Meat Just Ain't What It Used To Be

[xenophile 9]

I've started eating some meats again, and I'm finding that I'm disappointed most of the time. After several chews every meat I've had (tuna, salmon, chicken, shredded pork so far--sadly, I'm allergic to shellfish) becomes so tasteless and yucky that I don't want to swallow it. {Big sigh.} Have others had this experience?

I wonder if it's the quality or preparation of the food. Or maybe meat has always been this tasteless underneath all the spices and grease, and I was just inhaling it too quickly to notice?

[SleeveDreamer 383]

I was thinking the same thing. My sleeve is not a chicken fan I am finding out, and I was a chicken fanatic before. Now I find that it tastes really stringy or something, and don't want it. As far as tuna, I have been eating the little StarKist 3 1/2 oz. pouches of ready made albacore (already mixed with mayo and very tiny diced celery you can barely see and it is great! I could eat them all the time. haven't tried red meat yet. I had 2 oz. of a pork chop last night and it was great but very tender cuz I grilled it. But i knowed I inhaled my food before so I probably never ate slow enough to taste it anyway, LOL!

[Lissa 2,631]

I've found that I really like my chicken either grilled or boiled with a little Water and some spices. I also am a fan of salad dressings now in a way that I never was before! I keep some ranch, vidalia onion, and italian dressing in the fridge at all times. The italian dressing is great to use instead of oil to cook chicken. Egg Face says that the key to eating meat after WLS is moisture, and she's right. She makes tons of different sauces/dips for her meat and that inspired me to keep the dressings on hand. I also like yogurt (unflavored greek right now) because I can mix in seasonings if I want something "italian" or "mexican" flavoried.

There are tons of pre-seasoned meats for sale in the freezer section, but I usually will read the ingredients to see how something is prepared and then try to re-create that item at home. I also buy frozen wings, legs and thighs and will cook one or two at a time because I find the serving sizes on most prepared frozen dinners are too big for me now. THAT's a huge change from pre-op when I felt like they were way too small!

Oh, and I really love Beans now. They weren't my favorite before surgery, but now I'll throw some Beans in the crockpot and eat them alone or with a small piece of meat for lunch or dinner. Yummy!!

Each of us learns what works for us by trial and error, so don't be afraid to experiment.

[longer-life 139]

For me it's all in the preparation and seasoning. I now prefer my meats cooked in a sauce, rather than dipped. meats that are made in the crockpot, tagine or slow cooked on the stovetop. Beef stew, chicken Tikka Masala, meatballs cooked in Pasta sauce etc. Soft and well seasoned are the key for me. Ground beef has to have "Taco Bells" consistency. After browning it, blending it will achieve this consistency. Then it goes back in the pan to get a Tomato based or taco sauce. I learned the "blending" part of it here and it works like a charm.

The only "dry" meat I eat is DARK skinless rotisserie chicken and 1 (maximum 2 if I push it) smoked ribs from Bonos . The rest tastes too stringy and dry, as previously mentioned. Good luck. I hope you experiment and find what works for you! :smile1:

[xenophile 9]

Thanks for those suggestions, Lissa and longer-life. Moisture is definitely going to be key! I really like the dressings idea--time to experiment!

I never was much of a cook before getting sleeved, but it looks like that's going to be my new hobby (along with my shiny new-to-me Wii, which I just got this weekend...now I just need to clean my living room so I can set it up!!! lol).

[KellyL 173]

I wasn't much of a cook before surgery, nor am I post-op either really lol. But I do love to experiment with different meats and ways to cook it. I use the CrockPot a lot, I love the way the chicken or whatever comes out so tender and moist. I also use the George Foreman Grill for more spontaneous Protein meals if I didn't put something in the CrockPot. Everyone is completely right, keeping it moist is totally the key. I too use Plain Greek yogurt as a base for a lot of dressings/dips for dipping.

I LOVE smoked chicken! So I pick up a half or whole smoked chicken and it lasts for a lot of meals. I like to dip it in the white sauce that's popular here in the south. I think it's basically mayo, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper and sweetener, which is probably sugar in the restaurants or commercial in the store, but you could make your own and use a little stevia. I really want to get an electric indoor smoker, not sure when I'll do that. But as much meat as I now eat, I think it would be totally worth it!

I love the idea of putting the ground beef in the blender, because burger meat is one thing even now, kinda grosses me out. I think it's the texture and bulkiness. Blending it to taco bell consistency sounds much better! I also use the frozen meatballs a lot. I like to heat them up in spaghetti sauce, then melt shredded mozzarella cheese on top then sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. It only takes a few, but the ones I get, 6 meatballs are suppose to be 3 oz. I still can't eat that many though. I don't even miss the Pasta part of it! I'll take cheese over pasta any day! hehe

[PdxMan 4,292]

Something to remember, too, is early on, until you can get your carbs up, your body may be in some varying degree of ketosis. Search the site for ketosis for lots of discussions on it.

One of the by-products is a funky taste in your mouth that throws the flavor of everything off. Once I got my body out of that, things started to return to normal.

[xenophile 9]

KellyL--thanks for those suggestions! I'll definitely put a crock pot on my list of gadgets to buy.

PdxMan--great reminder! I had forgotten about that issue once I got through the crazy "hot flashes" stage of weeks 2 & 3.

[circa 333]

Before the sleeve, I was never able to eat meat that was cooked past medium. I felt it was dry and lost all of its flavor. I think any meat that's dry is flavorless and pretty much always have. I think juiciness is the key to the flavor AND nutrients. You cook them all away if you turn the meat to shoe leather

[Amanda 3.0 140]

I kind of assumed that steak was a thing of the past, but at 7-1/2 weeks, I ordered and ate some medium-rare flatiron steak tonight. Granted it was just a little bit, and I cut each bite very small. But it was delicious and I had no negative reaction whatsoever. My husband ate most of the steak, but I got my fill.

I think the key will be eating medium rare or rare steaks.

But I was so happy I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! STEAK! lol

The only things I can't tolerate, so far, are avocados and my multivitamins!

[ckuri69 4]

Hi just wanted to let you know my wife had a DS switch 10 years ago and also has a hard time with meat. she likes her meat well done which dries it out to much at the rate she can eat so she bought a National pressure cooker model # sr-106n not sure if that model is still around but the korean women at her work use it for there brown rice but i have been useing it to cook for her the timer will cook in one hour sets and has a keep warm setting even used that setting to warm up nacho sauce for my kids. i put any type of meat ( i like rib eye ) one of the best tasteing and tender cuts of meat. i cut it up into 1/2 to 1'' pieces add some golden potatoes a little garlic and onion and put one can of cream of mushroom (small can) and a little red cooking wine. cook for one hour and season to taste after because its easy to add then remove salt and you have a very tender and moist dinner or lunch every time. any pressure cooker would probably work i just like this one the best. hope this helps

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Loved meat pre-sleeve. Love it now. The only meat I have trouble tolerating is BBQ ribs, for whatever reason - I have more than 1 rib and start sliming immediately.

[ckuri69 4]

ribs are not to big a problem for my wife but i try to use pork instead of beef and i dont over due the sauce because she can always add more later. I get spare ribs do a dry rub let them sit over night thin a trash bag them wrap them in foil and put them on the grill for three hours at 200 and open them the last 15 min. and brush some sauce on the and let them carmalize remove and enjoy. :biggrin2:

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

i haven't had any difficulties with meats. I love me3eat fo the Protein. I don't like BBQ Sauce due to it bein too sweet. But without sauce it's great as long as it's very tender and falling off the bone. I like all the suggestions also. Thank you!

[AllForMy4 58]

_{What is sliming? Is it like when you take one bite too many and then the food like starts coming back up your throat,sorry tmi but this happens to me after eating less than an ounce of food and it sickens me! I am 2 and a half weeks out.}

_{Loved meat pre-sleeve. Love it now. The only meat I have trouble tolerating is BBQ ribs, for whatever reason - I have more than 1 rib and start sliming immediately.}