How to choose beef?

So I've been having crazy bloating lately, I'm guessing it is due to the lack of protein. I don't really eat much meat anymore, but since beef seems to have a pretty high protein content, I'm thinking about adding it back into my diet. I usually eat tofu, cottage cheese, some soy, bean, eggs for my protein sources but I don't think I'm eating enough of it....

I just wanted to ask, how do you choose beef? I can't figure out the calories at all for these either. I don't know what I should be looking for the leanest cuts. :/ help? I never really bought beef so... It's like for chicken you automatically go for the breast meat. What part of the cow should I be aiming for? haha.

The meat I see at my grocery store doesn't really seem to have much labeling on it. It just says beef... or something.

I'm going to be eating other meats too (sigh. I liked eating mostly vegetarian meals (it's easier to cook too since I don't have to defrost meat and chop it up) but I rather be healthy. :) I'm probably going to pick up some shrimp and salmon too but wanted to ask about beef for future reference at the supermarket!

Also I don't really eat pork (once a year MAYBE), but any tips for picking pork in the future as well?

Beef is a great choice.  If you have access to grass-fed, organic beef that's a real treat.  If not, buy the best quality you can afford.   Rather than the hideous plastic packets at a supermarket, see if you can find an old-fashioned butcher's shop.   Butchers are much better with information than untrained supermarket staff and will happily chat about their products.

The leanest cuts tends to be the grilling/frying cuts such as fillet, sirloin or rump.  You only need a small amount (3 - 4oz) sliced nice and thinly, for example, to cook into a stir-fry.  Bizarrely CC doesn't seem to list the calories for uncooked beef but other sites will tell you it's about 150cals per 100g raw.    Choose cuts with small amounts of external fat.... but look for some nice 'marbling' of fat going through the meat itself.  This means it will have flavour and be juicy rather than taste like a bit of old shoe leather!  I don't rate frozen meat, btw... can be horribly tough if you're not careful.

Same applies to pork... the leanest cuts are loin and leg.  Choose pieces with a small amount of external fat and trim off any excess.

Mind you, don't get too hung up on 'lean'... the braising cuts like stewing steak, chuck, shin etc. take longer, slower cooking but the end result is very melt in the mouth. 

I only buy beef rump roast and pork tenderloin, which gi-jane mentioned above.  They are both very lean cuts of meat.  I also cook them in the crock pot.  It really tenderizes the rump roast, practically falls apart.  I sprinkle onion soup mix and a little water over the rump roast.  For the pork tenderloin, I use teriyaki sauce or BBQ sauce.

"Prime"  or "Choice"  cuts are best.  Pick leanest ground, if you buy that. Now packages are marked with various % of fat - makes it easy.

After raising my own beef cattle, I was very spoiled to excellant, fresh beef.  I didn't buy from stores for years.  Finally started buying pure Angus and it's not bad.

Organic, grass-fed, locally grown is great if you can find that.  Or if you have a real butcher/meat market in your area.

Original Post by glamgram:

"Prime"  or "Choice"  cuts are best.  Pick leanest ground, if you buy that. Now packages are marked with various % of fat - makes it easy.

It's hard to find these types of cuts in a supermarket though =[  I always find "select" whereever I go =/

Original Post by white_sakura:

Original Post by glamgram:

"Prime"  or "Choice"  cuts are best.  Pick leanest ground, if you buy that. Now packages are marked with various % of fat - makes it easy.

It's hard to find these types of cuts in a supermarket though =[  I always find "select" whereever I go =/

Select is actually the leanest since the grading is on the "juiciness" of the cut, which is based on fat content (marbling of fat) and age of the animal. Select is actually the best if you want to reduce fat but will usually require marinading etc to make it more tender.

From my experience you will normally need to go to an butcher, farm, or restaurant if you want prime cuts.

Are you sure you're not getting enough protein? Although I'm a happy meat eater, I do know it's possible to get plenty of protein in a vegetarian diet, and it sounds like you've been consuming lots of protein-rich foods. I'd suggest keeping track in your food log for a few days, just to make sure. Bloating can be due to lots of things, and if you'd rather not eat meat, it would be a shame to change your diet unnecessarily. That said, beef and pork are delicious :)

To answer your question, though - here's a guide to lean cuts of beef: http://www.mibeef.org/conleancuts.htm and one for lean pork: http://www.ncpork.org/pages/consumers/nutriti on.jsp

By the way, you can't judge quality of meat just by color, but the meat shouldn't smell off.

Meat with some fat marbled through the meat will be more tender. Leaner cuts can still be tasty, but will toughen if cooked to well or medium well (pre-ground meat should always be cooked through for food safety issues - ask the meat counter to grind a whole cut for you if you want rare ground beef). Cuts that are labeled as "simmering" or "stew" meat typically are very tough, but benefit from long, slow cooking that will leave them falling apart and tender. Avoid pre-cut "stir-fry strips" or cubes for stew - they won't necessarily all be from the same cut of meat and will cook at different rates.

The only way I eat red meat is if it's grass-fed. You can find grass-fed red meats at most all health food stores such as Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage, Trader Joes, Wild Oats, etc... if you're curious about this type of meat read more about it at EATWILD.COM... This website also has suppliers by state so you can see if you have any suppliers near by!

Thanks for all the help! :D Since I have these key words now (choice, select, prime) hopefully I'll be ok on my own.. LOL.

Kriklaf- Well, I know it's possible but the reason I couldn't really do vegetarian diet before was because I can't really keep up with all these numbers. I rather just eat meat and get it over with since one portion of meat has like 25g of protein compared to tofu around 15g for the same amount, I think. I also eat alot of cottage cheese to make up for it, but I can't keep up with all the numbers. sigh.

Since I don't eat meat that much I just go for the grocery store stuff.. I'm a poor college student *shrugs*