First of all, make sure you buy LEAN ground turkey or ground turkey breast. Regular ground turkey is full of fat and calories (even worse than ground beef). Check the nutrition label to make sure you’re getting lean turkey.
You can use lean ground turkey to replace ground beef in any recipe. Here are three of my favorite ways to use it:
Turkey Meatballs: I love spaghetti and meatballs. The traditional dish isn’t the most nutritious, but you can change that by using whole wheat spaghetti, light pasta sauce (fancy it up with lots of veggies like onions, peppers and zucchini), and lean ground turkey. To make the meatballs, take one pound of lean ground turkey, add a dash of salt and garlic powder, and roll into 1-inch balls. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Turkey Chili: A bowl of hot, spicy chili on a cold day, now that’s comfort food! Saute chopped onions, peppers, celery, and garlic in a large skillet. Add the lean ground turkey and cook through. Then add kidney beans (or white beans), a small can of tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, and chili seasoning. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Turkey Tortillas: Add half a packet of taco seasoning to your lean ground turkey while cooking it. This gives the meat plenty of flavor, but you don’t get as much sodium by using half a packet. Use whole grain, low carb tortillas, then pile them high with seasoned turkey, chopped veggies, fat free sour cream, and a dab of light cheese. Or to avoid the carbs, pile the meat and toppings on a bed of lettuce instead of a tortilla.
