Pork, ground, 84% lean / 16% fat, cooked, crumbles

Ground pork crumbles like these are the backbone of tacos, meatballs, dumpling filling, fried rice, stir-fries and pasta sauces such as ragu. Cooked and broken into small pieces rather than left as patties, they brown quickly in a skillet and soak up seasoning readily, whether that's garlic and soy for an Asian-style stir-fry, cumin and chili for tacos, or fennel and sage for an Italian-style ragu. The crumble texture also makes it easy to layer into a shepherd's pie topping, fold into fried rice alongside egg and scallion, or scatter over a pizza in place of sausage. Because it's already cooked and broken up, it reheats and blends into sauces faster than a raw cut that still needs browning.

When buying ground pork, look for a pink color without excess liquid pooled in the tray, and use it within a couple of days or freeze it for longer storage. Cooked crumbles keep in the fridge for a few days and reheat well folded back into a sauce or stir-fry, or spread in a thin layer on a sheet pan and warmed briefly in the oven. At 289 calories and 26.7g protein per 100g, with protein reaching 53% DV, it works well as the protein anchor of a taco, grain bowl or stir-fry; sodium stays modest at 89mg per 100g and carbohydrate is negligible at 0.58g per 100g, since it's plain cooked pork rather than a cured or processed product.