How much meat do you eat?

[Laura Corin]

I came across this in The Times (fairly accurate newspaper):

 

On average, a British person eats 50g of protein derived from meat each day — the equivalent of a chicken breast or a lamb chop. This is a relatively low level for a wealthy country but between 25 per cent and 50 per cent higher than the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation.

 

The 50g (just under two ounces) amount is pure protein, not the weight of the whole meat portion.

 

The full article is here

 

I'll put up a poll in 'chicken breast equivalents'.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

My reply: I eat meat about once a week. My family eats meat about once a day, sometimes twice but in small quantities. Yesterday, the boys had pea soup for lunch, which had a very small amount of bacon in it for flavouring. For supper, Calvin had half a chicken breast and Hobbes had a chicken thigh. Husband normally has a vegetarian lunch, then eats meat in the evening.

 

Laura

[keptwoman]

300-500g of meat does our whole family for a meal (that's 2/3 - 1 pound) Tonight we had 3 thighs between 5 of us.

I don't know exactly how that compares to chicken breasts per person but way less than one a day.

We do have meat most evening meals but perhaps once a week we have vegetarian.

Edited October 27, 2009 by keptwoman

[rwjx2khsmj]

I answered just for myself. If I included the family we'd be in the 5 or more a day category.

[fivetails]

I don't eat any meat, period. Haven't since my early teens.

 

dh would be the one who eats the most meat in our house ~ he'd happily eat it at every meal. (which would be twice for him, as he doesn't eat breakfast) The kids, not so much. Usually at supper, sometimes at lunch.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I answered for myself only, too. My daughter and I eat no meat at all, ever. I have no idea about my husband. He doesn't eat meat at home but for lunch, eats meat probably everyday.

[Danestress]

I try to plan meals around low to moderate amounts of animal protein. So if we eat a meal with a lot of cheese (or meat) one day, I will try to think about vegetarian plant based meals for the next couple. I've reduced milk, and cheese consumption, though we still eat it. Strictly in terms of meat, I would say that we eat less than a chicken breast's worth a day, but there are days we eat more. If I want it, I eat it, but I try to increase vegetables and whole grains the next day.

 

I find that we are all pretty healthy and thin on a diet that is high in whole grain carbs and has moderate amounts of animal based protein with fruits and vegetables. Right now, we are rounding out that diet with a lot of candy, lol, which isn't so good. And I don't feel great, so maybe that's the problem.

[Laura Corin]

I answered just for myself. If I included the family we'd be in the 5 or more a day category.

 

So that's right. Otherwise we get into family size problems and the results aren't comparable.

 

Laura

[IsabelC]

I put one a day, although it's probably a little less. We don't eat meat daily, but when we do I'd probably have 2 lamb chops or chook breasts rather than one.

[asta]

I get physically ill when I eat mostly carbs, and I get physically ill if I completely restrict them (think: Atkins - but this is due to one of my medications).

 

That said, we go heavy on the meat and non-starchy vegetables and low on the carbs around here, normally. It's actually a pretty normal diet for an adult with seizures, strangely... something about the B12.

 

 

a

[LibraryLover]

That's interesting. I would imagine the US results would be different. I only cook whole chickens (we raise our own) and work a couple of meals from there (there are 5 of us most of the time). A lb of ground beef or turkey is more than enough for all of us (hamburgers, bolognese sauce etc). We eat a lot of veggie meals. I guess I will vote fewer than 1 a day...

[Haiku]

I don't eat any animal products at all. I have been vegetarian for 17 years.

 

Tara

[wulfbourne]

Hmmm. We stretch meat out a lot in our house. I take 1 chicken breast and cube it up. From there I either put it in a casserole or just cook it up with some seasoning and put it in a bowl. 1 breast goes for 4 of us (granted the younger 2 are both under 3, so they should count as 1 together). I also do soups and stews a lot, and cut the meat in most recipes by half. It helps it go further and it's a bit healthier.

 

Lunches will sometimes have meat/fish in the form of sandwiches or leftovers, so I'm guessing it's 1 breast or a little less overall.

[kewb]

I eat meat but not every day.

[sweetTN]

I answered just for myself. I'm a vegetarian, but dd will eat a very small amount of meat (1/6 chicken breast) once or twice a week. Dh would live on meat and potatoes if given the chance. He would eat 2 full chicken breasts at a meal.

[Pretty in Pink]

I answered one a day, which is average for us now. If I'm making spaghetti or lasagna I will use 12 oz. of ground beef for a family of 6 (but one toddler who doesn't eat much). If I'm preparing something like pot roast of burgers I prepare eight servings and there are no leftovers. It averages out I suppose.

 

We do mostly vegetarian lunches. I didn't include other animal proteins in my answer. We each typically each consume two servings of low-fat dairy each day.

[DarlaS]

I rarely eat meat, but my family does. (My diet has been about 99% vegan since June.) I generally stick with fish (very rarely) and wild game when I do eat it.

 

I'm not dogmatic about it, and I don't think of it as "unhealthy" in sensible quantities.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

We eat a lot of veggies, fruit, beans, and rice. We usually have some meat for dinner in the form of soup, stew, stir fry, or something like that. We don't usually have a big chunk of meat like a chicken breast or pot roast. That's an unusual thing for us--but we love it when we have it!

[gingersmom]

My daughter eats no meat and chicken maybe every few months.

 

My son eats vegetarian chicken nuggets but thinks they are chicken. He also eats vegetarian cheese and thinks its real cheese. He eats red meat maybe 1-2 year and eats chicken (the real stuff) for dinner maybe 2-3 nights a week.

 

I eat no red meat and maybe chicken once a week.

 

I grew up in a house where there was a separate freezer just for the red meat.

[Whereneverever]

We eat a LOT of meat. We have a lot given to us, and DH hunts. It's the cheapest thing for us to eat, and I'm sure we eat way too much.

[Ellie]

Well, I'm confused.

 

Your thread title is "How much meat do you eat?" but the poll is about chicken breasts.:blink::001_unsure:

 

I eat mostly red meat (beef); I eat chicken sometimes, but I couldn't begin to tell you any equivalence there is between the beef and chicken.

[The Governess]

We eat meat a few times a week. I think we probably go through about 1.5 to 2 pounds of chicken/beef/sausage per week on average for our whole family. But I rarely eat the equivalent of a whole chicken breast in one sitting. I would have to be famished. :D

 

We used to eat more than this but we have been buying a huge box of produce each week through a co-op so now that we have so many veggies in the house our meat consumption has declined.

[zaichiki]

Somewhere between one and two -- but it depends on what I'm eating each day. It varies. Every once in a while it could even be three chicken breast equivalents. Some days we have no meat.

[Crissy]

I eat meat at nearly every meal, but probably not the equivalent of a whole chicken breast each time.

This morning I had a scrambled egg with a bit of italian sausage crumbled into it.

For lunch I will have a green salad with either grilled chicken or canned tuna on top.

Dinner is generally a large salad, non-starchy vegetables and a serving of meat.

[yslek]

I replied less than one/day. Our evening meals are a pretty even mix of meat/non-meat meals. Meat rarely features in our breakfasts & lunches. We do consume quite a lot of dairy, though, so definitely eat a good amount of animal protein a day. We very rarely eat chicken, but just bought a 1/4 grass-fed beef from a local farmer. We'll try to make that last all year, so will probably only have beef a few times a month. I, too try to stretch a cut to feed the whole family. :) We also have four egg-laying hens, so get animal protein in egg form as well.

[Colleen]

We have meat a few times a week, generally with the main meal.

[Laura Corin]

Well, I'm confused.

 

Your thread title is "How much meat do you eat?" but the poll is about chicken breasts.:blink::001_unsure:

 

 

The original article talked in terms of the amount of animal protein contained in a chicken breast or a lamb chop. Knowing that most Americans don't eat much lamb, I phrased the poll in terms of chicken breast equivalents, so the amount of meat roughly equivalent (in size) to a chicken breast.

 

Not ideal, I understand.

 

Laura

[Greta]

I voted three because I eat meat (or another protein rich food such as eggs) three times a day. I stupidly was not thinking about portion sizes when I answered. I do NOT eat the equivalent of a chicken breast at each meal! More like HALF that. Sorry about that. Mentally subtract one from the "three a day" field and move it to the one or two.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I usually make 2-3 dishes with meat in them a week. Most of the time the meat is mixed in with other food, so even one serving would not be a whole chicken breast. The kids and I do eat dinner leftovers for lunch, so that raises the count a little.

[Firefly]

I voted rarely. We're not strict vegetarians, but we do enjoy meat (pasture raised/local) from time to time. Since we live on the coast, sometimes fresh seafood as well.

[Devotional Soul]

I never liked meat and I wished my parents hadn't given it to me. Please don't push it onto your kids if they don't like it.

 

I've been vegetarian for over 20 years and my kids have never had meat or eggs and we give thanks for our good health and care for all living things. We have no problems with protein.

[Mamagistra]

We eat a goodly amount of humanely and naturally raised meats, poultry, and eggs, plus local (to our region) shrimp. Occasionally we enjoy some wild-caught fish. :001_smile:

[TravelingChris]

My breakfasts and lunch often don't contain meat. Most of my dinners do though I usually try to have one dinner a week that is based on cheese or some other protein other than meat. That being said, I actually feel best when I eat more protein like when I go on cruises. On those I am usually eating more seafood and less red meat.

[Rosie_0801]

We're mostly vegan around here. I will eat it occasionally when I'm out, if I feel like it. Usually a taste satisfies curiosity and I don't feel the need to have more. The longer I go without, the less it agrees with me, anyway. Dh has a weakness for sausage, and buys some every few weeks. For us, animal products fall into the junk food category. Things we don't think are good for but feel like eating sometimes anyway.

 

Rosie

[AngieW in Texas]

I've been typing all my food into http://www.fitday.com for the past week. I average 62g/day of protein. A lot of the protein I get is derived from meat, but not all of it, so I would probably be at the 1 chicken breast equivalent/day if I go by 50g of protein from meat.