Ground Turkey

GROUND TURKEY

Turkey is often an ingredient that gets overlooked.  Turkey can be difficult to cook since it is such a lean meat it has a tendency to dry out very easily.  However, when prepared correctly it's delicious and very healthy for you.  A great source of lean protein as well as vitamins B3 and B6.  Ground turkey can be a great substitute for most meats you already incorporate into your daily and or weekly diet.

Vegetable Soup with Ground Turkey

See recipe for homemade vegetable stock see my November Butternut Squash Post

8-10 cups homemade vegetable stock

1 package ground turkey

½ cup diced celery

1 cup shitake mushrooms

1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 cups spinach

1 cup par-cooked garbanzo beans

1 cup sugar snap peas

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch red pepper flakes

- Sauté turkey in a medium pan with salt and pepper until almost cooked through

- Combine stock, garbanzo beans and tomatoes simmer for 10 minutes

- Add Turkey (and any cooking liquid), spinach, mushrooms, peas, celery, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and simmer for another 20-30 minutes

Spagetti Squash with Spicy Turkey Meatballs and Roasted Tomato Sauce

1-2 Medium Spagetti Squash

Sauce:
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 shallot minced
1/2 tbs olive oil
1 28 oz can peeled whole tomatoes
1 16 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1/8 cup sugar
1 small bunch basil
salt and pepper to taste

Meatballs:
1 pkg ground turkey
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

- saute garlic and shallots in olive oil until translucent
- add tomatoes, sugar, basil and salt and pepper, simmer until flavors have developed (45 minutes to an hour)

For the Meatballs:

- preheat oven to 400 degrees
- mix the turkey with seasonings and form into 1/2 inch balls
- place on a baking sheet in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through, but still moist

For the Squash:

- Roast Squash in 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until fork tender
- Squash should come apart in strings with a fork
- Serve with sauce and meatballs

Turkey Burger with Roasted Brocolini & Parsley Vinaigrette 

1 pkg ground turkey
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 shallot minced
1 tbs olive oil
1/8 tsp corriander
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup brie cheese
1 cup arugula
1/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes

8-10 stalks brocolini
salt to taste
1/2 tbs olive oil
sprinkle red pepper flakes

1/2 bunch parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/2 shallot
1-2 anchovies
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs white wine vinegar
honey to taste
salt and pepper to taste
oil to consistency 

For the Burgers:

- Heat grill pan to 300 degrees
- Combine the meat with seasonings until fully combined, fold in cheese
- Cook 6 minutes per side or until cooked through but still moist

To roast Brocolini:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- dress brocolini with olive oil and salt
- Roast for 10-12 minutes or until slight color starts to form

For the Vinaigrette:

- In a blender combine parsley, shallot, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, and honey
- blend on low until mostly combined 
- stream oil in until glossy and thickened slightly
- season as necessary

- Serve burger with arugula and tomatoes and drizzle vinaigrette over burger and brocolini

Kale

KALE

I discovered Kale only recently when cooking in a restaurant, finishing up my culinary degree.  It's deep green leafy qualities intrigued me to learn more about it.  Kale is a bit bitter, but has a ton of health benefits and when prepared correctly is delicious.  It's extremely high in fiber and iron.  Some say it has more iron than beef per calorie!  A great quality for a vegetarian diet.  Kale, also high in vitamins, is high in vitamin K, C and E.  These vitamins help with bone and skin health and helps your metabolism to work effectively and efficiently.  Kale is an excellent detox food, containing a lot of sulfur which aids in liver health.  If you think you don't like kale, I urge you to give these recipes a try, you might just change your mind!

Kale Chips

1/4 bag chopped kale
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Place the Kale on a sheet tray or cookie sheet
- Drizzle with olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes
- Toss with your hands until seasonings are evenly distributed
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crunchy

Sauteed Kale with Mushrooms, Peppers and Shrimp

1/2 bag chopped kale
1/4 white onion medium dice
1 clove garlic minced
1 package shitake mushrooms sliced
1/2 red bell pepper medium dice
1/2 lb fresh or frozen shrimp
2 tbs toasted pine nuts
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

- In a medium saute pan over medium heat sweat onions and garlic until translucent in olive oil
- Add bell peppers and mushrooms cook another 3 minutes
- Add kale and shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink

Kale Protein Smoothie

1 serving vanilla or chocolate whey protein powder
2 cups kale
1/2 frozen banana
1 pint frozen blueberries
1 pint frozen raspberries
1 tbs flax seeds
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup vanilla greek yogurt

- In a blender combine protein powder, kale, frozen fruit, flax seeds, yogurt and almond milk in a blender, blend until desired consistency is reached.

Bananas

BANANAS

I eat at least one banana every single day.  I personally love them and thought what a great opportunity to experiment with the versatility of the banana.  They are high in vitamins such as C, B6 and iron.  Bananas help to regulate blood pressure and they also help to neutralize the body’s sodium content which in turn helps increase bone health.  Bananas are also high in fiber, which promotes a healthy digestive system.  Fiber is known for helping you to feel fuller longer.  Bananas are good to eat before or after workouts to give you energy and refuel.     

Bananas are fat and cholesterol free and can actually be used as a healthy substitute for butter or oil in baking.  They provide moisture, texture and flavor.

Banana Chips

2 medium sized bananas

½ lemon

½ tsp salt

-       - Preheat oven to 175 degrees

-       - Slice bananas thin, no bigger than ¼ inch

-       - Lay on sheet tray

-       - Squeeze lemon and sprinkle salt over the bananas

-       - Bake for 1.75-2 hours or until crispy

-       - Cool, the chips will harden as they cool

Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Protein Shake

1 frozen banana

1 scoop chocolate designer whey protein powder

1 cup vanilla greek yogurt

2 tbs peanut butter

1/4 cup vanilla almond milk

-       - Put all ingredients into a blender, blend on high or until smooth

Steel Cut Oats with Brown Sugar and Banana Puree

1 banana

½ cup almond milk

1 tbs brown sugar

¼ cup steel cut oats

1 cup water

For the puree:

-       - place banana, almond milk and brown sugar in a small saucepot and simmer about 15 minutes on medium heat

-      -  place everything in a blender and blend until smooth

For the Oats:

-       - place the oats and the water in a small saucepot and bring to a boil

-      -  Reduce to a simmer until water is absorbed, 10-15 minutes

      Stir puree into oatmeal, garnish with fresh berries and banana chips