How many times a week do you/your DC eat red meat?

[Embelline]

I've been thinking about this recently and just saw another thread which sparked the question. I've been worrying that DS (3) eats too much red meat as he doesn't love poultry, only likes salmon or cod but the cod is only in fishfinger format, and everything else he loves is either red med or cheese!
At the moment there are a lot of BBQs so he's eating a lot of burgers, kebabs (not loads each time, but we're going to more BBQs IYSWIM). His favourite dinner is spaghetti Bol or cottage pie or bangers and mash. He won't eat lentils instead to either pad it out or replace the red meat.

I was thinking about it and realising he has red meat at least twice every week, sometimes more which seems a lot to me, so I'm considering trying to make it once maximum and exploring more veggie options but don't know if I'm being OTT.

My fears are based on the way red meat is classed, the recent murmurs about the increase in bowel cancer in young people and how red meat has always been stated as a factor in bowel cancer.

The other side is he's got low iron so I was told my the doctors red meat is good as it's iron rich!

Do you eat it often in your household? Does it worry you? Not fear mongering, I know there are MANY factors in cancer for example and many things are 'bad' for us, but my thoughts have been around this for a while.

Twice a month. Also fish and chicken fans here, in fact I bought Heck chicken mince for a chilli the other day and much preferred it so that will probably become rarely.

Spinach, cabbage and lentils are iron rich too.

I don’t eat it but my dd has it at school a few times a week & maybe 1-2 times per week (ham/steak pie).

at home she gets me saying poor animals & processed meat is bad for you
& at ex’s it’s all about how great meat is etc!

Maybe 3 times a week. Spaghetti/chilli one day. Burger another and maybe toad in the hole another. They do like chicken as well though so probably have that 3 times a week as well

I probably eat red meat most days ... as does my DH & DS ... no health issues & I am mid 60s.

Probs around 3 - 4 times a week.

Dd and I don't eat meat. Dh and ds probably have red meat 1-2 times a fortnight.

This is interesting. Hadn't though about chicken mince, I'll try that as he doesn't love the texture of poultry but will eat mince so that might be a winner. Ditto chicken sausages.

We eat mince around twice a week. I'm not a big fan of other red meat, I don't buy steaks or lamb or anything like that. I prefer chicken and fish.

Probably twice in an average week. I do worry about it but clearly not enough to change anything as yet!

Never. Chicken and fish only here if we’re having meat, but lentils are a huge part of our diet, so we’d have lentil bolognaise, for example.

DS has red meat a couple of times a week at nursery. We don’t eat any red meat at home and use veggie sausages/mince etc instead. That’s more an environmental/personal preference thing than a health thing though to be honest. The choice is brilliant these days. We eat fish a couple of times a week and maybe chicken once a week.

Often.
It's very good for you and the vitamins and minerals are easy for your body to absorb.

Very rarely at home, we mainly have chicken and turkey if having meat. None at school as they have packed lunches every day. They're not "not allowed" it though, I wouldn't interfere with what they eat at friends' houses for example and they usually order what they want in restaurants. I eat it probably less than once a month.

Fascinating thread. I must eat red meat almost every day excluding the chicken days, I'm a big mince fan especially as it's so versatile chilli con carne, spaghetti or just plain mince and potatoes. Ive never heard anyone saying it was unhealthy before other than some extreme vegan sects who also say a lot of questionable stuff.
Beef is an excellent source of nutrients, the iron in beef is much more easily absorbed by the body then plant based iron. I would try not to go ott with reducing red meat intake if I were you as your son must be needing it if he's low iron and enjoys meat

DD is 2 and doesn't have it all but eats fish, I went vegetarian myself after a relative died young of bowel cancer despite a healthy (but very meat heavy) lifestyle

We probably have a mince based dish about twice a month - don’t eat burgers , streaks or joints . We are more of a fish eating or vege household .

Once every four or five months tbh. We have some fish and otherwise vegetarian.

Don't eat dead stuff

A fair amount. We buy from the farmer next door. DD1 doesn't eat much meat but the rest of us do. I love a rib-eye steak on the BBQ and we can see the cows the next one'll come from when we look across the field!

https://www.hughgrierson.co.uk

Twice a week. We meal plan for optimal nutrients. red meat is the best dietary source of iron. We don’t eat processed food though, mince is chopped up in front of me by the butcher. I make burgers/meatballs.

Never

Very rarely now as family member has been treated for bowel cancer. Also for environmental reasons and worries around what is injected into the animals. We have surprised ourselves by now liking our veggie meals using loads of beans, nuts and lentils. If you give him a nutty bean burger with a lovely bun and all the fillings plus melty cheese would that work? Or fish burger? Also have used turkey mince, chicken and fish.

Would your DS eat veggie sausages if you disguise them with ketchup or quorn mince in cottage pie? If he likes fish fingers would he eat other breaded fish? Would he make vegetable kebabs with you from corn on the cob, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and courgette for home bbqs? Sometimes DC can be persuaded to eat more veg if they choose and cook it. Good luck OP.

It’s reasonable to reduce intake of processed meat - bacon, charcuterie, sausages - as they contain nitrites associated with increased bowel cancer risk, but unprocessed red meat is not particularly hazardous, and a good source of iron and first class protein.
I often make curries with lean lamb, enjoy a nice roast pork joint with crackling, and use lean beef mince in everything from cottage pie to lasagna and moussaka. Fillet steak is a bit pricey but I love it in beef stroganoff. I have so far reached my late sixties with no apparent damage!

A couple of times a week.