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Hey guys,
First of all, a quick introduction is needed. I am a long-time lurker on TL, and I decided to make an account a while ago. I never really found a reason to post much until now. I followed BW since 2008 or so, and now I am a fan of both SC2 and BW.
Anyways, I am a long-time vegetarian (20 years, i.e. my entire life), and I have recently made the decision to start eating meat. I am doing so because I am somewhat tired of taking vitamin supplements and because I just want to eat more protein in an efficient manner (for gaining muscle mass). I am not going to start eating 5 servings of meat every day or something; I am just gonna start mixing a little meat into my normal diet (which is low on protein and iron at the moment).
Can you guys give me some advice about this transition? Here are a few questions (answer them as you please)...
1. What type of meat is the healthiest to eat? (I'm thinking chicken, turkey, and fish to start)
2. What type of cuts should I eat? (e.g. ground meat, breast, etc.)
3. What meat/brands should I avoid?
tl;dr I was a vegetarian, but now I am going to start eating meat for health reasons. What is your advice?
Thanks a bunch,
Omnikaush
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Go eat a medium rare steak, it will the most satisfying experience of your 20 years of life. You can do all that other stuff you were talking about too, but eat a steak first.
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took you 20 years ey...
imagine playing SC 20 years after everyone else has been playing.
you've been missing a LOT!
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Try all sorts of meats IMO. You gain different things from each. Chicken and fish are probably the healthiest and least fatty; while beef is a good source of iron and protein.
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Make yourself a nice burger or steak. Yea turkey or chicken and fish can be nice, but definitely go with the red meat.
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I heard a lot of people are throwing up, whenever eating meat, after being vegetarian for quite some time.
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Well since you were a vegetarian for 20 years i would suggest eating at first dishes with a bit of meat. think off spagetti bolognese that alike. Furthermore chicken would be a good thing to start with but it hasn't got alot of taste. Be always sure to kook the chicken till there's absolutely no pink in it or you could be of risk to salmonella. Filets may be your first choice but there's a great chance it will taste dry. I'm more of a beef person myself . Fish can be very healthy if you don't overdo it. 1 time in 2 weeks should be enough to get your omega's and stuff
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On March 23 2011 06:06 Gatsbi wrote:
Go eat a medium rare steak, it will the most satisfying experience of your 20 years of life. You can do all that other stuff you were talking about too, but eat a steak first.
20 years of not metabolizing animal protein would destroy him
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Chicken breast and fish (particularly talapia and salmon fillets) are good starts and pretty healthy.
Chicken breast is the most bland of the meats so it shouldn't overwhelm you with flavour, be sure to season it.
The only ground meat that's any good is extra lean ground beef, it tastes pretty much the same but has way less fat, on par with chicken breast.
When you work yourself up to steak (T-bone/Porterhouse, Strip Loin, Rib Eye, Tenderloin are all good, Sirloin is a bit tougher but cheaper), you're in for a treat. They're a bit tricky to cook properly though, ideally you don't want as high a temperature, but to cook longer, since steaks are quite thick and the outsides will burn before the middle is cooked if you use too high a heat. You can trim the thicker fat and gristle on these either before or after cooking, I think it's easier to trim after cooking personally.
You can always cut the chicken breast or steak into thin slices (kinda hard, easier to do semi-frozen) and stir fry them, tossing them into a salad. Thaw frozen meat in the fridge over ~24 hours, don't leave it on the counter or in the sink.
Wash your hands, counters, cutting boards, knives very well because meat is more likely to carry pathogenic bacteria than vegetables.
There aren't really brands to avoid. Just try to buy meat on sale, it's expensive. Often value packs are cheaper than smaller portions, and you have to freeze some. Freeze the raw meat in ziplock freezer bags, don't freeze cooked meat. It's easiest to buy meat at the major grocery chains, they tend to be very sanitary.
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I don't know what you mean by "healthiest", but fish is a good place to start, then poultry, then the red meat, then the holyness that is sushi, but don't eat it more than twice a week. Also you NEED to try beef jerky, our caveman ancestors created it and it is one of the tastiest accidents next to peanut butter + chocolate.
After eating good meat you will never stop... ever.
Also, for the do not eat part, do NOT eat chain fast food meat unless it is chicken. Recently they found out the grade in the ground beef at taco bell was lower quality than dog food ( although there is some really nice dog food out there lol..) and some woman kept a mcdonalds cheeseburger for like 20 years or something with no mold or deterioration...
Also meat is ok raw too, just not rotten, and all freshwater fish/shrimp are edible raw.
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Try a Medium rare steak like the first poster said because steak is really great and you should try it, but for health chicken, fish, and turkey are the least fattest, but you should try a few kinds and see what you like, dont eat too rare of ground beef, and dont eat too cooked non ground meat.
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On March 23 2011 06:11 RolleMcKnolle wrote:
I heard a lot of people are throwing up, whenever eating meat, after being vegetarian for quite some time.
quite plausibe given the fact that his stomach hasnt had to"stomach" (hehe) any meat for the last 20 yrs. as such you should take it very slowly. i eat mostly chicken and turkey, with the odd slice of beef intertwined on account of poultry being lean meat with very little fat and thus a lot healthier at least in fat terms. i find pork to be pretty dull and boring and usually contains too much fat for my liking. i eat a lot of tofu as well, which you could incorporate into your diet as well if you want to have a smooth transition into meateating by eating something that comes close to meat in appearance and form (if you prepare it appropriately).
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On March 23 2011 06:11 RolleMcKnolle wrote:
I heard a lot of people are throwing up, whenever eating meat, after being vegetarian for quite some time.
I can't speak to personal experience, but my sister is a long term vegetarian and she can instantly tell whenever something has any bit of meat in it and she's no longer able to really chew or process it without feeling sick.
So yeah I'd start slow. Maybe start by eating stuff made using chicken/beef stock if you don't already.
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United States42885 Posts
I avoided meat for five years and then broke it with chicken, followed twenty minutes later by stomach pains and an extended trip to the toilet so you've got that to look forwards to. Don't open with steak, work your way up to it, otherwise you'll waste that first steak experience.
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On March 23 2011 06:18 KwarK wrote:
I avoided meat for five years and then broke it with chicken, followed twenty minutes later by stomach pains and an extended trip to the toilet so you've got that to look forwards to. Don't open with steak, work your way up to it.
yupyup. fish and seafood first. then work up to small portions of chicken up to full portions of chicken. red meats should absolutely be last on the list. they will wreck you if you just dive in
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Meat can be particularly rough on your system if you aren't accustomed to it. That in mind, take it VERY SLOW.
1. Any lean meat can be considered healthy. For a newcomer, I'd stick with something a bit on the lighter side (turkey, chicken, fish, etc). You can work your way up gradually to the more delicious stuff like beef, lamb, and the ultimate, pork.
2. Depends on the cuisine and dish you'll be preparing it with. Why not start of with some sort of pasta and throw in shredded or diced meat? If you're making a sandwich, you may want deli slices or whole breasts of chicken. It's really up to you.
3. Obviously don't immediately jump into the suggestions other TL'ers above listed. I guarantee you will awful if you go straight to a steak, hamburger, bacon, pork belly, etc. Moderation is key.
GL.
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turkey and chicken is definitely healthy and low on fat, red meat is not healthy at all.
fish is also good but can be high on fat depending on what species you buy.
Personally the best meat I have ever eaten was roast saddle of venison at a bio restaurant, also very low on fat and delicious when served medium rare.
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if you're eating the right portions it won't matter what kind your eating to a degree, I assume you're also working out or something if you're trying to gain muscle mass.
Also; for "brands" let me just recommend organic / local / free range
Also to posters: everyone who is recommending Steak / beef jerky / burgers please see Binky1842 and RolleMcKnolle's posts, you can't just eat whatever meat you want after being a vegetarian for so long.
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I guess you won't know till you try, but I don't think going straight for a big steak is the best idea, your body isn't used to digesting meat and that may make you feel unwell. While extremely delicious, I'm not so sure that you would immediately have the same appreciation for it if you have never had meat.
I would suggest having some nice tender chicken breast first. Be sure to cook chicken until the juice runs clear (no pink) because uncooked chicken can give you salmonella poisoning. Definitely try a nice cut of beef sirloin steak, medium rare is really good. Pork is also worth trying too, lots of different flavors in the different cuts and treatments.
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yeah, your body will take a long time to adjust to eating any sort of meat
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EPT
