Small changes can make big differences in your life, and this is especially true about weight loss. Simply substituting leaner meat — like bison — for fattier meats in your regular meals can reduce the amount of calories and fat you eat. Tom Venuto, author of “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle,” lists bison as one of the top 10 protein foods for weight loss. One 3.5-ounce serving of ground bison has 146 calories and 7.21 grams of fat. In comparison, a serving of ground hamburger -- 80 percent lean -- has 254 calories and 20 grams of fat.
Step 1
Substitute cooked ground bison meat for cooked hamburger when making your favorite chili and stews. If the recipe calls for 1 pound of browned hamburger or ground beef, replace this ingredient with 1 pound of browned ground bison meat to make a weight loss version with reduced calories and fat.
Step 2
Form ground bison meat into patties and use as a healthier replacement for regular hamburgers. Cook in a frying pan or on a grill until the inside of the bison patty is no longer pink. Raw bison patties can be cooked fresh or frozen before cooking, and they have fewer calories than a typical hamburger.
Step 3
Place bison in a slow cooker, season with salt and pepper, and add 1 cup of water. Cook on low for six to eight hours. This can be served and seasoned like a regular pot roast, but it will aid weight loss because it is lower in calories and fat than the traditional version.
Step 4
Broil bison steaks under the broiler of your oven instead of cooking fattier steaks like New York strips to reduce the amount of calories in a typical steak and potato meal. The bison steaks should be flipped every 90 seconds to ensure they stay juicy and tender.
Step 5
Grill raw bison steaks over a charcoal or gas grill during your summer barbecue for a lean protein option that is ideal for a high-protein weight loss diet. A 3/4-inch steak should be grilled about six to seven minutes on each side.
Step 6
Cook crumbled raw ground bison meat in a skillet. Drain meat through a colander. Add a jar of low-sugar spaghetti sauce for a low-calorie sauce that will help you lose weight because it is high in protein and low in fat.
Step 7
Make meatloaf with raw ground bison burger instead of using plain ground beef. Meatloaf is usually not helpful with weight loss because it tends to be fatty, but using bison as a substitute for ground beef will reduce the amount of calories and fat in the dish.
Tips and Warnings
- If the raw bison meat is frozen, thaw in the refrigerator for a day or two before cooking. Bison is very lean, so it dries out quickly when overcooked. Avoid overcooking any recipe that uses bison.
- Game meats like bison need to be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees to ensure they are safe. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of your bison steaks and roasts.
Things You'll Need
- Raw ground bison meat
- Raw bison steak
- Raw bison roast
- Spatula
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