Help a vegetarian learn how to eat meat nutritiously!

brickell35

So I'm a life long vegetarian who's about to be living in Argentina for the next few months. Argentinean cuisine is epitomized by beef. Since the beef is grassfed and it's a huge part of their culture, I'm planning on eating it, but it's all very foreign to me. I honestly don't know the first thing about eating red meat. These questions might seem silly to some of you but I am entirely clueless. In America red meat seems to be tied very closely to obesity and weight gain and I really don't want to gain any weight while I'm there!

Which cut of beef is most nutritious, aka leanest, high protein, lowest calorie, etc?

Which meat products,cuts,etc. should I definitely avoid? What about things like sausage or ribs?

I'm sure I will also have access to plenty of chicken which I know is a lean meat so I'm planning on eating a lot of that too, but red meat really makes up the majority of the Argentinean diet. Thanks so much for your help!

gingerveg

There are no vegetarians in Argentina? A lifelong vegetarian is going to just give it up for no other reason than a move? What's with all the crazy-odd threads lately?

ETA: okay this is post #2 from the OP I'm sensing troll

dhakiyya

you can cut the visible fat off beef before cooking, or if it's served with fat on it, then you can not eat the fat.

I would advise caution though, because when switching to/from a vegetarian diet you have to give your body time to adjust. Before going to Argentina, you should try eating small quantities of meat to start with, and build up.

glitteredgrave

Warning, you may get sick at first eating meat if you've been a lifelong vegetarian. A friend of the family went vegetarian for 10 years, and when she started eating meat again she started getting symptoms of a stomach virus (vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) so bring some pepto with you or something like that just in case! It won't last long but I'm sure it's unpleasant.

As for your question, I have no idea. I know nothing about meat. Sorry.

brickell35

Ouch, I'm not a vegetarian for moral reasons, I just never really liked meat so I never ate it. There are certainly vegetarians in Argentina, I just felt it would be a little close minded of me not to at least try and eat their cuisine, especially since they take such pride in it.

Thanks for the tips! I've heard of vegetarians becoming sick from eating meat, I'm a little grossed out by the meat production in the U.S. after watching Food Inc., but maybe I'll buy some organic grass fed beef and give it a try before I go.

now_or_never13

Why do you have to eat meat while you are there?

If you don't like meat don't eat it. There will be meat free options there.

There are so many other ways to enjoy the foods there without eating meat.