Seeing too much red? Meatless meals come in a variety of nice colors

SOME LIKE IT HOT: Wedges of a frittata with fresh tomatoes and organic salsa, left, share a plate with spicy stewed tofu and cabbage kimchi.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The bad news about beef and other red meat keeps on coming.

If you overdo it, you can get colon cancer.

If you undercook it, especially when it is ground for hamburgers, there's a good chance you won't kill all of the harmful bacteria in it, according to Consumer Reports magazine.

Cook ground meat to at least medium (an internal temperature of 160 degrees Farenheit).

My policy is to avoid the stuff altogether, relying on wild-caught seafood, cage-free eggs, tofu, organic whole-wheat pasta, salads and other heart- and brain-healthy food.

See a related post:

Brace yourself: What most cows eat

STEWED AND SALTED FISH: A breakfast plate of sauteed spinach, stewed tofu, stewed Alaskan pollack, and Ackee and Saltfish, a Jamaican specialty. You can find prepared tofu and wild-caught pollack at H Mart and other Korean supermarkets.

HOW SWEET IT IS: My wife's sweet-banana dumplings are wonderful with savory Ackee and Saltfish. 

GET SMASHED: Organic sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's and peeled California garlic from Costco Wholesale are boiled together until soft, then mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings.

SIDE DISHES: Oven-roasted Brussels Sprouts with mashed organic sweet potatoes.

FROM THE DEEP SEA: Argentine Red Shrimp grilled on top of the stove. We've also cooked the shrimp, right out of the freezer and without the heads, in a Pulmuone-brand organic soft-tofu stew kit I found on sale at H Mart, the Korean supermarket in Little Ferry.

KEEN ON QUINOA: Two organic eggs with a dusting of grated Pecorino Romano Cheese, accompanied by Brussels Sprouts, on a bed of organic brown rice and quinoa prepared in an electric cooker.

CRAB AND SLAW: Coleslaw, top, and Wild Red King Crab salad with sweet peppers in a Dijon mustard dressing.

COOKING AHEAD: This frittata started with a mixture of whole eggs and whites, plus grated cheese and some low-fat milk. As the bottom set over medium heat on top of the stove, I added sliced plum tomatoes and organic salsa. Then, it went under the broiler for about 20 minutes to brown and finished cooking.

SUNNY SIDE UP: Two organic eggs with sauteed spinach over organic brown rice and quinoa.