Tomahawk Steak

My wife and I were watching an episode of "Master Chef" the other evening, and the episode happened to feature a competition where the contestants had to grill some form of beef.  One of the options they had to choose from was something I had never heard of or seen before, called a "Tomahawk Steak".   It was a rather shocking form of beef that is apparently VERY expensive and apparently highly sought after by beef aficionados.  As you can see from the image, it is a nearly circular piece of beef to which a cow rib is attached.  It apparently is something that the rich really enjoy.

When I was a kid growing up, my family did not each much variety in terms of meat.  For budgetary reasons, the meat that was prepared in my childhood mostly consisted of hamburger, chicken, and bacon.  But even in my childhood, meat was not the MAIN part of the meal.... but only a part.  My parents always had meals that were more diverse than just the meat dish.  This was different from how my wife grew up, where in her family, meat was the main focus of every meal. 

In the modern day, meat is an even smaller part of my diet that it was even in childhood.  I typically have one, perhaps two meals with meat a week these days.... and it is usually turkey or chicken (once in a while, fish).  I do not really enjoy hamburger or bacon any longer.  I have never been a big fan of pork in general.  The last time I had a steak was, I think, about 8 years ago... a Filet Mignon.... and it was nice... but not really anything I crave. 

My decreased consumption of meat (from the already relatively modest levels consumed in childhood) is NOT due to any sort of sociopolitical nonsense about eating meat that some vegetarians and vegans state.  Nor unfortunately is my decreased consumption of meat attributable to an altruistic idea on my part (the environmental cost of meat and its effects on the world's hungry) even though I realize eating less meat helps reduce my carbon footprint and helps to make more food available to others who are food deprived.  Truth be told, my decreased consumption of meat in my adulthood is attributable to my profession.... as a biology professor.... one who is intimately aware of anatomy and physiology.

Because of my working knowledge of the construction of the bodies of animals (including humans)... I very easily see and identify (and name in my head) the bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, etc.  in meat that is for consumption..... be that meat raw or cooked.  Seeing meat (especially when it is on the bone), even when cooked.... first by its ANATOMICAL PART and then second as food..... does not drum up a lot of enthusiasm from me to eat it.  And, for whatever reason, it is difficult for me to NOT automatically name and identify the parts in my head and just focus on the meat as food.  So, gradually over the years, I have naturally just drifted away from eating much meat.

The lack of meat in my family's diet really never crosses my mind much... except when we eat and dine with other people not in my immediate family.  When I eat/dine with others.... because I tend to forgo most meat items and focus on the other aspects of what is available in the meal, I often receive a lot of comments about what I DO eat.  My in-laws find my choices on the "odd" side (not meat focused), and at work, some folks have assumed I am vegetarian or vegan (which I am not).

Further compounding this situation is that the ONE thing that I do TRY to do to the best of my abilities is to try to avoid fried, high-fat, oily foods as much as possible.  I do this because of my weight loss efforts.  I have been successful for around 10 years now at having a normal BMI, and that purposeful avoidance of extraneous fat in food has been one of the easiest ways for me to stay at a normal BMI.

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