Will you be eating turkey this Christmas or trying something different?
Ok, so when we think of a traditional Christmas, we might be thinking of sitting in front of a roaring open fire, playing board games like Monopoly, and hoping the family competitive spirit doesn’t get too out of hand…….But there is another type of Game that can be important in this season too – the meat variety.
According to this article, now is the perfect time to eat more Game – and butchers’ shops are stocked up with meats including venison and pheasant.
What’s more, eating wild meat can be better for us too. Here’s all the health advantages…
VENISON: Double the iron of beef
Deer meat contains about half the calories of a chicken breast per portion, and a third of that in pork or beef loin. It also has one of the highest iron contents of any meat (2.4mg per 100g) – almost twice that of beef and two-and-a-half times more than spinach. One portion of venison supplies more than a quarter of the recommended daily iron intake.
RABBIT: Virtually no fat
It contains a third more protein than chicken (30g per 100g compared with 21g per 100g).
However, don’t confine your Christmas diet to chicken alone. The reason is that rabbit contains virtually no fat – it is ten per cent fat compared with pork’s 45 per cent and turkey’s 20 per cent.
Without any fat or carbohydrate, the body can’t metabolise the protein properly – so consider eating it with some roast potatoes!
Rabbit meat is also low in salt (33 per cent lower than chicken) and contains 2.6g of phosphorous, a third of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) and essential for bone health.
QUAIL: Great source of zinc
A good choice if you’re watching your fat intake – and again, an all-round more nutritious choice than chicken. It also has good quantities of niacin, iron, phosphorous, selenium and zinc (3mg per 100g serving compared with 2mg of chicken).
PHEASANT: More protein than chicken or turkey
These birds are one of the richest sources of protein – 41g per 100g serving compared with chicken or turkey (20-30g). They are also rich in Vitamin B6, which helps regulate the metabolism – a serving would provide 0.74mg, just over a third of the RDA.
WOOD PIGEON: Tackles Alzheimer’s?
High in iron (one serving gives just over a quarter of the RDA while a serving of lean beef would only give you a fifth), it also contains niacin (Vitamin B3), which has been shown by studies to improve circulation and energy. Studies also show that people with high levels of niacin in their diet may have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cataracts.
So if you are staying in the UK over Christmas, you might want to add some Game on to your Christmas shopping list. And if you’re lucky enough to be going on holiday at all over the Christmas period, you might want to be a bit more adventurous with the food you sample while you’re away!
Tags: christmas travel, worldwide travel