Meet Your Meat: Calories, Fat, And Protein In Popular Cuts

Beef brisket might be fingerlickin' good, but a mere 3 ounces of the meat packs 300 calories, 24 grams of fat, and less protein than most other cuts. With all the different cuts of meat, it can be overwhelming to choose what to cook for dinner while still adhering to a well-balanced diet. This infographic simplifies it, listing the various cuts of chicken, turkey, beef, veal, pork, and lamb from highest amount of calories to lowest, and including the total grams of fat and protein as well.

A healthy serving size of meat is generally considered to be 3 to 4 ounces, since we shouldn't be consuming more than 6 ounces of meat per day, according to the American Heart Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Pyramid. An easy way to remember how much is enough: A 3-ounce serving of meat should be about the size of a deck of cards.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, "lean meat" means it contains less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per a 3.5-ounce serving. "Extra-lean meat" means the cut has less than 5 grams of total fat, 2 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per a 3.5-ounce serving.

Print out this infographic and carry it with you to the grocery to help you choose wisely.

— Melissa Valliant, HellaWella

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