How often do you eat meat and fish?

[Lookingforwardtothesummer]

I really reduced my meat consumption a few years ago, was having fish maybe twice a week. Meat just once or twice a year.

Over the last year however, I've started eating more meat as part of plan to try to raise ferritin which is always low.

I feel like I notice more energy the day after I've had red meat. I'd say I have it once a week now, more when I am eating out a lot as DP and I have had to travel quite a bit recently and ate out a lot then.

This weekend I had salmon on Saturday and steak on Sunday and I honestly feel like it's boosted my energy! They are very expensive though and we will have veggie meals now for the next few nights, but will probably eat out again as away later this week.

In general, trying to reduce consumption of meat for environmental reasons is a good thing I know, so I do feel a little guilty that now I'm adding more meat to my diet, it's like I'm going backwards

How much meat do you eat regularly? Do you feel better including it in your diet?

People can eat what they want but I do not believe being veggie or vegan leads to nutrition depletion, if you know how to cook balanced meals. Admittedly most people do not.

I am not vegan but I probably could be if I wanted to without any fatigue. My mum is mostly vegan- not by design- but because we are from a culture vegan for centuries. She is 77 and going on Himalayan treks.

I've not eaten meat in 17 years and have been vegan for 16. I don't take supplements apart from vitamin D because England isn't exactly sunny! I've never been iron (or anything except vitamin D) deficient. I wouldn't say I pay a huge amount of attention to making nutritionally balanced meals but I do try to have a varied diet.

Quite! And the same goes for any diet. I'm a lifelong vegetarian and these days eat mostly vegan food, and I've never been deficient in anything. Funnily enough everyone I know who has been diagnosed with iron or B12 deficiency has been an omni. No matter your diet, it's about cooking and eating balanced meals.

I think the problem arises because most vegan or veggie cultures know how to balance greens and pulses to get nutrition from plant sources, but people who suddenly switch to vegan or veggie diets without knowing how to do this may have deficiencies. But then people who eat a lot of meat or processed food may also have deficiencies.

Some people are weirdly hostile to vegetarian or vegan food and dress up their insecurities as pseudo-nutrition. I ignore them just like I ignore the people who guilt me about eating dead animal flesh.

They are both boring. Food is food. If you are interested in eating well you know that.

I draw the line at octopus though. I can't eat anything that is probably smarter than me. But that is my personal standpoint.

Don't eat meat
Eat fish 4 times a week approx
DH eats meat, cooks his own

I tried octopus once. I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again.

I tried octopus once. I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again.
@DdraigGoch that is your prerogative. You recommended eating offal. Lots of people find it disgusting. That is their prerogative too, isn't it?

I said that offal is nutritious, and might be a good choice for those trying to minimise their consumption (whether for cost or reducitarian reasons) but still get nutrients. I offered no opinion on flavour or texture - that's subjective after all.

You happened to mention octopus (which most people probably aren't familiar with, so it's unusual enough to be a talking point) and I responded with an innocent anecdote that I'd tried it once and didn't really take to it. That was all. No idea why you're getting snippy about that.

My mum hasn’t eaten meat for 44 years. She’s the healthiest person I know. No medical issues at all and all her own teeth. She’s 85 this year.

Never. If you're eating a good variety of other foods, including proteins and iron sources, you don't need it.

No idea why you're getting snippy about that.

@DdraigGoch I'm not snippy, I just understand that people have their likes and dislikes. We both know offal is cheap, nutritious and tasty but I also know that lots of people can't face it so there is no point suggesting it to them.

I like kidneys but in a restaurant one night my BIL said: "Urggh! They've got wee in them." He didn't say it to try to put me off - I hadn't even ordered - it was just an automatic reaction when he saw them on the menu.

He ordered the octopus - it's not that unusual, and we were in Britain. I didn't say he shouldn't have it because that's my issue not his and in a meat eater it's irrational and hypocritical. I have pets and so know animals have feelings and thoughts and awareness which might not be the same as humans but definitely exists. I just choose not to think about it in a cow or most things that aren't my pet. He didn't pretend to retch when I had the kidneys either because he's an adult too and probably thought: "Oops! I shouldn't have said that."

Sanctimonious people like you are why vegans are disliked by so many.

🙄

Meat 5-6 times a week, almost always for dinner.

I do love prawns and enjoy them in curries and noodle dishes, however I used to LOVE fish, but went right off it during my pregnancy and haven't been able to get back into eating it unless it's deep-fried, no idea why!

I tend to eat eggs, small amounts of cheese (have medium-level lactose intolerance) etc for lunch, have a bit of toast or crackers for breakfast, and snack in fruit during the day.

I do sometimes have a vegetarian dinner, however I do tend to find that I lack energy and get hungry again very quickly afterwards. I'm also very restricted in what kind of veg I can have (histamine intolerance, yey me!!) and my husband's training schedule means he needs a lot of protein.

If you're worried about the impact of your eating meat on the environment, are there any farm shops near you, or available online in your county? We buy as much bio, locally-grown food as possible, including animal products, and frankly enjoy buying straight from the producers instead of the supermarkets.

My family on Dads side were all farmers. Ate prodigious amounts of meat, but not much fish. They loved the extra fatty bits in particular. They ate lots of home shot game, pheasants and rabbits, and drank like anything. Most of them were very fat. They all lived into their late 90's and 100's. Who would have thought!

@KnittedCardi Lucky them, good genes. Most people wouldn't live as long with that diet or lifestyle though.

I don't know. Genes obvs play a role. But also everything they ate was fresh, local, home (literally back yard) grown. Unpasteurized milk and cheese. Fresh eggs. Very little was bought, and nothing processed. Stress free lives too. They even made pillows from the feathers of the plucked geese and ducks. Bit yuk, but nothing wasted.

Personally, not for 30 years

Rest of the household, most days. We try and have meat free Monday weekly if we can

Every day.
For my packed lunch at work I had a chicken sandwich, and for tea I'm having a fish pie.

Likewise. I won’t eat octopus because they’re seemingly very intelligent.

Haven’t eaten either in over 20 years, since I was 11. Never had an issue with energy levels as long as I’ve eaten a varied diet filled with vegetables and other protein sources.

I didn’t know the world had a ginger problem, tbh.

Anyway, isn’t rather unpleasant to stigmatise people just because of their hair colour? I can’t see how everyone giving up eating meat would help with the ‘ginger problem’ , unless you think that red heads are caused by their parents eating meat ( this is a fallacy). Even worse, do you think that redheads are unusually susceptible to the vitamin shortfall caused by veganism and so would……perish?

🧑🏻‍🦰🧑🏻‍🦰🧑🏻‍🦰🧑🏻‍🦰 = 🧠

Educate yourself, as I suspect you say to other people.

I didn’t know the world had a ginger problem, tbh.

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen I took that as an auto-correct for "hunger" and suspect you did too but couldn't resist your amusing routine about redheads. No one likes a clever dick. But maybe you didn't realise that "ginger" was an autocorrect for hunger in which case I apologise for you not getting it,

I don't entirely agree with @bamboowarrior but it is undoubted that we put far too many resources into farming meat and non-meat crops such as cotton (also avocados, quinoa and cocaine) than we should.

I think we should educate ourselves on these issues rather than making soppy jokes. Don't you?

I eat meat and am doing it tonight - chicken piccata with some sauteed potatoes and broad beans - here's a recipe .

I'll never give up eating animal flesh because I like it. But sometimes I eat vegetarian or vegan things because they are nice and I like food. https://themodernproper.com/chicken-piccata

I eat meat or fish pretty much every day.