OT-Goodybye Red Meat You Were Adored.
Let me begin by sharing that I LOVE RED MEAT! From hamburger to rib eye if it is cooked over an open flame I salivate like Pavlov’s dog just looking at my Weber grill. About 6 months ago my wife starts reading articles about organic vs. non-organic food. So we make a trip to Whole Foods and quickly learn that an organic diet will require Whole paycheck.
I watched the movie Food Inc as well as The Beautiful Truth and after some further research I have made the decision to give up red meat. Yesterday was my last red meat meal and I had my favorite dish from my favorite Kansas City BBQ the crown prime (huge beef ribs cooked over an 18 hour slow cook process) at Jack Stacks.
I ate the entire side of beef ribs, cheesy corn, baked beans and coleslaw and I am actually home sick today because of how I gorged myself. I am not a fan of chicken (A tour of a Tyson production plant did me in some time ago with bird) so the only use my Weber will have now is for Veggie Burgers and grilled fish *sigh* :- (
Along with the red meat I am also ditching any form of high fructose corn syrup and most anything with triglycerides. My motto in regards to food was once life is too short I want to enjoy. Now 45 my motto remains life is too short having watched my Father die of diabetes.
Have any of you made such changes in your diet and noticed an improved quality of life? Any vegetarians or vegans care to weigh in? Anyone recommend a quality veggie burger?
but http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/index.html has some excellent organic sweetners, like raw organic blue agave nectar. Great for lemonade, marinades, and just about anything you would add sugar too. You can find it at most stores.
Because people are already living, on average, over 80 years. Obviously not everything we are eating is causing us to die earlier. My worst nightmare involves being 90 with two gimpy legs and not much better arms, living in a nursing home, and have a healthy body otherwise that will last me until 105... wishing I had eaten a few more things like those beef ribs, prime ribs, steaks, and pecan pie a la modes!
Should I also mention I am a registered dietitian?
You can make healthier lifestyle choices like better foods, but I don't recommend it at the expense of enjoying food. Take the daily walk, do more pushups, get off your butt and do more active things. But completely eliminating foods you love is definitely not the way to do it.
right before Memorial Day. That is like giving up pie the Tuesday before Thanksgiving or slutty nerses on October 29th.
I hope you have strong will power.
I'm Ron Burgundy?
But in terms of your Weber, don't give it up completely. Vegetables do very well on the grill, and with the right sauces/marinates/rubs can be a great meal anyway. Pick your favorite Kabob and substitute more veggies for the meat, boom, meal.
Also, random aside, but an AWESOME grill cook book is here: http://www.amazon.com/Webers-Book-Grilling-Jamie-Purviance/dp/0811831973/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274975889&sr=8-1
Weber's Big Book of Grilling, it has awesome recipes for everything, appetizers, chicken, fish, meat, game, salads, deserts, Best Father's Day Present I ever bought my dad
Some fruit dishes can also be tasty, like grilled peaches. The heat carmelizes the sugar, making them so flavorful.
Quick idea for summertime grillin':
Make a caramel rum sauce, (either on the stove or a gas grill side burner) by melting 2T butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stirring in 1T corn starch, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 cup of milk. Continue stirring until milk begins to boil and mixture is thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and add 3T dark rum.
Grill some sliced pineapple over a medium fire until the grill marks are a dark golden brown. Place each slice into a bowl and top with a scoop of coconut ice cream (or sorbet) and a ladle of the rum sauce.
Tastes like a pina colada.
My existence would end without McDonald's double cheeseburgers. Good luck, dude.
A real burger is much, much better than a fast food burger. Unless it's Blimpie. Or, to a lesser extent, a Halo Burger.
There's a small chain in Oklahoma called Brahm's. It has the best - by far - "fast food-ish" burgers I have ever tasted. Even better than Halo Burger, IMHO. And that's saying something. On top of that, their ice cream, (they have a dairy plant) and related treats like shakes, are absolutely ridiculous. It is my "go-to" place when I get to OKC.
Tasty, tasty murder.
Heifer whines could be human cries
Closer comes the screaming knife
This beautiful creature must die
This beautiful creature must die
A death for no reason
And death for no reason is MURDERAnd the flesh you so fancifully fry
Is not succulent, tasty or kind
It's death for no reason
And death for no reason is MURDERAnd the calf that you carve with a smile
It is MURDER
And the turkey you festively slice
It is MURDER
Do you know how animals die?Kitchen aromas aren't very homely
It's not "comforting", cheery or kind
It's sizzling blood and the unholy stench
Of MURDERIt's not "natural", "normal" or kind
The flesh you so fancifully fry
The meat in your mouth
As you savour the flavour
Of MURDERNO, NO, NO, IT'S MURDER
NO, NO, NO, IT'S MURDER
Oh ... and who cares about an animals life?
So Morrissey is a little over the top (imagine that). It's still a great song, especially with the creepy slaughterhouse saw overlay.
People for Eating Tasty Animals
In order to eat a vegetable, you have to kill a vegetable.
What are all of the herbivore animals going to do when we eat all the veggies? Die, that's what.
Ostrich Burgers!
But I eat veggie burgers quite a bit. I recommend Morningstar Farms Grillers Original or Grillers Prime. In my opinion, they're the best and closest thing to "real" burgers that you can buy at the supermarket.
Boca's grillers are terrible, by the way. Their vegan option is slightly better, but both are far inferior to Morningstar Farms, or even a standard Gardenburger or Bocaburger (neither of which taste remotely like meat).
As a related aside, I haven't seen Food, Inc. so perhaps this has been addressed in the film, but have you considered simply buying local grass-fed free-range beef instead of giving it up entirely?
buying local grass-fed free-range beef and produce is really what Food Inc is about. Although much healthier even free range red meat is tough on the body and even more so to me personally. I once gave up red meat for a year on a bet in college so I know I have the will power however I also know that I will miss the taste of murder on my lips. As for me personally I will need to give up red meat entirely otherwise I will never be able to control the intake.
Morning Star Farms-Appreciate that!
I would highly recommend it. The poultry industry appears to be just as bad as the corn fed beef industry. We have started to switch over to organic milk, dairly and fresh eggs. We went and visited an organic farm / co-op, as well. But holy "that's not a low price" batman. You are paying 2 to 3 times more for grass / free range beef then what you get on sale in the stores....
when you crack open a "fresh egg" and find a bloody, half developed chick that writhes for a moment before it dies.
not the link-type, but the patties
Even their chik'n offerings (sandwich patties, nuggets, etc.) are delicious.
What is chik'n?
I have given up fast food and sweets (cupcakes, brownies, cake, candy, ice cream, etc.) for the past two months. I've lost about 12 lbs. in that time.
I'm trying to think of something to give up for next month. I don't have that many vices, so it's a tough choice. I might cut out red meat, although I don't eat much of it, anyway...
Anyway, good luck with giving it up completely. That would be tough for me to quit permanently. I still like a good steak or burger every couple weeks...
Well, you could give up alcohol, if you drink.
Not that I'm going to myself.
I've never had a sip of alcohol in my life, but it is a good thing to give up for people wanting to improve their health.
on the mushroom tea?
gouge your eye and then rip your still beating heart out of your...
Whoah. Where did all that rage come from?
Have a few beers and a shot of whiskey with that tea, it will chill you out.
Feel great and am in super great shape. (for the undead, anyway)
You'd be surprised at how fast you shed excess weight when you stop drinking, especially if you like hearty beers, like guinness.
Guinness is comparable in calories to Bud Light.
The more you know...
actually has less alcohol than most beers also.
I laugh when people act like 'ooooh, dark beer' and tell them that, at least these days, i am a big lightweight
Yeah, but it isn't comparable to MGD 64.
Oh wait, I forgot we were talking about beer. Nevermind
If you're serious about improving your diet & health, you should read Dr. Joel Furhman's book Eat To Live. He believes in living a Nutritarian lifestyle. In a nutshell, a nutritarian is someone whose food choices are influenced by excellent nutritional quality. He/she chooses foods that are high in a wide spectrum of micronutrients per calorie. I’ve heard Dr. Fuhrman call it, “Getting more bang for the buck.”
I've lost 40+ pounds and improved all of my numbers (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc...) since starting the diet last February. It's hard to get started but definitely worth it...IMO.
Edit: In addition to the diet I joined Lifetime Fitness & have been working out 4-5 times a week. I didn't want anyone to think I lost 40 pounds on the diet alone.
Nutrition makes so much sense.
I will tell you that I started the Atkins Diet on Labor Day of last year and have allowed myself the occassional slice of pizza and bread every once and a while and I feel great! I won't be giving up Red Meat anytime soon, but I do eat a lot of Chicken and veggies. Seems to me any time I decrease my food intake, I feel better though - regardless of diet...
If you knew the half of the fishing industry, you'd give up fish on your Weber, too. "Wild caught" or "farm-raised", both have serious drawbacks, (though for mostly different reasons).
You are the Magnus of food.
I had some idea about farm raised Salmon and avoid whatever the hell a Tilapia is but I now have to learn about "wild caught".
Ignorance was bliss.
But, I just provided the fishing comment since you were repulsed by your trip through a chicken processing plant. Truthfully, most food processing is pretty icky, particularly meats, (red meat, poultry, fish, doesn't really matter).
I don't care, though. I figure, I've gotta eat, and I'm not a Ted Nugent-like guy who's prepared to kill and process his own food.
ever since that diry jobs episode where you find out that tilapia live off fish poop i dont eat them anymore
Just had some halibut (caught by me) on the grill last weekend....
Don't eat farmed fish.
that it's important to ensure that the shrimp you're eating is not from anywhere in southeast Asia, because they live in squalor similar to that of Tilapia. Regarding wild-caught fish, are you referring to mercury content as the drawback?
It's because i have quite a few fisherman friends (not to mention the state I currently reside in) whose financial well being is very much related to you purchasing fish products that are wild caught.
But those tend to be more related to lake fish than ocean fish. A bigger issue is the over-fishing of some species of ocean fish. Orange roughy, sea bass, bluefin tuna and others are being fished to the point that there are serious stresses on the stocks. Long term, this is not good for anyone, particularly fishermen, who rely on them for their incomes.
A friend of mine, and member of this board, gave up red meat for the year just to see if he could do it. At first you could tell it was killing him. I think it still does to some extent, but he seems to be handling it a lot better now.
I will tell you, from seeing it firsthand, that this will not be easy for you at first. Your friends and family will forget about it and take you to places that only serve red meat. You are probably going to have to give up some things that you might not anticipate right now like pizza (or anything resembling a pizza that is desirable to eat anyway) or any flavored beverage.
For your sake, because I like seeing people test themselves, I hope you are able to do this. I'd be interested in getting some periodic C-Rex style updates as well. Good luck!
Let me say that over 2 months I also have lost 12 pounds. I won't say that I have given up red meat entirely as I'll eat a small steak or a burger about once a week or every 2 weks but I do not eat it every meal like I used too. I now eat a lot of chicken and fish. I love salad as well so that has helped. My biggest issue is that I have a physical aversion to most veggies, I've tried to eat them but they make my stomach naseous. There are a few I can eat such as corn, carrots, spinach and any salad leafs so not all is lost.
The biggest problem I used to have is doing this solo but now my wife has also joined in after a breast cancer scare. She now is buying more organic food items and trying to eat healthy as well. Let me add that you have made a great choice and in time you will feel better.