Healthy Diet for September 29 – Meat – Shop “Skinny”

Think you need to take meat off your menu to eat lean? Not so. Just keep portions sensible, and buy the leanest meat you can. Beef’s a great source of protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins. And 3 ounces of cooked beef round (size of a deck of cards) has 4 fat grams and 2 grams of saturated fat (comparable to 3 ounces of skinless dark and light meat chicken).

To put the leanest meat in your cart this week:

• Know clues to lean cuts: “round” and “loin” for beef, “loin” and “leg” for pork and lamb.
• Shop “select” grades. “Select” for beef (and “good” for veal and lamb) has less fat between the muscle; “prime” has the most. Except for fat, protein and other nutrient content comes out the same.
• Buy well-trimmed meat. Just Vs inch or less in the outside fat layer.
• Buy leaner ground beef. Ground round is leanest, then ground sirloin, then chuck, then regular ground beef.

• Ask the butcher. Ask for a leaner cut or a closer trim.