Growing up I ate a lot of Vienna Sausages. My Dad ate them a lot so naturally I ate them too when I was around him.
So my last visit to the grocery I noticed them on the shelf and threw a few various kinds into the basket out of sentiment. I freaking love them. I bought a few cans of corned beef and luncheon meat that were in the same isle.
I love them all, but some part of my subconscious is telling me I’m doing a no-no. I guess the quality of meat is in question. So how do you guys feel about these choices of meat?
One factor that makes them so attractive is the convince. I live in a dorm room and can only have a mini-fridge which I share with another guy and I have no room to store meat. I’ve been cooking up ground chuck and storing it in the freezer but it sure is a lot of work.
My Dad loves “Potted Meat” whatever the fuck that is. Being the fearless he-man type I tried a can last time I was home to visit but it was too salty and grainy for my taste.
The sodium thing is not the problem but the quality of the meat used. Those corned-beef and other crap are made from low quality meat and are highly processed…
Sure some real luncheon meats made according to the traditional way (quality meat, natural spices and salt only) are not that bad but fucking expensive for a student. You can do it yourself for cheap but practically not really feasible for a student.
Buy big chunks of real meat, spices, simple recipe book, cooking tools (high pressure cooker…) and do your own shit. Lots of work? Sure! Who says our lifestyle was the easy way?
Do what you can i suppose. It can go two ways, eating delicious, quality food but putting work into it or eating ordinary, cheap food and it requiring no work whatsoever.
Back in the day of my first year at uni a buddy of mine ate only beans, protein drink and oatmeal [and beer]. they were what he could make in his dorm with rice cooker and they were cheap so he didnt have to spend on a food plan at the cafeteria. He was a big, lean strong guy, good to have on your fotty team.
I also knew a couple guys who went in on a flat together and took a long ass bus to get to school just so they could have a kitchen and full fridge.
do what works. If you train hard then the sodium in most things rolls out in your sweat.
I’m lucky. I buy grass-fed beef sausages from the Farmer’s Market on Union Square on Fridays/Saturdays. It’s relatively quick to cook and tastes great.
I also like the canned salmon that they sell at Trader Joe’s.
Spam is the meat that sweats even in the cold. Most of these types of meats are processed with lots of nitrates and sodium added. Think about this for a second… if something is given an additive so it stays on the shelf for 2-3 years without spoiling, what do you think will happen once it gets into your body? If you can avoid this lab experiment by all means do so.