is the better than the rest. Canola oil is low in sodium (too much sodium isn’t good for cardiovascular health) and it is a good source of vitamin K (which is used to make blood clotting and bone proteins). It is also very high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are good for your cardiovascular system. However, it does contain trans fatty acids (1.8g/100g of oil), which can increase total and LDL “bad” cholesterol and decrease HDL “good” cholesterol.
Olive oil has no trans fatty acids and is low in sodium. It is high in monounsaturated fatty acids (73.0g/100g of oil) and it contains 10.5g polyunsaturated fatty acids per 100g.
Sunflower oil is low in sodium and is a good source of vitamin E. It also contains trans fatty acids (0.2g/100g of oil) and it is high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.
Soybean oil is also low in sodium and a good source of vitamin K. It has no trans fatty acids, and it is high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
In conclusion, olive, soybean, sunflower, and canola oils are all very healthy in their own ways.
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