Posted on: August 3, 2007

A Healthy Red Meat Revival

If the pleasures of red meat are just a memory as you try to trim fat and calories from your diet, you may be depriving yourself unnecessarily

By Bev Bennett
CTW Features

Fork-tender beef tenderloin; rich, sink-your-teeth-in leg of lamb.

If the pleasures of red meat are just a memory as you try to trim fat and calories from your diet, you may be depriving yourself unnecessarily.

Although the nutrition community has done an excellent job of promoting chicken breast, fish and seafood as healthy proteins, red meat is sometimes overlooked.

That’s unfortunate, because some of your favorite selections aren’t off limits, say dietitians.

“The big message with lamb is that the majority of cuts are lean,” says Allison Beadle, a registered dietitian in Austin, Texas.

Beef is also nutritious, with more than two dozen healthier cuts to choose from, according to Betsy Hornick, a registered dietitian in the Chicago area.

“There are 29 [beef] cuts that have total fat amounts that fall between a skinless chicken breast and a skinless chicken thigh,” says Hornick, co-author of “The Healthy Beef Cookbook” (John Wiley & Sons, 2006).

Unfortunately you won’t always see the word “lean” on a package of beef or lamb in your supermarket. Instead, you can make your selection from the leanest parts of the animal.

For lamb, that’s the loin or the leg, according to Beadle.

“Lamb is trimmed to 1/8- to 1/4-inch of fat on the outside. Consumers can trim the fat even more,” Beadle says.

“Round” and “loin” as in tenderloin are key words when beef shopping, says Hornick.

And while the prescribed three-ounce serving of meat may seem meager, you can double that to accommodate a steak. Just make that your only serving from the meat and beans category for the day, Hornick says.

What does lean mean?

When nutrition experts use the word lean to describe meat, they’re referring to a specific set of guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A serving of meat qualifies as lean if it has less than 10 grams total fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol in a 3.5-ounce serving.

Flank steak and tri-tip roast both fit the lean definition, so do leg of lamb and a broiled loin chop.

For comparison, a 3-ounce serving of cooked chicken breast has about 3 grams total fat. The same size portion of sirloin tip side steak has 4.1 grams total fat and roasted shank or sirloin leg of lamb has 6.58 grams total fat.

In addition, the average 3-ounce serving of roast lamb has about 175 calories, and beef comes in around 200, according to the dietitians. Chicken has about 140 calories for the portion.

Here is a delicious recipe for grilled tenderloin steaks adapted from “The Healthy Beef Cookbook.”

Tenderloin Steaks with Espresso-Bourbon Sauce

1/4 cup bourbon

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1-inch thick

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

Combine bourbon, maple syrup, soy sauce, lemon juice and coffee powder in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until the sauce is thickened and reduced by half, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Keep warm.

Place steaks on oiled grid over ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered for 13 minutes for medium-rare to medium doneness, turning over two or three times during grilling. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and serve with sauce on the side. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving has: 250 calories; 7 grams total fat; 26 grams protein; 15 grams carbohydrates; 67 milligrams cholesterol and 800 milligrams sodium.

Bev Bennett, a veteran food writer and editor, is the author of "Dinner for Two: A Cookbook for Couples" and "30-Minute Meals for Dummies"