Nov 06, 2013
Mrs. Piggy vs. Chicken Little
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the main event of the night... the battle of the leanest white meat is on! Introducing first from the red corner, weighing a whopping 3 ounces, known to be one of the most common type of poultry in the world, please welcome the ever-so-delicious Chicken! His opponent in the blue corner weighing also a tremendous 3 ounces, from eating bacon to breakfast, having a ham sandwich for lunch and pork chops for dinner, please welcome the amazing versatile Pork! Who will win the battle for the leanest white meat in town? LETS GET READY TO RUMBLEEE!
ROUND 1: CALORIES
Lean cuts of meats are usually low in fat and calories. For pork, the leanest cuts are considered the tenderloin or loin chop cuts. These types of lean pork cuts gives you that pork meat that you want, but has a lot less fats than other parts of the pig! The same goes for chicken. Opt for the chicken breast, which gives you less calories and is considered the leanest part of the chicken. But make sure you take off the skin! The skin adds excessive fat and calories, something we want to avoid! Chicken breast totals to about 139 calories for a 3 ounce piece of meat, while a 3 ounce pork tenderloin adds up to 120 calories! The clear winner of the calories round goes to… PORK!
ROUND 2: FAT CONTENT
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, six common cuts of pork have, on average, 16% less fat 15 years ago. The pork tenderloin has about 3.0 g total fat while the chicken breast has 3.01 g total fat, although the differences are slight, pork still takes the cake! The loin pork chop contains about 5.3 g of total fat and skinless chicken thigh is a tremendous 9.3 g of total fat! Wow! When it comes to the battle of the leanest cuts, pork is only slightly higher in total fat content than chicken. I declare a tie! On to the next and final round to determine the winner!
ROUND 3: CHOLESTEROL
The cholesterol you consume can vary depending on the type of meat. White meat chicken contains MORE cholesterol than a pork tenderloin, but has the same amount as a serving of pork chop. So it is important to be aware of the type of meat and cut. A 3 ounce chicken breast has a total cholesterol of 73 mg, while a 3 ounce pork tenderloin has 67 mg in total. This gives pork the competitive advantage!
And the winner is….. PORK!
Want to have pork tenderloin for dinner tonight? Take a look this recipe HERE that I tried recently, the sweetness of the apples really complements the savory pork.
