A view from the younger generation

Millennials. Being one myself, I admit it- we are demanding, expectant and technology obsessed but most of all we are influenced very easily and very heavily.

But can you blame us? We are the generation that if we want to find the definition of a word, we google it. If we want to see what someone is up to, we check Instagram. If we want to watch a new release movie, we illegally stream it. We are the generation that waved goodbye to dictionaries, maps, DVDs and pencils and said hello to smart phones and social media.

It’s changed us, it’s changed the way we view ourselves and others and more recently, it’s changed the way we act as consumers.

Statements such as ‘eating meat makes you fat’, ‘I’ve cut out meat and feel amazing’ and ‘veganism is the future’ have been flung all over social media by so called ‘experts’ aka Instagram bloggers with at least 5,000 followers or more. And these statements are influencing millennials left, right and centre.

I am by no means an expert but growing up spending time on a farm and having worked in the food industry for a while now, I have learnt a lot about food and the important role that a balanced diet plays. So, I gave myself the task of proving to a group of my friends that including red meat in the dinner menu is a delicious and nutritious way of eating.

I chose a recipe which had the tick from our in-house nutritionist, our Vietnamese Beef Salad and suggested to my friends that our weekly catch-up be dinner at my place. No one asked what was on the menu but given my place of work I’m sure they knew it wouldn’t be a bowl of tofu with a side of kale.

Quick and easy to whip up, this recipe is fool proof and once assembled and placed on the table it was gobbled up by all four of us very quickly.

With no one knowing the intention of this iron rich meal, I watched with a grin on my face as my friends finished the meal talking about how the salad was ‘light and tasty but still filling’ and how the meat was ‘truly the hero of the meal’.

Free from Instagram influence or judging looks from others around us, us four simply enjoyed a meal together – completely balanced with veges, carbs and protein.