Greek Food

[ATLMark]

I have been going to a local authentic Greek restaurant and eating a side of gyro meat with a small Greek salad. Does anyone know if gyro meat is healthy? It doesn't seem fatty or greasy. I get full off a small amount and feel full for about 5 - 6 hours after eating. Thanks for any input!

Mark

[shmee]

i don't know, depends on the maker, as if you can see the package if there is one, and if it's lamb or beef.

my calorie counter says

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/generic-gyro-meat-477144

you could find out the size of your serving.

I love greek salads, but you might want to work out the calories on that too, olives and feta and dressing, just to know the entire meal.

good luck

[Lindsay]

Is it lamb?

If you don't know, and they can't clearly tell you. ... well ..

Traditional gyro is lamb, but I know in the USA, they use filler meat (ie. left over beef & pork and lots of preservatives) -- the meat itself, is held together with it's natural producing fat.

It's not what you'd call a 'clean' food - it's made up of filler meat.

The sodium content is extremely high, as well.

I'd stay away from it, and keep it to a treat meal (ie. once a week, max)

[Lindsay]

Almost everything I state on here is backed up with links to studies, or such.

I'm not making this crap up.

and while we're on it, here's ya go, my awesome foodie friends.

If it's in fact true that we are what we eat, it's always important to know what we're actually eating and where it comes from. The New York Times' recent article on the history and production of the budget favorite gyro tells us all about the industrial process that goes into making those mystery cones.

The process starts with boxes of raw beef and lamb trimmings, and ends with what looks like oversized Popsicles the shade of a Band-Aid. In between, the meat is run through a four-ton grinder, where bread crumbs, water, oregano and other seasonings are added. A clumpy paste emerges and is squeezed into a machine that checks for metal and bone. ("You can never be too careful," Mr. Tomaras said.) Hydraulic pressure -- 60 pounds per square inch -- is used to fuse the meat into cylinders, which are stacked on trays and then rolled into a flash freezer, where the temperature is 20 degrees below zero.

SOURCE:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/18/how-gyro-meat-is-made-vid_n_239357.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/dining/15gyro.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2

http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekfoodphotogalleries/ig/How-Greek-Gyro-is-Made/

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/603037

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/423054

http://www.fitday.com/webfit/nutrition/all_foods/meat_beef_pork_misc_/gyro_sandwich_pita_bread_beef_lamb_onion_condiments_with_tomato_and_spread.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gyro-calories-in-gyro.html

if you think all you're eating is 'chicken', or 'beef' you're dead wrong.

If YOU (whoever you are, i could honestly care less) think i'm 'pushing' people away from this forum, they obviously have issues that go far beyond me!

Seriously. You've got to be kidding me ... LOL!

Boo-hoo!!

[BandDiva]

I have been going to a local authentic Greek restaurant and eating a side of gyro meat with a small Greek salad. Does anyone know if gyro meat is healthy? It doesn't seem fatty or greasy. I get full off a small amount and feel full for about 5 - 6 hours after eating. Thanks for any input!

Mark

If it is working and you are losing weight....keep up the great work!

[Trav]

To put it another way Linds, you might be partially correct in some respects, but if you're just half right, you're still completely wrong. You need to learn how to preface your arguments and citations such that you don't represent yourself as a moron, and that's what you're doing. I'm not CALLING you a moron, I'm saying your behavior is moronic.

Now, had you stated, "You have to be careful of which Greek establishments you frequent as SOME of them don't use quality meats"...then yeah, I can see that, because that *is* true, and that's true of ANY restaurant...even within the same chain of restaurants. But to state in such a way that it sounds like ALL Greek establishments have crappy products is not only absurd, it's incredibly obtuse and irresponsible, and you sound like a parrot who's just regurgitating what someone else told you and it really degrades your credibility....(which thus far, judging from your previous posts, is next to nill.)

I'm sorry, that's just a hard cold fact. You need to exercise something we call tact, and use your head for something besides a hat rack, and learn to think objectively.

[Chad]

I've removed troll posts that have nothing to do with the original topic. If you disagree with something a member is posting then respond with new links or with information that's helpful to the topic. There is no need to respond with personal insults.

Keep on topic, please.

Edit: Also, if it's a traditional Greek restaurant it's most likely pork. Lamb is popular in the US and Turkey and other places, but in Greece you'll usually get pork.

[damalove]

Hi Mark.

I dont go to greek restaurants around here, but was in Greece earlier this month on vacation. I tried both gyros and souvlaki (gyro was a choice between chicken and pork, and souvlaki was a choice of chicken, lamb, or pork) and I have to say I think souvlaki is the healthier choice. My brother ate the gyros constantly and I noticed they were greasier than my souvlaki. Souvlaki is made with leaner cuts, marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, and oregano/spices, and gyros utilize fattier cuts to keep the meat moist yet crispy thruout the spit-roasting process.

Since you asked, and that was the original intent of this thread, I would consider switching to a souvlaki skewer (one skewer would be plenty, and would likely be sold as a side-item) instead of gyro meat to accompany your salad, in the absense of actual nutritional data provided by the restaurant.

Just my thoughts, having just been in greece

regardless, a salad+gyro meat is still a good choice as long as its not too big a serving of meat. and its def. better than eating a regular gyro fully loaded!

Keep up the good work.