Choosing the Best Cold Cuts (Daily Dish)
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Choosing the Best Cold Cuts (Daily Dish)
| Fri, 07-13-2007 - 6:33pm |
Choosing the Best Cold Cuts
1. Choose lean meats that are low in saturated fat. Fresh turkey breast, boiled ham, and chicken breast are all great choices. Lean roast beef is also fine.
2. Avoid processed meats with fillers. Fillers are carbohydrate additives that are used to hold the meat together and reduce production costs. Look for modified food starch, wheat starch, and corn starch in the ingredient list, and avoid products made with these fillers unless they appear near the end of the ingredient list. If this is the case, the amount of starch is miniscule.
Presliced deli lunchmeats provide protein and make for handy on-the-go eating. But before you stop at the deli counter, check out this shopping guide to learn which meats are South Beach Diet®-recommended and which ingredients you should avoid:
1. Choose lean meats that are low in saturated fat. Fresh turkey breast, boiled ham, and chicken breast are all great choices. Lean roast beef is also fine.
2. Avoid processed meats with fillers. Fillers are carbohydrate additives that are used to hold the meat together and reduce production costs. Look for modified food starch, wheat starch, and corn starch in the ingredient list, and avoid products made with these fillers unless they appear near the end of the ingredient list. If this is the case, the amount of starch is miniscule.
3. Steer clear of meats with added sugar like honey-baked ham or honey-roasted turkey. If you'd like to add more flavor to your deli meat, try spreading a little mustard or mayonnaise on it.



Here's one that always concerns me. I tend to buy mainly turkey breast or sometimes lean roast beef. I tend to buy the brands that say 97 or 99% fat free. But how do I know the ingredients? I cant' read the labels through the deli counter. And I can't see the deli clerk reading the labels off to me. Am I safe with going with the almost fat free meats? Are there certain brands SB recommends perhaps?
TIA
Tara
I wouldn't worry about the actual ingredients. The following deli meats are permitted:
LUNCHMEAT
Fat-free or low-fat only
Boiled ham
Deli sliced turkey breast
Steamship roast beef
Smoked ham
If you want to read the labels, look for brands that have 4.5 g or less saturated fat.