Meat - on a diet on a budget

As for meat and derivatives, the choice is not difficult. Among the fresh, lean and low cholesterol products, the famous avian meat of chicken and turkey stand out. The low-calorie cuts are essentially made up of the breast / rump without skin (while the rest of the animal has a higher lipid percentage); however, it is possible to follow some small rules that could reduce the procurement costs of these foods.

First of all, you need to buy the WHOLE food, ie the whole chicken or turkey breast. Once this is done, at home, it is advisable to reduce the meat to "weighted" portions and then freeze it separately. In this way it is possible to save time, space in the refrigerator and energy in conservation (a portioned food, already frozen, allows you to keep the freezer door open for the shortest possible time). The degree of processing of the food (before sale) inevitably corresponds to an increase in the price; avoid the slices already cut and in small packs and, if you have the right practicality, prefer the whole animal that will gain thinness by applying the right cooking method.
Today, even pork is sold at very competitive prices. The leanest and least expensive cuts are usually the loin and fresh ham. Obviously, when it comes to pork, lovers of light cuisine turn up their noses. In fact, the light pigs reared today are in no way inferior to beef; rather! To be honest, some commercial cuts of light pigs are leaner than others made from adult cattle (except, of course, for the fat parts). The pig has a greater subcutaneous adipose tissue than beef, while the latter (in proportion) often makes use of a greater intramuscular fatness; for this reason, adult bovine meat (which at the sight seems so lean), is often more energetic appropriately DEGREASED pork. Go ahead then for whole pork loins purchased fresh and still to be degreased; at home level, it will not be complex to trim the piece by eliminating all the excess fat and muscle sheaths by means of a scannino knife; then, without too much dexterity, with a French knife, you can portion the sirloin into slices of 100g, or 150-200-etc., also to be frozen separately. I do not recommend buying the sirloin with the bone (including "tie" , or small ribs); this would force you to separate the loaf and, alas, to eat even those wonderful but fat ribs.
Who said beef and veal are too expensive? First of all, there are not only fillets and sirloins, Florentine and ribs. For little money, it is possible to buy broth muscle from adult cattle. These seemingly fatty pieces are actually very gelatinous (collagen jelly - a protein). Of course, they are not to be compared to the avian rump, but once boiled (they do not require added fats) they are very pleasant and go well with any weight loss diet. Obviously it is not advisable to use particularly lipidic pieces, but the butcher will be able to advise you on this; I highly recommend trying the beef nut with carrots, celery and onion. A beef nut can be purchased whole and cut into 3x3x3cm cubes to be frozen separately (eventually, even the cooking water can be frozen and used instead of the stock cube for the formulation of stewed cereals or legumes).
When it comes to veal, everyone takes a step back. It is a fairly expensive product and apparently unrelated to the objectives of the article. On the other hand, I strongly suggest to insert once a week the raw meat cut with a knife or made up of chopped lean minced meat to be seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, stewed onion, mustard and black pepper. A 200g portion will cost very little and will represent a pleasant alternative to the weekly menu. The same goes for natural horse carpaccio. minus) the expense for beef broth; obviously, the advice refers to hygiene rules and personal tastes.
Many of the readers will shiver at the thought of eating offal. Well, comparing the prices of these with those of meat ... you can feel a very pleasant sense of "mouth watering". Beware, however, offal are not all the same. They have in common the remarkable presence of vitamins, mineral salts and proteins, but also for that of cholesterol and, some, of triglycerides. I strongly recommend to moderate the consumption in case of hypercholesterolemia and hyperuricemia, for all the others it is the green light! Above all I recommend: heart, liver, tripe and intestines. A real delicacy for gourmets. Those who avoid them often do it not out of a matter of taste, but out of poor food culture.
Regarding the techniques of cooking fresh meat, I have two essential suggestions. The first is to buy a good pan (sautè) with a thin base for all quick preparations (rump, sirloin medallions, etc.); no matter how much it will cost (always within the limits of reasonableness), those little extra money will not be long in coming back. A good pan will last double, triple or quadruple compared to a less valuable one ... provided you know how to work with it. It is true that non-stick, Teflon, stone and ceramic products allow you to cook regardless of the use of fats, but it is equally true that the presence of lipids helps to preserve the integrity of the coating. It will never be necessary to pour oil or butter on the surface before cooking but dirtying the pan allows you to NEVER burn the food. This affects the next step, which is cleaning. These tools must be left to soak in hot water (even without detergent, which will be used at a later time) and rubbed (or rather, caressed!) With a sponge free of abrasive parts. If you are unable to clean the instrument satisfactorily, there are 5 cases: you have cooked the food over an excessively high heat, you have cooked the food with the pan not aligned with the fire, you have carried out a prolonged cooking with a prepared pan to fast cooking, you have a tool that is of little value or you have already ruined the pan before reading this paragraph! All this also applies to cooking fish and eggs, foods which we will discuss later.
I would prefer not to dwell on the description of the preserved meat; their consumption is absolutely moderate because, even if some are qualitatively better than others, the relative price totally precludes their purchase. They would be preserved meats useful for the diet: roast-beef (which can possibly be made at home with loin → watch the video recipe), bresaola, lean sweet raw ham and cooked ham.

Other articles on "Meat - On a Diet on a Budget"

1. On a diet on a budget
2. Fish, Eggs and Cheese - A Diet on a Budget
3. Cereals, Legumes and Condiments - On a Diet Spending Little
4. Vegetables and Fruits - On a Diet Spending Little

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