Tag: turkey

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Turkey Meatball Marinara Skillet

Turkey Meatball Marinara Skillet
Turkey Meatball Marinara Skillet

This turkey meatball marinara skillet is a delicious and fast dinner. Leftovers for lunch taste even better, or bank extras in the freezer for future future meals.

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I love one-pan dinners that come together quickly – this dish fits the bill splendidly.

The key to delicious meatballs in this turkey meatball marinara skillet is using egg white and panko breadcrumbs to lock in moisture. The Worcestershire adds a very slight tang. Rather than chopping up fresh garlic and herbs, I opted for dry seasonings to shave off a few minutes of prep time.

It’s important not to overwork the meat or pack the meatballs too tightly. Mix the meat just enough to combine all of the ingredients, and pack them just firmly enough to stay together and survive flipping in the pan.

To get a nice browning on the meatballs, get the pan hot and liberally mist with oil before adding. If you scale up the recipe, cook the meatballs in batches so they don’t crowd the pan or touch.

  • Turkey Meatball Marinara Skillet
  • Turkey Meatball Marinara Skillet

Other Notes

96/4 ground beef or ground chicken breast will also work well in this recipe. Substitute with 99/1 ground turkey to decrease fat. Tomato provides plenty of sweetness, so opt for no-sugar added marinara.

These meatballs pair great with broccoli, riced cauliflower, and regular rice. For lunch, stuff them into a whole grain pita or wrap with lettuce or fresh basil.

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Turkey Cranberry Sweet Potato

Turkey Cranberry Sweet Potato Taco

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This turkey cranberry sweet potato is Thanksgiving rolled into one highly portable meal. Perfect if you’re short on time and looking for satisfying weekday lunches.

  • Turkey Cranberry Sweet Potato Taco
  • Turkey Cranberry Sweet Potato Taco

Like most plants, sweet potatoes contain beneficial micronutrients – vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. The antioxidants are also responsible for the color diversity. Carotenoids are orange and yellow light emitters. Found in highest concentration in Beauregard sweet potatoes, beta-carotene is a precursor that our bodies use to produce Vitamin A. Lutein and zeaxanthin also belong to this family – both support eye health.

Notes about the recipe:

  • In addition to high Vitamin A and antioxidant concentration, with the potato skin and celery you’re also getting 12 of fiber!
  • Any variety of sweet potato works for this recipe. The quickest method is to cook the potatoes in the microwave, but if you do have the time, baking in the oven will provided a richer flavor.
  • Nutrition for each potato is 363 kcal 26P | 13F | 37C with the assumption that the hollowed out potato weighs 100g.
  • I used 93/7 lean ground turkey; chopped up leftover turkey breast would be perfect!
  • If you want to adjust the carbs up or down, use a large potato or smaller potato.

Let me know if you enjoyed these turkey sweet potato tacos! Follow me on Facebook and Instragram for more recipe ideas, and other nutrition info.

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Chipotle Turkey & Black Beans

Chipotle Turkey & Black Bean Tacos
Chipotle Turkey & Black Bean Tacos

This one-skillet spicy chipotle turkey & black beans dish is highly nutritious to eat standalone as chili, or to throw into some tacos.

Simple and speedy, this recipe is great for family dinner or meal prep. It also freezes well for nights you need a quick and satisfying meal. From start to finish, you’ll only need 30 minutes in the kitchen.

All seasonings are important, but the cornerstone of this chipotle turkey & black beans is peppers in adobo sauce. It provides a slight smoked pepper flavor. If you don’t care for black beans, pinto beans would also work well. Drain the canned beans and tomato before adding to the skillet so the mixture does not become watery.

I recommend pairing with soft corn tortillas (heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to make more pliable, or heat directly on the grill for some char).

There are a number of easy ways to modify this dish:

  • For lower carbs, omit the beans
  • To increase the fat, use 100% 93/7 ground turkey
  • For additional veggies, add more green peppers or stir in a bag of riced cauliflower (microwave first and completely squeeze the excess water from the cauliflower)
  • By swapping the ground turkey for crumbled seitan, this dish is also an excellent vegan choice. Seitan is low in the amino acid lysine, however the black beans contribute some of this essential amino acid (see recipe notes).

Balanced and healthful eating for your performance and physique goals can also include tasty food! Contact me to discuss your goals, and how I can support you as a coach.

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Mango Chile Turkey Meatballs

Mango Meatballs
Mango Meatballs

These baked mango chile turkey meatballs are high protein candy for dinner.

To prepare these mango chile turkey meatballs I highly recommend purchasing an immersion blender. It’s an incredibly powerful tool to make sauces, soups, and in this case to puree fruit. For the power and the money, this one is very impressive.

Ensure you use a mango that is completely ripe, more on the side of being over-ripe. An under-ripe mango will make these meatballs too acidic/tart. Take the time to slow simmer the mango and remove excess water. The time may vary depending on your mango – it took me about 45 minutes to cook down three mangoes. After cooking, the reduction will have a gel quality versus a liquid. Err on the side of making it thicker. If you don’t eliminate enough water, it will be difficult to form the meatballs into a solid ball.

Combine the chile-lime seasoning with the mango and thoroughly blend together before adding the turkey. This will ensure the meatballs are uniformly seasoned. Use your hands to gently mix the mango with the turkey – just enough to combine everything.

To best fit my macros, I formed 16 meatballs that were about the size of 2 tablespoons. Feel free to partition differently – you may need to reduce the bake time if you make them smaller. I don’t recommend making them any larger than the size I made them. As they cook, you will see a bit of water and fat in the bottom of the pan. This will nearly disappear when cooking is completed.

Let me know if you made these and what you think!

Let’s work together on your nutrition and performance goals. No better time to start than now.

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Southwestern Chili & Pepper Dippers

Southwestern Chili

This comforting one-pan southwestern chili & pepper dippers recipe is a hearty family dinner and a friendly part of your meal-prep arsenal.

This chili is proof-positive that great tasting comfort food doesn’t need to be loaded down with extra fats. It’s rich in flavor (and protein)!

I love to eat chili with chips but find the empty calories from chips don’t satisfy me. The pepper dippers are higher protein, lower fat, and a lot more robust for chili scooping capability. The red pepper paste (see link in recipe) adds an almost cheesy taste to these chips and with only three ingredients, they are very easy to make. Greek yogurt makes a surprisingly good base for the dough. Note that it does not work with regular yogurt (too much moisture).

We want this chili to be thick and with minimal liquid so look for a fresh pico de gallo salsa or a jarred version where you can drain out extra liquid. Likewise, use of lime powder instead of lime juice helps keep the chili from being watery.

Lean ground beef or chicken are great alternatives for the meat, as is Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) crumbles for a plant-based option. If you don’t care for black beans, pinto beans are a good substitute, with near-identical macros.

Look forward to getting your feedback on this Southwestern Chili & Pepper Dippers recipe! Please share on socials or with a friend if you enjoyed it.

If you are looking for some directed, custom help to meet your physique goals, please contact me.

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Meal Prep: Green Dragon Lean Turkey Sliders

These lean little turkey burgers pack a lot flavor thanks to Trader Joe’s Green Dragon Sauce.

Lean ground turkey (99/1 or 93/7) is a staple food in my weekly meal prep. Usually I throw it in a pan as-is with whatever seasoning I’m in the mood for….lemon pepper, taco seasoning, hot sauce, harissa, or simple salt and pepper.

One great way to turn ground turkey into a portable snack is to make sliders. For this, my go-to seasoning is Trader Joe’s Green Dragon Hot Sauce plus Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. It takes boring dry turkey and converts it to magical deliciousness – that’s all I’ll say. If I’m in a huge rush sometimes I throw these in a plastic bag and eat as a snack on the road. More often than not, I put them in pitas with some lettuce – and extra Dragon Sauce.

Green Dragon Hot Sauce is a mild sauce, and NOT made with bits of real dragon. No dragons are harmed in the making of these burgers.

Not true.

Important note for this recipe to ensure you get juicy sliders – as you form them in your hands use only your fingertips and just enough pressure to make the shape. We want to keep them airy. If you over-compact the mixture the burgers will turn out tough and dry. During cooking, the patties will puff up a bit, make them flatter again by lightly pressing down on them with a spatula.

An entire 16 oz package of 99/1 lean ground turkey has 104 g of protein, 0 g carbs, and 6 g of fat. I chose to divide the mixture into 11 patties to get just under 10g of protein per burger. Divide how you wish – make fewer or more depending on your plan and how you want to eat them.

Please let me know if you’ve tried this recipe for your meal prep, and how you like them!

Ready to work on your nutrition plan for fat loss, performance improvement, or just to improve your habits? Contact me.

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Savory Turkey-Cranberry Hash

I’m not ready for Thanksgiving to be over. Seasoned with sage and garlic, this healthy turkey cranberry hash uses riced cauliflower as the base with a bit of crunch from almonds and celery. This dish takes very little time to make and is great for meal prep!

Cauliflower is a staple food in my diet. It is awesomely versatile – on it’s own it has little taste, but readily absorbs other flavors while cooking. Just as importantly, it has an outstanding micronutrient profile with high a content of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, K, and folate.

Frozen riced cauliflower is sold at all major grocery stores, Target, and Costco. I keep a stock in my freezer for whipping up quick meals – all it takes is about 5 minutes in the microwave. If you have the time, you could also buy fresh cauliflower and rice it yourself.

Regarding the macros, I set up this recipe for 20 g of protein, 10 g of fat, and 13 g of carbs for a total of 220 Calories per serving. It is readily adjusted to your needs:

  • Increase/decrease protein by adding more or less turkey
  • Increase/decrease fats by modifying the amount of almonds
  • Increase/decrease carbs by modifying the amount of cranberries

Please let me know if you tried this recipe!

If you are looking for some help to manage your health and fitness through the holidays, and transition to healthier habits, please reach out.