Meat eaters are getting a bad rap these days from health officials and the like. We’re taught not to consume too much red meat, and that canned, preserved or cured meats can be particularly unhealthy. One easy answer is to be a vegetarian, but many people just cannot imagine their lives without meat.
The best compromise if you like meat is to add some lean meat to your menu planning.
Lean meat is high in protein, which is important for muscular building, as well as iron, which is deficient in many individuals. However, certain meats are healthier than others.
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Here Are the Best 5 Types of Meat that Are Learner than Pork in 2024
1. Skinless Chicken Breasts
These are the most accessible and well-known lean meat types. Without the skin, chicken breasts contain relatively little fat but a lot of protein. They are flexible and simple to prepare. Because they have no bones, you can cut them up and stir fry them, add them to a salad or soup, or just roast them in the oven.
Please keep in mind that, although the breast without the skin is low in fat, you must add in or take into account any fat from oil or butter used in the cooking.
The best way to eat them if you are concerned about fat is by baking them in the oven. You can also boil them, but I find that way quite tasteless even though it is the leanest way to cook chicken.
2. Rabbit
Despite being one of the leanest meats available, it used to be popular and a regular feature on European dinner tables but is now less prevalent.
A single 3-ounce meal of rabbit includes just 3-grams of fat, 147 calories, and a staggering 28-grams of protein. This makes it perfect for muscle growth and fat loss.
Rabbit is also a good source of iron, with a single serving providing roughly 23% of your RDA.
Keep in mind that cultivated rabbits have whiter, more succulent flesh than wild rabbits and that both must be cooked slowly.
3. Venison
A 3-ounce meal of deer includes just 2 grams of fat, making it even lower in fat than rabbit. The fact that it is so very lean it must be cooked slowly. Casseroles, soups, and stews are the finest ways to get nice, soft tasty meat. You may tenderize the flesh before cooking it.
Plus mincing and using it to make burgers is another great way to have venison and a really lean burger.
Venison, unlike rabbit, looks more like red meat, making it an excellent alternative to beef. However, despite its rich flavor, it has fewer calories than almost all other red meats having just 128 calories and an amazing 26 grams of protein in a 3 oz meal.
4. Pheasant
This is traditional British meat. During the fall shooting season, it is inexpensive. When prepared right, it is wonderful! This is nutritious meat to seek since it is high in protein as well as B vitamins and potassium.
Pheasant meat is also rich in the optimum type of iron that is good for your body.
They are delicious and gradually cooked in a stew, but they may also be grilled.
A 3.5-ounce portion of pheasant breast meat sans the skin comprises just 133 calories, but the skin adds another 180 calories.
5. Ostrich
This is for those who just cannot live without red meat. Despite the fact that it is a bird, ostrich meat tastes quite similar to beef.
The meat is abundant in B-vitamins, which aid in the operation of a balanced metabolism.
A 3oz portion of Ostrich tenderloin has 105 calories, 2.7 grams of fat (1 gram saturated), 18.8 grams of protein, and 68 milligrams of cholesterol.
Another healthy mentions are Kangaroo meat also, you could also consider oven-roasted pork tenderloin.
What Are the Best Side Dishes to Serve with Lean Meats
There are many side dishes that go well with lean meats.
Here Are the Top 11 Sides to Serve with Low-Fat Meats
- Baked Potatoes – Do Not Add Butter, just season well.
- Coleslaw with a healthy dressing
- Salads with low-fat dressing
- Green Beans
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Tomato Salad
- Grilled vegetables
- Steamed Vegetables
- Brown Rice