Tips on eating meat again?

snowflake954 wrote: »

PRChica2015 wrote: »

Hello, I am looking for some advice/tips. I have not eaten red meat or pork in about 10 years (I do eat poultry, fish and eggs). I have just been diagnosed with an iron deficiency even though I eat plenty of spinach, grains, and other iron-rich veggies. My husband wants me to start eating red meat again. I know my body needs it, but just the thought of it makes me gag. I told him I would try to be open to it, though. Any advice on how to get over this meat revulsion? I've also heard that if you haven't eaten meat in a long time it can really mess with your belly if you start eating it again. Is this true? Any and all help would be appreciated!

Why don't you talk to your doctor and take iron supplements? Solves your problem.

Pretty much. Red meat will be highly effective, but not the only source of iron. If you don't like it, don't eat it. Or try it in different ways until you find one that you do like. Or just get some supplements prescribed by your doctor.

Either way... problem solved.

you don't need red meat to get an adequate amount of iron. there's something dietarily that you're doing wrong if you're not getting iron from what you currently eat.

snowflake954 wrote: »

PRChica2015 wrote: »

Hello, I am looking for some advice/tips. I have not eaten red meat or pork in about 10 years (I do eat poultry, fish and eggs). I have just been diagnosed with an iron deficiency even though I eat plenty of spinach, grains, and other iron-rich veggies. My husband wants me to start eating red meat again. I know my body needs it, but just the thought of it makes me gag. I told him I would try to be open to it, though. Any advice on how to get over this meat revulsion? I've also heard that if you haven't eaten meat in a long time it can really mess with your belly if you start eating it again. Is this true? Any and all help would be appreciated!

Why don't you talk to your doctor and take iron supplements? Solves your problem.

Iron supplements didn't work for me (not even the injectable/infusion kind). They made me very sick to my stomach and didn't improve my iron levels. For whatever reason, I only absorb heme-iron which is iron from meat/blood sources. I was mainly a vegetarian for my health, so when it turned out to not be beneficial for me, I really didn't have a problem going back.

I guess my best advice would be to start with ground beef and have it things like chili, spaghetti sauce, taco filling, stew, etc and work your way up from there.

I echo the advice to start with ground and minced beef, perhaps mixed with egg and bread crumbs (meatballs). Work your way up to it.

How about liver pate?

You already eat poultry and fish. Theres no reason to eat read meat of you don't want it. Chicken liver actually has much more iron than beef liver.

You mentioned fish....mussels, oysters and clams have more iron per gram than beef.

Sardines and shrimp have about the same as beef.

Cuttlefish, Squid and Octopus have more than beef as well.

For something different: Marmite has 1.8 mg per serving or just under what you'd get with 3 oz of beef....though it is an acquired taste!

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Beans and fortified iron cereals are a great source of iron.

Iron supplements!
Don't eat meat if you don't want to!

I don't like meat, but there are several things that you can do to it which can change the way it tastes. I seem to tolerate ground meat much better than chunks because it's easier to manipulate it with spices and other food items.

If you eat eggs, add sausage to your frittatas and scrambles. Experiment with different kind of sausage. Some taste less "meaty" than others. Sautee some ground meat, and once it's cold enough to handle you can rub it between your hands to create finer meat particles, which can be added to casseroles, pilafs, pasta.. etc. They look like little specs of spice and really get lost in the recipe. You won't believe how much meat you can eat this way. Once you are brave enough to take it up a notch, go with things made with ground meat like burger, kebabs, meatloaf, meat pastries...etc.

Now if you are planning to move on to eating chunks of meat I can't help you there. I still feel horrified whenever I get invited to someone's house, dreading the distant possibility that I would be served steak and would have to politely swallow whole pieces without chewing while trying not breathe through my nose.

Edit: Alternatively, you can make a liver pate, form it into pellets small enough to swallow, freeze it, and then swallow it like pills. That's what I did when I had iron issues.