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.

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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.

Toasting a healthy Thanksgiving: No butter, cream, antibiotics or turkey

A luxurious Wild Red King Crab Salad, dressed with Dijon mustard, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh lime juice, includes sweet peppers, red onion and diced carrots.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Red King Crab Salad I just made for Thanksgiving is chilling in the refrigerator, and the Argentine Red Shrimp I plan to grill on the stove top are defrosting next to it.

This year, we didn't make our annual trek to the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff, where we usually buy naturally raised turkey parts -- the flavorful dark meat -- instead of a whole bird.

But to satisfy the meat eaters in the family and a couple of guests I did buy a fully cooked Applewood Smoked Uncured Petite Ham from Whole Foods Market in Paramus ($7.99 a pound).

The 3.4-pound Niman Ranch ham was raised on a vegetarian diet without harmful antibiotics.

The ham is being heated in the oven now, and I've already roasted 2 pounds of fresh Brussels Sprouts with olive oil, sea salt and other seasoning.

That's not all

Meanwhile, my wife has prepared oxtail, barbecued chicken, rice with peas and cole slaw for our son, who is home from college, and two of his friends, who showed up unexpectedly and spent the night here.

I made the Red King Crab Salad from fully cooked legs my wife bought at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro on Tuesday (3.06 pounds at $19.99 a pound).

Each of the four legs, with meaty knuckles, was about 2 feet long.

If need be, we also can have baked organic sweet potatoes or mashed organic sweet potatoes with extra-virgin olive oil I made on Wednesday.

At dinner, we plan to toast our good fortune with a Bellini, a cocktail made with Prosecco and peach nectar, both from Italy.

Argentine Red Shrimp can be deveined or grilled on the stove top head and all. I plan to marinate them in fresh lime juice first.