Meat with high protein content,
No more chicken breast.
This story is a translation of my personal opinion as a Korean for non-Korean speakers.
Please let me know if anything is uncomfortable for you as this is my personal story,
and please direct any comments or concerns to me as an individual,
not to Korea as a whole.
- dooFteP -
Hello, my fellow T-it (Tistory neighbor) friends!
Today,
let's talk about meat options for people who work out.
Most fitness enthusiasts consume
protein before and after exercise,
often through options like chicken breast
or protein powder.
However,
I personally have tried chicken breast before
and found it to be very smelly and not very tasty.
While it's true that seasoning should be minimal
to ensure healthy protein absorption,
I began to wonder if chicken breast
is the only option.
That's why I started looking into
alternative meat options.
First, let's take a look at the nutritional
values of chicken breast.
(All nutritional information is based on
Fatsecret: site-name)
[✨Chicken Breast - 100g]
Calories: 109
Protein: 23.10g
Carbohydrate: 1g
Fat: 1.23g
Wow, 23.10g of protein per 100g is a huge amount.
However, when chicken breast is cooked,
the weight may change slightly.
This is known as yield and applies to all meats.
When you go to a butcher and buy
one kilogram of meat,
for example,
only 60-70% of the weight will remain after cooking
due to evaporation.
However, it doesn't matter much.
Even if you heat the meat,
fat and moisture decrease,
but protein only undergoes structural changes
without any change in amount.
Unless it is severely overheated,
there is no problem nutritionally or
healthwise,
so you can eat it with confidence.
I asked Jang Chang-kyu,
a friend and a current trainer,
He set the intake standard based on
the uncooked weight and determine
the daily protein intake standard
(Of course, the standard can vary by trainer.)
I'm writing this post because the meat plan
for athletes has fallen through (^^.......)
and let's now take a look at alternative meats.
First, because pork has a high fat content,
we looked into beef.
In Korea, we looked into Australian beef,
which is cheaper than American or domestic beef
and has the lowest BMS(fat-marbling)
index among beef.
Australian beef is raised on grass,
which makes it significantly lower in fat compared
to American and domestic beef,
but it has a distinctive taste that can be
divisive due to the flavor of grass
and weeds in the meat.
On the other hand,
the reason why Korean and American beef have a
buttery taste is that they are fed
with soybeans and corn,
which are high in fat
If we choose the parts with good value for money, there are
Round(설도), Eye of round(홍두깨살), Rump(우둔살)
The advantages of beef are that it naturally contains
a high amount of creatine,
which means you don't have to
take separate creatine supplements
( * average price for one serving of creatine: about 350 won)
It's also considered the most delicious
of the three major meats★
The disadvantages are that it has slightly
higher fat content compared to chicken breast
and is more expensive.
This labeling indicates that the country of
origin is not specified for the listed ingredients,
and Australian beef,
which has the lowest BMS(Beef Marbling Score) index,
is more likely to have lower fat content.
[✨Round-100g]
Calories: 122
Protein: 23.5g
Carbohydrate: 0g
Fat: Below 2.5g
Round(Australian beef) has a higher protein
content than chicken breast,
and the fat content is also very low.
However,
it may have a slightly beefy taste
due to its high myoglobin content.
[✨Eye of round-100g]
Calories: 128
Protein: 22.8g
Carbohydrate: 0g
Fat: Below 3.38g
Eye of round(Australian beef) is a popular cut
often used for beef tartare,
and has slightly lower protein content and
slightly higher fat content than chicken breast.
[✨Rump-100g]
Calories: 137
Protein: 22.17
Carbohydrate: 0
Fat: Below 4.94
Rump(Australian beef) has similar protein
content to chicken breast,
but the fat content is much higher compared
to Round and Eye of round.
It is located next to the tenderloin,
so it is very tasty
After comparing the three,
I think there's a slight problem with
Rump for continuous consumption,
but of course,
it gets better with more heat treatment.
Let's check the price for now
As of March 22th, 2023:
(1$=1,305.00₩)
chicken breast(korea) 1kg - about 7,500 ₩
Round(Australian) 1kg - about 11,500 ₩
Eye of round(Australian) 1kg - about 13,900 ₩
Rump(Australian) 1kg - about 12,800 ₩
Looking at 100g portions:
chicken breast(korea) 100g - about 750 ₩
Round(Australian) 100g - about 1,150 ₩
Eye of round(Australian) 100g - about 1,390 ₩
Rump(Australian) 100g - about 1,280 ₩
There's definitely a reason
why chicken breast is so popular.
However,
if you're willing to invest a little more,
you can also purchase Rump.
If you're looking for a meat to replace chicken breast,
Round seems to be the most efficient choice
as the price for Eye of round is set quite
high due to its popularity for raw beef dishes.
These days,
there is a trend of seeking both taste and health in food,
and as a result,
more and more products are being developed as alternatives
to chicken breast for fitness enthusiasts.
However,
the high prices of these products often make me
hesitant to purchase them.
Instead,
I suggest trying to make your own meals at home
using lean beef with low fat content,
preferably purchased from a local butcher, discount store,
or online, and incorporating creatine for an extra boost,
without any added carbohydrates.
With the recent sharp increase in interest rates,
it has become a trend to look for affordable products
as real income decreases.
However,
in this challenging world,
how about giving yourself
a little more delicious food as a gift?
✨As for myself✨
I am writing this post wondering what meat
could be a substitute for chicken breast,
which is somewhat lacking in flavor,
for those who exercise.
I hope this post can be helpful to many people
The end
Image support - MeatMadam, FoodranPlus
Translation support - Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer
Request for information review - Fitness trainer Chang-kyu Jang