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Eliminating Meat, Substituting Fish & Seafood
Old 10-28-2007, 08:09 AM   #1
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Eliminating Meat, Substituting Fish & Seafood

I enjoy eating whole grains and I'm adding more vegetables to my diet, which was never that great to begin with. What I want to know is, has anyone here ever dropped meat altogether from their diet, and switched to fish and seafood instead? Did you stick to it over the long term, or did you get tired of it?
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Old 10-28-2007, 08:16 AM   #2
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Never tried it. I like a steak every now an then and will continue to do so. I eat more chicken than beef though. Love fish too, but think I would get tired of it all the time.
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Old 10-28-2007, 08:29 AM   #3
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I eat a lot of fish and seafood, and grilled chicken. I think a variety of foods is healthy, and so I continue to include small to medium portions of beef maybe twice a week. I think I would feel a little deprived if I could never have beef again. I think beef is very filling and so I don't need as many ounces of beef to satisfy me, as I would need if I were having fish for dinner. On the other hand, here in Louisiana we have wonderful shrimp and fish, so I eat these foods a lot more than beef.
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Old 10-28-2007, 08:34 AM   #4
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I can understand wanting to do this for health reasons, but in reality variety and moderation are good things in a diet. Unless you have a heart condition or high cholesterol, I don't see that eating some lean meat would be a problem -- primarily poultry and lean cuts of beef, grilled or baked and not fried.

The general guidelines on fat call for no more than 30% of calories from fat and 10% from saturated fat. If you can examine your diet and determine that eating some chicken and *lean* beef from time to time can keep you within the guidelines, I don't see a problem -- again, unless you have a heart condition or high cholesterol which requires a low fat, very low-cholesterol diet. (Disclaimer: neither a doctor nor a dietitian here, just applying common sense.)
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Old 10-28-2007, 08:41 AM   #5
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I can understand wanting to do this for health reasons, but in reality variety and moderation are good things in a diet. Unless you have a heart condition or high cholesterol, I don't see that eating some lean meat would be a problem -- primarily poultry and lean cuts of beef, grilled or baked and not fried.

The general guidelines on fat call for no more than 30% of calories from fat and 10% from saturated fat. If you can examine your diet and determine that eating some chicken and *lean* beef from time to time can keep you within the guidelines, I don't see a problem -- again, unless you have a heart condition or high cholesterol which requires a low fat, very low-cholesterol diet. (Disclaimer: neither a doctor nor a dietitian here, just applying common sense.)
Good points - - I forgot to mention that I only eat the absolutely leanest cuts of beef I can find and I cut off any visible fat. The last time I had a "normal" non-lean steak was a couple of years ago at Ruth's Chris. I have high cholesterol already, so I don't need extra fat on my steak. Of course, shrimp and egg yolks are high in cholesterol too, so I have to watch out for them as well.
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Old 10-28-2007, 09:17 AM   #6
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I can understand wanting to do this for health reasons, but in reality variety and moderation are good things in a diet. Unless you have a heart condition....
Ziggy,

You got that one right. With my last annual checkup, the electrocardiogram results don't look great, the stethoscope detects a slight heart murmer that wasn't there before. Some time soon, I have to get an echocardiogram check.

I'm lucky that I like fish and seafood so that's not a problem. Getting prepared, just in case I'm put on a diet. Right now, I'm trying to get my omega-6's down, and my omega 3's up.
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Old 10-28-2007, 09:49 AM   #7
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My friend gave up meat for Lent in 1988 and has been a vegetarian since then. She take supplements for certain vitamins. And it had helped her grocery bill. I don't think that I could do it but when I went on vacation with her, I didn't eat meat for a week or two without any problems.
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Old 10-28-2007, 10:12 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by ForeignExchange View Post
I enjoy eating whole grains and I'm adding more vegetables to my diet, which was never that great to begin with. What I want to know is, has anyone here ever dropped meat altogether from their diet, and switched to fish and seafood instead? Did you stick to it over the long term, or did you get tired of it?
Lots of fish & chicken, some ground turkey. A pound or so of tofu every month.

Ground beef maybe once or twice a month and steak/kal be once or twice a year.

Don't miss beef a bit and don't care much one way or the other when I eat it. But I don't enjoy cooking that much and mostly go for speed/convenience when it's my turn. When we eat out I'd rather see what the chef can do with fish than other meats.

If you feel that you're missing beef then you could try more salmon & ahi. But I think it's pretty much all yummy.

If you read "Fast Food Nation" or "The Omnivore's Dilemma" then you'll have a hard time even looking at beef...
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Old 10-28-2007, 11:17 AM   #9
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I don't eat meat. Not because I have any moral or ethical convictions against eating meat, but over the last twenty years, I just stopped buying it in the grocery store. I don't eat it at restaurants or "work functions". I enjoy the smell of roasting meat, but can't stand the taste or texture of cooked meat. I do use homemade chicken broth when I cook. I don't know how to explain this apparent contradiction except that chicken broth does provide lots of extra flavor to some dishes.

I eat some fish, but much more yogurt, cheese, grains/beans/rice and soy protein bars. I'm healthly. My cholesterol and trigylcerides are quite low. I have lots of energy. This type of diet seems to work for me.
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Old 10-28-2007, 12:01 PM   #10
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We cut most meat out of our diet a few years ago. For us its fish probably 6 nights a week, with poultry one night a week (rough estimate, not a rule). Every once in a blue moon we'll cook something with beef or lamb or veal in it. Probably less than 10 times per year.

We also cut starches out of our dinners dramatically - maybe down to once a week. Most nights we get by with fish and two very generous vegetable dishes. I've started to back away from this a bit lately, though, as I've lost more weight than I'm comfortable with. I'll occasionally cook myself a side starchy dish, but DW is still sticking with 'fish and two veggies' as we call it.

One word of warning, as a rule its much more expensive to eat fish than beef and chicken. (at least here in NY) Its not uncommon for us to spend $20 on a piece of fish for two for dinner. In fact I'd say its typical.
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Old 10-28-2007, 12:09 PM   #11
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One word of warning, as a rule its much more expensive to eat fish than beef and chicken. (at least here in NY) Its not uncommon for us to spend $20 on a piece of fish for two for dinner. In fact I'd say its typical.
Eek! That is definitely a regional thing. Fish is NOWHERE near that expensive here. I can buy $5-$7 worth of fish and only eat half of it for dinner, saving the other half for the next night. I do focus on the less expensive varieties, but for example the salmon that I bought on Friday was about 8-10 oz for somewhere in that price range and will last me two nights.
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Old 10-28-2007, 12:13 PM   #12
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Eek! That is definitely a regional thing. Fish is NOWHERE near that expensive here. I can buy $5-$7 worth of fish and only eat half of it for dinner, saving the other half for the next night.
I had an ex-GF from Terrebonne Parrish. We used to get shrimp right off the boat for free because her dad fixed fishing boat engines. Best shrimp I ever had.
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Old 10-28-2007, 12:14 PM   #13
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I had an ex-GF from Terrebonne Parrish. We used to get shrimp right off the boat for free because her dad fixed fishing boat engines. Best shrimp I ever had.
Nothing like Louisiana shrimp!!! Huge, succulent - - you haven't had shrimp, until you have had Louisiana shrimp, you're right!! I have a hard time limiting myself to having it only 1-2 meals per week (due to the cholesterol). Sometimes I just throw caution to the winds.
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Old 10-28-2007, 12:34 PM   #14
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We haven't eaten beef, pork, veal, etc. in years. Still do poultry, probably 4 or 5 evenings a week. Otherwise eat fish and legumes, cheese and other dairy, etc. A lot of the time when a meal includes poultry it will be as a more minor ingredient rather than big hunks as the main course. For example, I am making a dish with locally grown collads and heirloom beans with some chicken andouiile in the dish.
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Old 10-28-2007, 12:53 PM   #15
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I eat very little red meat. My daughter is vegan (no meat or dairy). When I get hungry for red meat, I eat out and let someone else prepare it.
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Old 10-28-2007, 01:00 PM   #16
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collads...
Cross between collards and gonads?

Many if not most of my homegrown dishes are of the "casserole/stew/stir-fry" variety, loosely termed "skillet glop"...

Some meat, some veggies, some legumes/rice, some herbs/seasonings, a sauce/broth, and Viola!

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Old 10-28-2007, 01:08 PM   #17
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Cross between collards and gonads?
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Old 10-28-2007, 01:31 PM   #18
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Started eating nothing but fish and seafood back in 1986. Haven't eaten poultry, beef or pork for 21 years. Wanted to eat healthier. Fish and seafood will always be part of my diet since I grew up in Seattle. Somewhat challenging diet in NW Ohio.
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Old 10-28-2007, 01:40 PM   #19
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We eat primarily rice, beans or dahl, and veggies. We do eat the local fish, primarily herring. Once in a while chicken.
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Old 10-28-2007, 01:44 PM   #20
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We do eat the local fish, primarily herring.
What, no lutefisk?
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