Red Meat, Poultry & Fish Tips

Cut down on bacon and sausage.

• Eat smaller amounts.
• Try having breakfast without meat.
• Don’t add bacon to sandwiches.
• Try turkey bacon and turkey smoked sausage, but not too often—these are still high in salt (sodium).
• Use small pieces of lean ham for seasoning or in recipes calling for bacon or sausage.
• Pick healthier lunch foods.
• For sandwiches, try these instead of hot dogs, bologna, or salami:
• sliced lean beef, ham, chicken or turkey
• water-packed canned light tuna (low salt/sodium)
• low-fat cheese
• peanut butter and jelly or banana
• Try these other lunch ideas:
• healthy leftovers
• soups (low salt/sodium)
• salads with oil and vinegar dressing

Cut down on beef or pork high in saturated fat.

• Trim off extra fat.
• Buy lean cuts like:

• Beef: round, sirloin, loin
• Pork: trimmed pork chops, fresh ham, shoulder, neckbone
• Cook with olive, canola, or other vegetable oils.
• Keep servings the size of a pack of cards (3 ounces).

Pay attention to how you prepare hamburger.

• Choose extra lean or lean hamburger—darker red means leaner.
• Try great-tasting ground turkey, which often has less saturated fat.
• Grill hamburger patties, or brown the meat and drain off the fat.
• Stay away from hamburgers with sauces and lots of cheese.

Eat more chicken and turkey.

• Bake, broil, or barbecue chicken.
• Add a little olive oil to keep the meat moist.
• If you fry chicken, use olive, canola, or other vegetable oils.
• Eat turkey instead of beef or pork.
• Try using lean ground turkey or chicken (or lean ham) to season your vegetables.

Choose fish more often.

• Try baked, broiled, or grilled fish.
• When frying fish, use olive, canola, or other vegetable oils instead of shortening or lard.
• Try some of the fish that have healthy fats, like canned light tuna, sardines, herring, canned or fresh salmon, or lake trout.
• When you eat canned tuna, choose low-salt (low sodium), light tuna packed in water.
• Some fish contain mercury, which can be harmful if eaten in large amounts. Fish with low levels of mercury include salmon, catfish, shrimp, and sardines.