Twelve recipes that draw on the top sources of key nutrients like protein, iron, zinc and B12, were released by the North American Meat Institute today in a new booklet “Power Plates.” The recipes also were posted on the Institute’s nutrition website www.MeatPoultryNutrition.org. In creating the recipes, the Institute commissioned a registered dietitian to analyze the top, commonly consumed food sources of the targeted nutrients and an expert recipe developer to mix and match the nutrient rich ingredients. The results are delicious, innovative and healthy.
In developing the recipes, the Institute considered a wealth of nutrition information, like the growing evidence about between adequate B12 intake, which is found naturally only in animal products, and healthy brain development and function throughout the lifetime. Meat products also are rich sources of the most absorbable form of iron, heme iron, which builds red blood cells, carries oxygen from the lungs to every cell in your body and helps the brain work at its best. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutrition deficiency in the U.S. and is much more common among vegetarians and vegans. Beef and lamb also are some of the richest sources of the immune-boosting zinc and animal products also are rich in complete protein – the kind with all the amino acids needed for good health. The vitamin, mineral and protein-packed recipes released today by the Institute include: