…anyone got any ideas on what I can pack my kids in their lunches? Currently they have lunch meat sandwiches maybe 3 times per week. (hot lunch and peanut butter on the other days)
I don’t think they will go for tofu or anything like that.
Heck, I’m going to have the same problem with the dinner table! I can’t eliminate all the red meat, but I can cut back. Looking for some tasty options.
Help!
As a vegetarian (well, I do eat some types of fish, so I guess pescatarian for now), I love almond butter and banana sandwiches for lunch; Swiss cheese sandwiches; egg salad (homemade) sandwiches; an occasional tuna sandwich (watch the mercury); sardine sandwiches.
You continue to give them the exact same thing. This whole thing has been blown ridiculously out of proportion.
I’m a vegetarian and I think it’s great for people to cut down on meat but people need to stop listening to the over sensationalized headlines.
^^^Disagree. Whether it causes cancer or not, and I realize at this point it’s correlation, not causation, processed meats are extremely unhealthy. That’s not why I became a vegetarian, but I think OP is making a good choice cutting the processed meats out (I would actually say the same for most highly-processed foods - and that, I actually have personal experience with).
I wouldn’t worry about it. The media are greatly exaggerating the importance of this relationship.
If you were going to choose one thing to do to improve your family’s health, I don’t think that eliminating red meat from their diets would be the most useful choice.
Yes but two different issues.
If someone wants to cut down on processed meat, fine. But doing it because of the cancer “link” is likely to cause stress. You know what’s actually really bad for you? Stress.
Interesting theory. I wonder if it is correct.
Define “extremely”.
Is that more or less unhealthy than smoking, drinking and obesity, for example?
Well, chicken breast sandwiches might be better (albeit more expensive, and you’d have to cook them).
Roast your own meats - poultry? - and make sandwiches out of them. It’s easy to stick a bird - chicken or turkey - in the oven on Sunday and use that throughout the week.
Hummus, veggies in a pita or wrap.
I do agree that I think there is some hype here but maybe cut back rather than cutting it out completely? There are other benefits to cutting back, both health wise and in terms of environmental impact, so its all good. 
I don’t know if the new study is overblown or not, but less consumption of red meat in the American diet is a good thing. Trying to completely eliminate something from your personal menu usually doesn’t work out well, if you really enjoy the item. So if you are truly concerned, then try eating less of that item. I enjoy bologna, hot dogs, cured southern ham etc. But I know it could cause significant damage to my health if I ate them frequently.
For children and young adults, cured pork and beef perhaps isn’t much of a problem. But adults should try to include lean protein (and low sodium) their diet; not necessarily to the total exclusion of pork and beef products. If I was concerned about a kids’ bologna lunch, I would try to get them to eat more sandwiches made of the following;
hard cheese
egg salad
chicken salad
tuna or salmon
roast beef
roast pork
turkey
if you’re a mayo fan like me, dilute the mayo with a nearly equal amount of plain yogurt. You will hardly notice the difference in taste. Or just use mustard.
Why is processed meat bad? If it’s because of nitrate, there are natural choices made with meat and salt only. They can be salty but not cancer causing, I would think.
I’m pretty suspicious of cheese. After all, cheese is a mold and molds have no self defense mechanisms other than creating…poisons.
Although it’s processed, I think turkey slices are healthier than ham…so I always get smoked turkey or chipotle turkey is very good. You can also buy the prepackaged ones that are healthy…but I don’t think as tasty.
Ummmm…the “smoking” process is one of the things that are implicated.
Proscuitto, then. No smoking or cooking.
According to the article I read this morning, it is not because of chemical additives (although they could be bad also) but rather that processing (as well as at least some kinds of cooking) causes chemical changes in the meat itself that result in higher levels of potentially carcinogenic compounds.
What is “processed meat”? Surprise:
https://www.yahoo.com/health/processed-meat-isnt-just-bacon-and-sausage-194334919.html
Avoid processed turkey meat, too. A sandwich made from a roasted turkey breast is delightful. Substitute chicken breast if you like. Chicken sandwiches using roasted leg meat or thigh meat is a staple for me.
My sons have the same sack lunch every day. Water, peanut butter sandwich, apple and crackers. On occasion I will put in some cookies or a pear. While it sounds boring but I know it won’t spoil. I’ve thought about doing hummus but I’m not sure how that would hold up in a paper sack.
Processing includes the risk from the chemicals, both the added chemicals and the “chemicals” created during the smoking, aging, processing, etc.