...Here are things I do to satisfy the tastes of the meat eaters in my house. Kiddo is eating low carb a lot (thankfully not all the time) and between that and lots of exercise has lost fifty plus pounds as a result. Hubby is wanting meat items, too, of course. These aren't rocket science but maybe there's a few useful nuggets here...
*If at all possible have a freezer. If you can't afford a new one, try looking around for used. We found a full sized freezer years ago listed on an employee bulletin board at hub's work. $25. Seriously. It is ugly, but works like a charm. If you put it in the garage or basement (which is where ours is) who cares how it looks anyway?
*Shop the sales. I load up on stuff that is dirt cheap this week and freeze most of it.
*Be willing to do a little work. I bought whole pork loins for two bucks a pound, and cut them into nice thick chops (boneless, and less fat than other pork chops) with my electric knife. Took only a few minutes and I had around 32 boneless chops for about sixty cents each. With a few other ingredients, still a whole lot cheaper than a value meal...and of course far more nutritious! :-)
*Try marinades. This is good for lower fat cuts o' meat too. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just some vinegar and oil, and some spices. Or be really easy about it and marinate stuff in readymade italian dressing. I recommend marinating in a double ziplock bag for good coverage.
*I do buy a fair amount of the closeout meat since I can freeze it right away. Has worked very well and is cheap cheap cheap.
*Frankly, another thing I do is buy stuff that I like that has no meat, like soy meat substitutes that are pretty darn good nowadays, or cook up a bunch of spaghetti with mushroom sauce that neither of the men-types complain about (heck, let's throw a few soy crumbles in that sauce too, or maybe a lot of them...*L*...but then again, don't tell 'em...). I substitute tofu for some of the ricotta and other cheeses in manicotti, enough cheese to get a good taste but enough tofu to really cut down the fat (low fat tofu in the asceptic paks is pretty good). Sneaky? Heck ya, whenever I can... *L*
The one thing I do NOT do is buy crappy cuts or fatty cuts. Boneless skinless chicken breast? Yep. Chicken quarters? I don't care how cheap they are, I rarely buy them. Regular ground beef? Naaaaah. 93/7 ground beef or turkey on sale? Yep, and I mix it with soy crumbles whenever appropriate, but don't tell the boys...:-)
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