Deli meat

[Anonymous]

I'm a vegetarian, so this is an honest question - I know deli meat is controversial for the natural food types, of which I pretty much am, but I admit to not really know much about this one.

Why is turkey deli meat / sliced turkey breast "bad"? What kind of fillers are used? Are there brands that aren't so bad? My kids have had it out of the house and like it, and it seems like it should be a healthyish sandwich to pack for lunches. What kinds to buy or avoid for kids when I attempt to buy foods with as few ingredients as possible? (We allow plenty of junk and treats-I'm not totally uptight about this, but for lunches whole wheat bread, plain meat, and a fruit or veggie is enough)

[Anonymous]

If we buy deli meat, I will buy applegate brand because it's supposedly organic and nitrite/nitrate free.

[Anonymous]

How bad are nitrates for you anyway?

[Anonymous]

In chemical reactions, nitrates are oxidizes, so they provide oxygen to the reaction. Nitrate plus something flammable = fire! as the nitrate provides the catalyst to the reaction.

So, put into perspective that the hot thing is antiOXIDANTS. We are constantly battling rogue oxygens in our bodies.

Even though we need oxygen to live, we don't want it all willy nilly in the other chemical reactions going on in our bodies.

[Anonymous]

You could just roast a turkey breast if you are worried about it.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's "bad", OP, so much as it has some components that, taken in excess, can be unhealthful.

"In excess" is key here. A slice of deli turkey meat isn't going to poison anyone. A PP had a good explanation of nitrates; I'll also add that many of them are full of sodium - even if they don't taste salty, check the labels and you'll be shocked at how much sodium there is. Again, a little bit is fine, but keep it in moderation. Daily lunch is fine. Eating it for every single meal, too much for me.

I personally prefer fresh deli meat from the counter, where I can watch them slice it off the roast / turkey breast / ham / whatever. It just feels and tastes fresher than prepackaged meat to me. Even better is to carve it from my own roasted turkey or roast beef, but that takes a little more work than stopping by the deli counter .

[Anonymous]

OP again - I was talking about the one they slice at the deli counter - is that any better than the prepackaged ones? I thought they were the same?

My goal is an easy way to feed them meat without having too much leftover to go bad, so roasting my own as a vegetarian would defeat the purpose of this one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - I was talking about the one they slice at the deli counter - is that any better than the prepackaged ones? I thought they were the same?

My goal is an easy way to feed them meat without having too much leftover to go bad, so roasting my own as a vegetarian would defeat the purpose of this one!

Depends on the store. Usually they're the same, but they'll often have more/different options at the counter.

Advantage of a package is you can read it...,at the counter you have to ask for ingredient listings

[Anonymous]

Deli meat tastes better sliced fresh. The packaged stuff is often slimy and prob have more preservatives. You can buy organic deli meat at Wegmans and I'm sure at other places, too.

[Anonymous]

Another option is to get them a rotisserie chicken or two to slice up/shred.