Ever notice the color of a piece of cooked meat?

By Greg Kaler

While still making the foundation of our diet plant foods, my wife and I have gone back to occasionally eating free range ground turkey and wild caught fish. Doctor Joel Fuhrman's stance on 2-3 small servings of animal foods a week did affect our decision: http://greg-foodforthought.blogspot.com/2011/05/to-live-in-most-health-pro-opting-way.html, however I have myself to blame first- my weak mind going back to unhealthy, addictive habits that I've had most of my life. Ideally, for the best health I should not be eating any food from animals. That said... Before going back to turkey and fish I had been a vegan for two years- no animal foods whatsoever. Besides no meat,
I was used to no junk foods at all, very low processed sugar, very low added salt. My tastes buds were and are very healthy, very sensitive to the sweetness and wonderful flavors of plant foods. Fruits and vegetables of course are very colorful.

When we now cook ground turkey patties, we put only a little water in the fry pan, never any oil, and it works fine. All oil, even olive oil is unhealthy- virtually zero nutrients, empty calories, it's just fat.
When the sun's out, I love to solar "fry" turkey burgers using my parabola. It's a concentrated, infrared heat, a lower heat than stove top which "poaches" the burgers. They turn out great! I solar bake many plant foods and breads in my Sunn solar oven as it gets up to 325 degrees centigrade: potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, beets, carrots, many kinds of rice, sweet corn, etc. Solar baking peeled apple slices turns them into delicious apple sauce, best eaten warm with a little cinnamon, but I digress...

The other day after I'd cooked a ground turkey patty, the "color" or "lack of color" of the burger caught my attention. It basically has no color. What color is that? Why don't we just call that color "cooked meat". Ha! It's a dull, bland looking color, maybe in the light black or brownish color family? It just doesn't look healthy, as compared to the vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables, right? So the visual alone is a clue, that, "hmm, this should only be consumed in moderation, or not at all."

After 56 years, I've finally gotten into the habit of flossing my teeth, so I'm much more conscious of how clean my teeth are. After I eat a turkey patty, I notice there is this "film" of grease in between my teeth that I never notice eating plants. This can't be a good thing.
When I form the raw meat patty before cooking, both my hands end up having a thin layer of grease. I can wash my hands, but I realize a small amount of the grease must get absorbed into my hands each time I do this. This can't be good.

The turkey burger we buy comes in a plastic tube. We only use a small amount at a time, so we cut the tube, take a small portion, put the tube in a plastic bag in a bowl and put in the frig. A few days later I always notice that red blood has dripped from the open tube. I'm eating cooked animal blood. This can't be good.

When I eat a turkey patty, small amounts of grease not only gets in between my teeth, but coats my throat, and has to pass through my digestive organs. Think of that thin film trail of grease from frying pan through digestion. Some of the grease has to be absorbed in my body.
I think of those eating meat meal after meal, year after year, what that grease build up must do to their organs and body. It can't be good.

After I ate the cooked patty, I later went back and looked at the fry pan.
The turkey fat had solidifed. This is the substance I am putting in my body.

Meat digests much slower than plant foods. It's called "putrification." Colon cancer is blamed on long term meat consumption/the long time that undigested meat sits in the intestines.

Plant foods that are eaten raw or cooked in a healthy way (no oil) have no grease, no cholesterol. There is no cholesterol in plant foods, only in animal foods.

Plant foods allow for much easier clean-up- no grease on dishes or the washrag.

Meat tastes good to most. Any food from an animal has addictive chemicals. Someone who has grown up eating meat usually has a hard time giving it up. Just because something tastes good, does not mean that it is good for you.

The reason cooked meat looks the "color" it does is because it is dead food. Cooked fruits and vegetables are dead foods too, but they still contain healthy nutrients, and don't contain cholesterol. Cooked plant foods still have color. Have you noticed when you steam vegetables, after a short time they acquire a bright, beautiful color?
Raw vegetables and fruits are alive. They are the healthiest foods on the earth. Try to center your diet around them.
If you eat meat/food from animals try to only eat free range animals/wild caught fish. Try to lessen your animal food consumption and eat as many plant foods as you can.
When you cook plant foods, ie: steam vegetables-lightly cook them.
Center your diet around starches: sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, corn, and whole grains. These starches are high in calories.

Start noticing the color of what you're eating. Does it look healthy?