Meat post got me thinking....

KimWard

that we probably eat too much red meat. I'm surprised how rarely many of you eat it (I consider everything red meat but poultry- not sure if this is correct). We eat it like once or twice a week. DH is a picky eater and enjoys his meat. He likes fish, but I don't. I could totally do vegetarian meals a few times a week, but I don't think he'd like them. I feel like this is the only part of our relationship where we are not compatible, lol. I just feel like taking red meat out of meal planning takes away from the variety a lot.I really don't know where I'm going with this...maybe I should just suck it up and learn to like some types of fish? If you don't eat a lot of red meat and don't like fish, what do you eat?Oh, and LaFemme, how are you going to deal with your FI eating/making meat and you being a vegetarian? Make 2 separate meals all of the time? I've thought about going vegetarian, but DH and I would almost always have to eat different things! It is soooo frustrating!

npales

I don't consider pork red meat. Although we still don't eat a lot of it. I eat a lot of chicken and turkey. Ground turkey is a great replacement for ground beef. You can do chicken sausages for some recipes as well. E & I often eat separate meals if I am doing a strict diet, or if he is craving something I don't like (sausages, for example). We still eat dinner together, just cook different things.

e8jackson6

We eat a lot of chicken and pork.  We very rarely eat fish because DH is very picky about it.  I'll start buying roasts soon for the crockpot - so our red meat will pick up a bit.  I try to do at least one meal a week that is meatless, maybe 2.  Usually it ends up being some type of pasta - but I'm finding other ways to do this as well.  I was worried about DH missing the meat - but he always likes it. I often use beans as a replacement, but not always.I try to keep chicken to twice a week, but often it'll go up to 3 - but I try to at least use it in different ways so it's not boring.Every once in a while I throw in turkey - most often ground.Oh - and DH does eat shrimp, so I try to put that in there every once in a while as well.Sorry - one more thing - check out Branny's blog from WC[url]http://brannyboilsover.com/[/url] Her DH eats meat, she's a vegetarian.  I believe there are a couple of other blogs like this as well, maybe someone else knows of them.

McBridetobe

We mostly eat chicken, turkey and pork.  I think we only eat red meat in meatloaf or meatballs or occasionally steak, but that is all pretty rare.  And even with meatloaf and meatballs, we use a mix of turkey and ground beef.  I can't handle both of us cooking something different, lol.  We mostly eat things that we both like, but if not, there are always leftovers and sandwiches. 

KimWard

Thanks, I'll check that out. Yea, I normally do 1-2 nights of no meat, but it's always pasta. I'm going to have to branch out and try ground turkey. I never like things that substitute turkey, such as turkey bacon, so that's probably why I've stayed away.

McBridetobe

Um, forgot about fish!  We mostly eat fish from FIL, who fishes a lot and shares.    I tried going meatless once a week and my DH missed meat, grrr.  Maybe we will try again this winter though!

elishanb

We eat a lot of Chicken and use ground turkey as a ground beef sub. FI would love if we ate more red meat but the only time I ever do is for the occasional "real" burger Oh and I don't do pork either. So it comes down to getting really creative with the chicken. Wraps, rubs, marinades, grillin, pastas, salads... you can have chicken many nights a week if you change it up enough. Think about how many different restaurants you can go to and order chicken and it tastes so completely different.

skybluejen

We eat red meat once a week at the most. I'm not a huge fan of red meat (I typically eat vegetarian when I'm on my own) but DH is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so we do eat it occasionally. Our red meat of choice is a nice steak and occasionally a burger. We eat chicken 2 - 3 times per week, but always make it very differently so we don't get bored with it. We do salad/soup once a week and then do some other type of protein like fish (I don't especially like fish, but its healthy), shrimp, or pork.  If DH had his way we would eat red meat 2 - 3 times a week, but I just don't find it healthy to eat it that often.

JennyBee1018

I normally try to use one type of meat a week each night for dinner. However, that has become a challenge here as there is no pork, bacon, ham, etc. It is difficult! Recently, I have started using chick peas as a main dish, as well as paneer (Indian Cheese), and some other ethnic ingredients. I agree with pp's about substituting ground turkey for things. Don't be afraid of turkey substitutes, they are good, not to mention healthier for you! Femme - when my DH was vegetarian, I was a great wifey and just became vegetarian too! There are so many non-meat substitutes now that it was not difficult to do. I am sure you guys can figure something out!

LaFemmeRousse

Haha, FI and I have more than come to terms with our differing eating styles.  We probably eat out or order in 2-3 times a week, so obviously it's not an issue in restaurants.  I do most of the actual cooking for when we don't, and I do not ever cook meat, so he happily eats vegetarian   He doesn't like to cook but I do, and I think I'm pretty good at it and keep enough variety that he doesn't get bored. I've learned that while I can happily eat nothing but a big plate of vegetables, it doesn't do it for FI, so I focus more on "meals" with something hearty as a base to keep both of us happy.  If FI cooks and I will be eating it too, he either cooks vegetarian or does something easily customizable- pasta that can be eaten with or without chicken, a veggie-based soup that he can throw meatballs into, a big homemade pizza with prosciutto on only one side, etc.  We also make a ton of ethnic food that is often more veg-based than American cuisine.  I never feel like I am lacking in variety!If you're looking for vegetarian recipes or blogs, let me know!  Erica, I love that one

LaFemmeRousse

JennyBee, I am obsessed with paneer.  I've been teaching myself Indian cooking this past year and it's my favorite favorite thing

JennyBee1018

Femme (do you go by Jenn, Jennifer?) I am with you on that! I only order paneer when we get Indian for dinner! I am still working on cooking with it :-) So amazing though! Have you ever had halloumi cheese? They use that alot here, and I love it!

LaFemmeRousse

I go by Jen   I do like halloumi, although I don't feel like it's as widely available here.  Yum!  How do you usually eat it?  I always just get my paneer from Whole Foods, haven't tried making my own yet or anything.

KimWard

Thanks for all of the input- I will suck it up and try ground turkey. Oh, and I've seen paneer I think in the India Bazaar store by us, but no clue what to do with foods like that. I should try new things like that, but it's difficult making food for just me with DH being so picky.

JennyBee1018

Sorry to hijack your post Kim :-PJen, they serve halloumi paninis here at the CMU cafe. It is deelish! The sandwich also has cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce. Also, we had dinner at a lebanese place, we ordered an appetizer that was halloumi, mint, and I forget what else - kind of like a quesadilla. It was really good! I also have not made my own paneer yet, I hope to try it someday though! The Whole Foods version is pretty good :-)

morganphd

My DH is a huge red meat eater. But, I try to limit it to 1 or 2 times a week since I'm not as big of a fan. We eat a lot of chicken and pork, but I often use it in a larger dish so it's not the main focus. We do a lot of rice and noodle mixes with the meat, but I've also started using a lot of beans. It makes for a lot of fun mixes, but it also makes the meat go a lot further. I'll use two chicken breasts, chick peas, and a bunch of vegetables together, and that will last for two full meals, which brings the price of the meat down. We also like to eat egg meals, like frittatas, for dinner. I try to do vegetarian meals at least twice a week. Often it's pasta, but you can do so many things with different sauces that they are never the same, so they don't get boring. I would love to do eggplant or squash meals, but DH wouldn't even touch them.

KimWard

No problem Jbee- I enjoy reading about these different types of food, they sound really yummy and interesting! Same here Shannon- DH would never touch eggplant or squash. And unfortunately I don't eat eggs (just don't like them). I have some different ideas now at least though!

king26

Hey Kim,   FI LOVES red meat but I dont' eat it.  i do eat chicken, turkey, fish, and pork though, so it works.  We have 1 or 2 veggie meals a week.  A lot of times if we are grilling he'll have a steak and I'll have a chicken breast then the rest of our meal will be the same.  Also, at times he'll have hamburgers while I have veggie burgers.  So we try and have the same type of thing, so that our sides or whatever can be the same.  i frequently substitue ground turkey in for ground beef in tacos, chili, meatballs.  I found that you cannot subtitute in ground turkey when you are making hamburgers, it apparently jsut doesn't taste right.    Also, do you like tofu?  We eat tofu at LEAST once a week.  I forget what kind it is (I'll have to let you know because it's available in PA and MD) but we get the firm tofu, and many nights will either make buffalo tofu, bbw tofuor else put it in stirfry.  FI loves it this way, and I thnk it tastes really good!

themissizz

Kim, do you both eat shrimp?  We cook a lot of shrimp.  I cook chicken different ways-- slow cook, bake, pan-fry, grill.  I'm not a big fish eater but can handle tilapia.  I really hated eggs until recently.  I still will only eat whites, but I find that a spinach egg white omelet with some cheese is a healthy, CHEAP meal option.  If I cook egg whites w/ hot sauce, I actually like them.  I also have to cook them well done.  Not sure if any of that helps you if you really dislike them.

McBridetobe

I found that you cannot subtitute in ground turkey when you are making hamburgers, it apparently jsut doesn't taste right.We always have turkey burgers - I think they taste great, but you have to season them!  Very "burgery" if you mix in some Worcestershire sauce and/or onion soup mix too!

KimWard

Nah, we're not into tofu...DH likes shrimp but I don't. I may have to try tilapia though- I hear it's good and not too fishy. I honestly don't know what I have against fish- maybe it's the smell? Good idea about having slightly different entrees but the same sides. That could be an option once in a while.

themissizz

I usually just throw tilapia into a pan with olive oil, then when it's almost done cooking, I add garlic powder, breadcrumbs, pepper, and a bit more olive oil to get the breadcrumbs to stick.  Tastes good to me!

KimWard

Mmm, that sounds really good Stace! Ok, I am taking note, saving this post, or something for future reference!

daveys_baby

Different entrees and same sides is what we do too, I'm kind of a picky eater so this helps when DH wants fish or I'll just want to eat something all veggie.  I think we do red meat once every other week (but that's usually a roast so we'll eat leftovers for several lunchs during that week).  We also try to do a night or more that is meatless.  I haven't updated my blog in a really long time, but the meatloaf recipe (and I can't remember if I posted chilli) was with ground turkey, incase you need any recipes.

king26

KR-  I actually LOVE turkey burgers, but FI hates them, says the texture is weird. I don't eat much fish either, but I've found that I can handle tilapia-we fry it or bake it, it's pretty mild.

themissizz

We also make a lot of things with half ground turkey breast (I only buy ground turkey breast, not reg ground turkey) and half ground beef so that when we cook them together, they take on the flavor of the ground beef a bit more.  I do this for chili, lasagna, meatballs, tacos, meatloaf, anything that gets heavily seasoned and tends to take on the flavor of the seasonings.

KimWard

Interesting idea to mix them... I didn't know there was ground turkey vs. ground turkey breast.

themissizz

Ground turkey includes dark meat. Usually, when I mix them, we can't even tell the difference.  It just cuts the fat and calories a bit.  Not a huge difference though, as 96% lean ground beef is so lean that the fat isn't an issue really anyway. 

king26

Stace-my mom does the same thing and neither my father or brother can tell the difference between all ground beef and only half.  i think it makes it a little healthier for everyone without much of a taste difference.

daveys_baby

Mine was turkey breast too, I was lazy and didn't type it out.  When I did the turkey in chili, I cooked it in a skillet with seasoning (I used mesquite like the meatloaf) instead of just cooking it plain like I do with ground beef, draining it, and throwing it in the pot to pick up the flavor of the rest of the chili.   

dicer2

We do the mixing thing with deer and beef.  Well, "we" as in my mom.  We ate deer meat for a long time without realizing it.