Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #5: Pick Cheaper Cuts of Meat

Hi Ladies, Here is your Weight Loss on a Budget Tip for Day 5 of our Oct Challenge: Pick Cheaper Cuts of Meat!

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Does cheaper mean that I’m choosing lesser quality meats?”.  No.  I doesn’t have to mean that.  You just have to know what you are looking for in terms of the type of meat and the fat content.  You have to buy steak or chicken breast just to get good quality meat.  It can be confusing trying to figure out what meats to buy so I’ve got some info for you.

• Know the grade of your beef: The grade of the meat notes the amount of fat aka. marbling in the meat.  Maturity of the meat (psychological age of the animal) is also a factor in grade.  These 2 factors impact flavor and tenderness.  What you want to look for is cuts of meat that are reasonably priced and low on fat.  Meats that show a lot of fat and look marbled will be what you want to stay away from.  The three most common grades of meat are prime, choice and select.  You want to choose select when it comes to beef.
• Go SkinLess:  Removing the skin from turkey and chicken can dramatically reduce calories.  Chicken wings and thighs are a great example.
• Ground Breast Meat: Instead of whole breasts, consider ground chicken or turkey that is made from breast meat to be sure of the quality.  Ground meat can be very versatile, giving you the option to cook it with pasta, make meatloaf, patties, etc.
• Consider Lean Pork: If you do eat pork, look for lean cuts like pork tenderloin or roasts.  Canadian bacon is a great alternative to traditional sausage and bacon.
• Low Sodium Deli Meat – I usually don’t recommend processed food, but from a budget standpoint low-sodium deli meat is an option.  Look for brands that promote that they are less processed or more natural.  Do your research to find the most natural products in this category and consider buying from the deli counter instead of buying pre-packaged options.  Delis are known to discount the “ends” of the meat sections for less than regular price to get rid of it, so ask about that.

List of meats to consider:

• Eye round roast
• Ground beef (95/5%)
• Top round steak
• Top round roast
• Skinless chicken thighs
• Skinless chicken wings
• Ground turkey
• Ground chicken
• Pork tenderloin
• Canadian Bacon
• Low-sodium deli sliced turkey
• Low-sodium deli sliced chicken