I have been trying to eat healthier, especially since I have a bit more weight I would like to shed before my husband returns home.
As a result, I have been trying lots of new recipes. I have been very pleased with all the new ones I have tried over the last week.
I have also tried a new meat…..ground turkey.
I have heard of the benefits of using ground turkey over beef before. Basically, it’s way lower in fat. But never had the nerve to try it. And I didn’t know where to find it in our commissary.
That second problem was easy to solve. I just went in search for it on one of my shopping trips. It was hidden in with the frozen food.
Being in Germany, most of our foods are frozen before we get them as they travel to us.
After trying two recipes with this ingredient, I don’t have any more reserves about it. I really can’t taste a huge difference in the taste. In fact, the turkey may even be a bit tastier to me.
The biggest problem I had with it was the color, the look of it. It’s white instead of red, like beef.
I made a recipe today that completely hid that problem. It was a recipe for Turkey Sloppy Joes using barbecue sauce. The red of the barbecue sauce totally mixed in with the ground turkey and made it look more “beefy”.
Here’s that recipe:
1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped
1/2 sweet bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 c. barbecue sauce
4 medium mixed grain hamburger rolls, split
1. Brown turkey in nonstick skillet coated in cooking spray.
2. Drain off liquid. (there wan’t much)
3. Add peppers and onoin and cook until tender
4. Add barbecue sauce and cayenne pepper. Heat throughly, stirring frequently.
5. Place miture in hamburger rolls.
**This is a Weight Watchers recipe with 6 points values per serving (this includes the bun)**
To see what other moms are tackling this week, visit Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom.
rachel C says
I made this recipe Sunday night, and I am having the leftovers tonight! I thought it was GREAT. It is the first time, I think, that I have fixed ground turkey as well. We have always been ground beef eaters, but this was delicious. I am going to try ground turkey again!
Stephanie says
I prefer using ground turkey also. If I have a recipe that calls for ground beef, and I think the color of the ground turkey will turn me off I mix some ground beef in the recipe. For example, I like to make my meatballs 50/50 ground beef and ground turkey. It may be all mental, but it works for us.
homegrownstrawberries says
Another great place to use this beef substitute is for meat balls or a bolognese sauce. But I have found that in the long run the color doesn’t matter so much I really love ground turkey its a shame its so much more expensive than Beef.
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Jennifer says
I LOVE ground turkey! I can actually get it cheaper than beef usually, so I almost exclusively use it. Except for hamburgers – I only use beef for them. But any other recipe that calls for it, I almost always use turkey. Sometimes I do need to season it up a little more, because I find it’s not quite as flavorful, but I haven’t had any complaints in my house – the difference isn’t usually even noticed! Glad you were able to get over your reservations about it and give it a try and liked it! That’s always a good thing!
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Shawn says
Could you keep our family in prayer this week? It is the March Board Chaplains meeting today and Wednesday… we should find out by Friday if my dh is going to be an Army Chaplain. Thanks again for your blog, and your husbands, it has been insightful for our family!
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Sarah says
I’ve only tried it once for meatloaf and the white color just threw me. The taste was ok – I to try it again, and we haven’t had spaghetti in a long time so maybe its time – thanks for the nudge.
Flowerpot says
I also like ground turkey, but my husband does not. I love your idea of sloppy joes to disguise the color!!
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Uma says
I, too, started using ground turkey recently, mainly to prevent Wil from turning into a walking stick of solid before he becomes a grandfather. I never really thought much about the color, but I fought that spices and seasoning were a must with this bland meat. I made some meatballs for Chase out of ground turkey, and she practically spitted it out whole after just tasting on her tongue. Apparently, I wasn’t as liberate with the seasoning then. 🙂
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Charlene says
I use ground turkey in anything that’s what I call “loose meat” recipes that have a sauce or color to them–chili, sloppy joes, spaghetti, taco soup, etc, even lasagne. For other things, I use ground beef or mix half-and-half ground turkey and ground beef.
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