Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The 411 on Ground Beef


Yes ground lean turkey or chicken are usually the better choices but let's face it sometimes we just want the real thing.  That juicy taste of beef.

What's the healthiest choice?
  1. The Grind: 80/20 or 90/10.  What does this even refer to?  This is the proportion of fat and protein in the grind not the actual calories.  1 gram of fat contains more than twice the calories as 1 gram of protein.  So converting that factor into the percentage, if you are going for the 80/20 version 20% fat by weight actually is 72% of the total calories.  A single serving of the 80/20 is about 250 calories and 180 calories from fat.  Answer 90/10 version.
  2. The Feed: Cows were designed to eat grass not corn!  Corn fed beef is often where we have found various types of food poisoning.  Try the movie Food, Inc. for even more info.  Answer grass fed. 
  3. Hormones?: Are they all that harmful?  Well would you take hormones directly by choice (if not directed by a doctor)?  Probably not.  If the cow is injected with hormones to increase growth and you are eating that cow then you are eating them.  Answer hormone free.
After you have chosen the correct ground beef be sure to either skip the bun or stick with whole multi grain, pack on the veggies, keep the cheese to reduced fat, and try to skip on the may or switch to vegannaise.

It's summer and everyone deserves to enjoy the occasional burger ;).

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