leaner & cleaner meatloaf + something you should know!!

another recipe for those ground turkey (or lean beef) logs.  i have never thought of meatloaf as a healthy dish, ever.  it even sounds like anything but healthy. every now and then i want it though, so every now and then i make it.  i know you'll enjoy and appreciate this flavorful, lighter, healthier, yet filling recipe. lean turkey meat loaf

the stuff:

meatloaf:

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 minced yellow onion
  • 1 med shallot or 2 cloves of garlic
  • 3 slices of double fiber wheat bread
  • 2 lbs of ground turkey 97% or 99% lean (i used one of each)
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 tbsp liquid aminos
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 whole eggs, 1/2 cup egg whites
  • few squirts of low sodium worcestershire sauce

sauce:

  • 1-1/2 cup low carb ketchup
  • 1/4 cup coconut crystals
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard or yellow mustard
  • sriracha chili sauce to taste

do this:

  1. pre-heat your oven right now before you forget @ 350 deg.
  2. soak the bread in the milk for a minute or two.
  3. chop up the shallots and/or garlic, yellow onion, parsley, and cilantro.
  4. in a huge bowl, throw everything in (soaked bread, veggies, meat, eggs, seasonings).
  5. make sure those hands are scrubbed clean, then dive on in and mix and mold.

i stuck with the boring, classic loaf shape and put it on my broil/grill pan. i'll be more adventurous next time.

as you can see, i like my veggies nice and chunky.  you can dice/mince them if that's too big for your liking.

top the loaf with only half the sauce for now, and let it bake for 45 minutes.  that'll produce this:

 go ahead and sauce it one more time, and pop it back in the for last 15.

i fished out my meat thermometer and stuck it right in the center of the loaf- that little dial shot up so fast!! it was definitely overdone and i worried that it might be dry as i was already using lean meat.

nope, it was still juicy, flavorful, and moist.  even still, i suggest you check the temp after about 35 minutes in.

 2 lbs makes plenty- we ate off this thing for about 3 days for sure.  tasted better and better each time.

instead of the usual mashed potatoes and peas, i did cabbage.  cabbage is a nutritious veggie that is cheap and produces A LOT. it doesn't wilt down so much like spinach does.

 i sliced up 1 yellow onion, 1 green bell pepper, and a few slices of bacon for flavor (2-3).  before topping the pot and letting it simmer on med-low for about 20 minutes, i pour in about 1/2 - 1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth to help get the steaming process going.  i like my cabbage with a little crunch to it, but you'll just have to taste test it along the way.  oh don't forget to add fresh cracked black pepper and as little salt as necessary.  i was able to get 12 generous slices out of the loaf.

stats per serving:

cals: 140 (w/out sauce)

165 (w/ sauce)

fat: 1.6g

protein: 6g

fiber: 1g

last thing i HAD to share! no matter how much i love a product, i never trust their (or anybody's) portion sizes.  i was getting snacks ready for the week and although i  didn't want to lol, i put that chocolate drizzled popcorn to the test....i just had to know.  the bags says 1.5 cups is one serving, and that there are 6 servings total in the bag. that equals, yes, 9 cups of popcorn.

um...

...

i only managed to scoop out 6 cups. barely. more like 5 and 3/4th.

to be honest, i was expecting the exact opposite so i could tell you to be careful about taking in WAY MORE cals than what the label actually says!!!

...not this.

 i don't know whether to be happy there are 400+ cals less than i anticipated in the entire bag, or to write a letter to Popcorn, Indiana about my 3 missing cups!! regardless, a lesson was learned.  read the label and do your own measurements.

when's the last time you ate or even made meatloaf?

le

bbq + fish = why didn't i think of this sooner

so, i'll be turning the big 3-0 next month, and my little man will be 1 the following month!  i'm so excited for all these upcoming milestones, sweet.  i took my LO (little one) to the dr. yesterday for his check up and all went well.  as luck would have it, HEB is directly across the street from the clinic and i just couldn't be so close and not pay them a visit.  i got a few items for dinner and also some that i will add to the right stuff (i hope you've been checking for updates over there).  bbq shrimp was on the sampling menu and it smelled and tasted fantastic. sooo you already know what we had for dinner:

pretty sure they meant 'than'.. but who cares, it was so tasty.  i used up all my shrimp for another dish recently, but i knew this recipe would work just as good on some tilapia. and i always have tilapia.  people bbq up some ribs and chicken- why not fish?  i bought the sauce and did the buy-one-get-one-free deal.

i bought some fresh limes, used shallots instead of garlic, and chopped up plenty of fresh cilantro.

 i didn't buy the adams rub the recipe calls for- i stuck with my tony c's to season the fish with.

everybody in the pool.

i could have grilled this up in my grill pan, but i wanted to go get a quick run in since i have another 10K saturday and i hadn't run all week. surprise. so, i baked it like i normally do- 350 deg oven for 30 min.  when i walked back in the house, the smell was out of this world! definitely a new twist for this boring, but nutritious protein.

steamed some corn and whipped up some creamed spinach for the sides.

i packed up the rest for Sonny's lunch- i know he'll enjoy it even better today, yum.

speaking of today, i had about 3/4th cup of 2% greek yogurt with some almonds and a handful of pumpkin flax granola for my mid-morning snack.

you can find this at Whole Foods in the bulk isle. it's definitely the lowest cal count i've found for granola at 140 cals per 1/2 a cup.  pretty reasonable sugar count too at 3 grams per serving. not bad.  most other granola i find start above 200 cals.  again, no drizzle of honey needed cause the granola is sweet enough.

i taught my hour-long weights class this morning so my appetite is raging. lunch has already been served and devoured:

who has lettuce now? i do! i swallowed this peppercorn turkey avocado sandwich on wheat bread with a side of strawberries.

smile, tomorrow's FRIDAY:)

le

le's lean turkey spaghetti meat sauce

friday is HERE.  we have a super busy weekend and i'm ready to dive right on in.  sooooo glad it's a long holiday weekend at that.  here's the turkey spaghetti recipe, finally.  nutritional stats included; pow. le's lean turkey spaghetti meat sauce

the stuff:

  • 1 lb 97% or 99% lean ground turkey
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 small red bell pepper
  • 1 med shallot (or garlic if you prefer)
  • 2 med tomatoes
  • 1 zucchini OR fresh/ 1 cup frozen spinach
  • 1 cup mushrooms (white or portobello)
  • couple sprigs of fresh cilantro
  • couple sprigs of fresh parsley
  • couple fresh basil leaves
  • 1 can all natural tomato sauce of your choice
  • 2-3 tbsp Liquid Aminos
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Garlic & Herb no salt seasoning

*you can switch out the vegetables for your fav kinds just as long as you add them!  fresh is always best. they make the sauce more filling so you're not just eating tons of meat (and/or pasta) in addition to providing their own special nutrients (various amounts of vitamins A,B,D, E, etc.)

do this:

in a med-high heated pot, throw in the chopped onions and shallots and let them simmer a moment, about 2 min. go ahead and throw in the meat so they can cook together.

completely cooked after about 10-15 min or so.  i still drained off the liquid, but it wasn't that much of course since i used 99% lean meat.

while the meat and onions cooked, i chopped up all the veggies and fresh herbs, then added the aminos and seasonings.

  i didn't even want to stir this- it was so pretty. (i only used half the red pepper cause it was pretty big.)

eventually, i combined everything.

  i do have a recipe for my own sauce, but i use the canned stuff too.  this giant can is less than a dollar and taste just as good if not better than the fancy jarred varieties. *all natural sauce is preferred though and can be found at any health food store. one down side to the canned and jarred stuff is the sodium content. and the low sodium sauces have ZERO flavor.  this is where the liquid aminos come in handy.

i always forget to start boiling my water from the beginning! i made pasta for Sonny i let my sauce simmer on low for about 10 min while i waited...and waited.

 a watched pot never boils, indeed.

pasta down first, then meat sauce. i have never liked them combined together initially!  let me mix them myself on my own plate.  any kind of cheese is cool (almond cheese, parmesan, shredded cheddar, etc.).  i cut up 1 babybel cheese wheel and sprinkled it on top.  oh and fresh basil as garnish.

this (and all other gumbo/ragu type dishes) tastes even better the next day and the day after that.  after five or so though, smell it first.

Nutritional stats for the entire pot of meat sauce:

cals : 615

fat : 2g

carbs : 52g

protein : 30g

fiber : 15g

sodium : 450mg

i estimate the whole pot to be around 7-8 cups.  so, 1 serving (1 cup) of sauce is approximately:

cals : 90

fat : 0.2g

carbs : 7g

protein: 4g

fiber: 2 g

sodium : 64mg

remember, the nutritional stats vary according to what you put in there.  if you'd like to keep your meal stats nice and low, stick with spaghetti squash for 'pasta'.  however, the meat sauce is so low cal, whole wheat pasta is still a great option.

enjoy your long holiday weekend- make some spaghetti while you're at it!

le