Meat plays an important role in meal planning, since most meals are planned around the main dish and many main dishes contain meat. Meat is also the most expensive part of most meals. When you know how to select and prepare meats, you can get the most for your dollar. In addition, you can save money when you learn how to incorporate inexpensive meat substitutes or meatless meals into your meal plans. For our discussion, meat refers to the flesh of cattle, swine and sheep, since these are the most consumed in the U.S. Remember that the principles of meat selection, handling and cooking apply not only to these three types of animal flesh, but also other less-common meats such as rabbit, venison, camel, llama, etc.