• Topics: Family Youth and Community Sciences  | Meat Group  |  Warren, Glenda 

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts¹

Eat 2-3 servings every day.

Choose lean meat, poultry without skin, fish, and dry beans and peas often.

What counts as one serving?

• 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish count as one serving.

• 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans or 1 egg counts as one ounce of lean meat.

• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 1/3 cup of nuts count as one ounce of meat.

Getting enough food from this food group is not a problem for most people. People only need two to three servings daily, totaling 5 to 7 ounces of lean, cooked meat to get their needed protein.

Meat, poultry, and fish supply protein, B vitamins, iron, and zinc. The other foods in this group - dry beans, eggs, and nuts -- are similar to meats in providing protein and most vitamins and minerals. The Food Guide Pyramid suggests 2 to 3 servings each day of foods from this group. The total amount of these servings should be the equivalent of 5 to 7 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish per day.

Eight Tips for Selecting and Serving Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts:

• Choose lean meat, poultry without skin, fish, and dry beans and peas often. They are the choices lowest in fat.

• Buy fresh or plain frozen fish; tuna fish canned in water.

• Serve more beans with meals. Most beans and bean products are almost fat-free and are a good source of protein and fiber.

• Go easy on egg yolks; they are high in cholesterol. Use only one yolk per person in egg dishes. Make larger portions by adding extra egg whites. One egg yolk has about 215 mg of cholesterol. Egg whites contain no cholesterol and can be used freely.

• Nuts and seeds are high in fat, so eat them in moderation.

• Limit intake of high-fat processed meats such as sausages, salami, and other cold cuts. Choose lower fat varieties by reading the Nutrition Facts Label.

• Limit the intake of organ meats (three ounces of cooked chicken livers have about 540 mg of cholesterol).

• Prepare meats in lowfat ways.

Reduce Your Intake of Fat, Saturated Fat, and Cholesterol

• Follow these recommendations, as illustrated in the Food Guide Pyramid, which apply to diets consumed over several days and not to single meals or foods.

• Use fats and oils sparingly.

• Use the Nutrition Facts Label to help you choose foods lower in fat, and cholesterol.

• Eat plenty of grain products, vegetables, and fruits.

• Choose lowfat milk products, lean meats, fish, poultry, beans, and peas to get essential nutrients without substantially increasing calorie and saturated fat intakes.

How to Prepare Meats in Lowfat Ways:

• Trim away all the fat you can see. Cut fat from meat, chicken or turkey before you cook it. Remove skin from poultry before cooking.

• Broil, roast, or boil these foods, instead of frying them.

• If you decide to fry foods occasionally, try oven frying instead of deep fat frying. (Dip poultry into water or milk. Coat with corn flake crumbs, cracker crumbs, or bread crumbs. Bake in oven.)

• Try substituting ground turkey or chicken for ground beef in casseroles and other dishes.

• Cool stews and soups before serving so you can skim fat off the top.

• Limit sauces and gravies that are high in saturated fats, such as cream sauce.

• Modify recipes so you use smaller amounts and leaner cuts of meat and more of other ingredients like potatoes, rice, noodles, grains, or vegetables.

Some foods fit into more than one group. Dry beans, peas, and lentils can be counted as servings in either the meat and beans group or the vegetable group. These "cross over" foods can be counted as servings from either group, but not both.

Keep Sodium Content Low

• Use onion or garlic powder instead of seasoned salts.

• Season with herbs and spices

• Use commercially prepared sauces sparingly, they are usually high in sugar or sodium or both.

What Does One Serving Look Like?

• Three ounces of cooked lean meat or chicken without skin is about the size of a deck of cards or about the size of the palm of a womans hand. These three ounces provide about 6 grams of fat.

• Three ounces of untrimmed meat or chicken with skin may have twice as much fat as lean meat or chicken without skin.

Choose foods from each of five food groups

The Food Guide Pyramid illustrates the importance of balance among food groups in a daily eating pattern. Most of the daily servings of food should be selected from the food groups that are the largest in the picture and closest to the base of the Pyramid.

• Choose most of your foods from the grain products group (6-11 servings), the vegetable group (3-5 servings), and the fruit group (2-4 servings).

• Eat moderate amounts of foods from the milk group (2-3 servings) and the meat and bean group (2-3 servings).

• Choose sparingly foods that provide few nutrients and are high in fat and sugars

Note: A range of servings is given for each food group. The smaller number is for people who consume about 1,600 calories a day, such as many sedentary women. The larger number is for those who consume about 2,800 calories a day, such as active men.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.

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