How many processed meat meals do you have a week?

M0neysav3r

Hi All

I was just wondering how many of you eat mince / sausages etc every week and how many times a week?

We do eat alot of other things too but the last few weeks i've been aware of how many Chilli's / Bolognaise / Sausage meals we've had and wonder how good this is for our health?

This last week we've had 4 meals containing mince or sausages.....

spike7451

To me,it depends on where you get your meat from,a butchers or a packet from the chiller.I eat sausages about twice a week,for breakfast & for tea but my sausages come from my butchers,as does my burgers,pasties,mince ect.
A processed meat meal to me is a ready meal,which uses meat that has been bulked out or uses some M.R meat content.Of these I don't eat any.

Aarons_mummy

We have sausages once a week at the most, I don't eat mince but I agree with Spike that I think it's dependent on where you get your meat from.

I would have said processed meat is more ready meals or frozen things you can throw in the oven etc. Mince based meals I imagine would be a lot healthier than ready meals so I wouldn't worry too much

3v3

I get my mince and sausages from the local butcher and neither would go on my idea of "processed" foods.

Tigsteroonie

Is this thread off the back of the health bulletin earlier in the week about processed meat consumption being linked to certain cancers?

I didn't think mince counted as processed, more sausages and bacon ... although I guess mince is processed, how else do they turn meat into mince? I was wondering about processed sliced meat - ham, salami etc. I take sandwiches to work 5 days a week, normally with some form of processed meat in. It's not a huge quantity but would it count?

Mojisola

Mince isn't processed - it's meat that's being ground up and is sold fresh or frozen. Processed meat will have been through a process and/or have added ingredients designed to preserve it.

3v3

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Is this thread off the back of the health bulletin earlier in the week about processed meat consumption being linked to certain cancers?

I didn't think mince counted as processed, more sausages and bacon ... although I guess mince is processed, how else do they turn meat into mince? I was wondering about processed sliced meat - ham, salami etc. I take sandwiches to work 5 days a week, normally with some form of processed meat in. It's not a huge quantity but would it count?

I'm not convinced butchers sausages come under the heading of "processed" because it is minced meat, seasoning and a type of rusk added and then fed through a casing. Bacon, yes, because it has to be "cured" which is a processing method.

Mince isn't "processed" as such, it is ... well, minced! :rotfl:Meat fed through a mincing machine. It's a procedure, but not "processed" in the food context of processed food.

Processed foods are described in this article

cutestkids

I think that this is a good example of just how little understanding there is over what is healthy and what is not, mince is just meat that has been put through a grinder it has not had anything added to it, the main things to cut back on are thinks like ceaper packs of ham and cold meats that are reformed and have who knows what added,
There is a world of difference between a slice of ham that you have roasted yourself and a slice of ham from a packet although both are still processed the packet stuff is much more highly processed:)

[Deleted User]

virtually none as I like to know what I am eating and because of an auto immune problem I would be rather ill if I ate anything like burgers or processed ham I prefer to cook from scratch what I eat that way I know whats in it .My local butcher stocks 'rare breed' meat and in the past 16 years I have never had anything but the nicest meat to eat.He isn't any dearer than a supermarket and will often get you things like ham hocks and lamb shanks almost cut from the animal in front of you.I couldn't eat 'plastic ham I think I would rather eat the package it would probably taste nicer.I would rather cut back on meat and get a little of better quality that a lot of fatty junk.I do bulk meals out with lots of vegatables to help keep the cost down.If on rare occasions I take my grandchildren into McD's I will drink the coffee and they eat the food as I am not keen on eating with my fingers out of cardboard boxes.its just an age thing i suppose but I like my food on a plate with knives and forks to eat it with Daft really but I can't change now at my age

HariboJunkie

We eat good quality mince once a week but it is usually mixed with soya mince or lentils to pad it out/make it healthier. It's minced steak so not "processed int he same way as bacon for example".

We eat good quality sausages about once a week too but I am trying to cut back on that due to their high fat.

Bacon is relatively rare in this house for health reasons. I don't buy cooked ham anymore due to the additives ( I shudder at the things that go into "honey roast ham" but I often make my own from a gammon joint which has been well soaked to remove excess salt.

I think healthy food is often that which is closest to the original and hasn't been tampered with too much.

valk_scot

Good quality mince is fine, home made or very good quality butchers sausages made without nitrates or other preservatives are okay, home cooked and sliced cold meats are okay. It's the commercial processing that introduces the (possibly) risky ingredients, like nitrates, chemicals to hold extra water, preservatives, huge amounts of extra salt and other chemical flavour enhancers and, to a certain extent, any smoking process.

If you're keeping to the guidelines of 4-5 meat based meals per week and only one or perhaps two are made with processed meats then, basically, don't worry any more. If you're eating meat twice a day...perfectly possible if you include ham or other pre cooked meats in sandwiches, sausages and bacon....then yes, it's time to be thinking more carefully about what you're eating inside that slice of meat or sausage. As usual the message is to eat the best you can afford and cut back the cheaper more highly processed food.