My dad after finishing the Warrior Dash. He's pretty awesome.
My dad is
an all-American man’s man, lover of sports, hunting, fishing and all other
things manly. When it comes to food, Dad is a carnivore and the man loves
himself some red meat. Eating with my pops growing up was always a delicious
time; he and I would get down on burgers, steaks, roasts, meatloaf… if it
mooed, we ate it!
(Photo from utahpeoplespost.com)
My ground turkey meatloaf. Stay tuned - I will post this recipe soon!
I started
to incorporate ground turkey in the meals my husband and I enjoy;
enchiladas, lasagna, meatloaf and even burgers on the grill. The more we ate
ground turkey the more I thought, “I can’t believe it tastes this good and is so much better for you!”
But then the thought hit me: what if it wasn’t?
So I did
some digging. (By digging I mean, I
actually read the labels on a package of lean ground beef and lean ground
turkey and compared the two. For all my mass amounts of wisdom, label reading
is a practice that still needs improvement.)
Lean ground turkey from ALDI
Lean ground sirloin from ALDI
What I
found was that the same serving size of lean ground turkey compared to lean
ground sirloin was not much different as far as fat and calories goes. In a 4
ounce serving of ground sirloin (90% lean/10% fat) there were 200 calories, 11
grams of fat and 22 grams of protein. In a 4 ounce serving of lean ground turkey
there were 160 calories, 8 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein. This
difference, well… doesn’t really make much of a difference when you consider
that the recommended daily caloric and fat intake
for an average healthy woman is about 2100 calories and about 70 grams of fat. So
that itty-bitty contrast isn’t going to make-or-break you.
(Photo from UPHS Nutrition Care Guide)
And thus,
the mystery of why ground turkey tastes just as good is solved – because it’s
just as “bad” for you as ground beef! But, after reviewing recommended caloric
and fat intake amounts, I have resolved that ground beef, as long as it’s lean,
is really not that bad for you, anyway. And alas, I’ve also determined that
ground turkey just isn’t the wonder-meat I once thought it was.
(Photo from teenierussel.com)
So, at
the end of the day (or blog post, rather), what I’ve taken away from this is
really two key things:
1) Lean ground beef and lean ground turkey are
pretty much interchangeable. That information is disappointing to me because I
thought I was eating healthier. But I’m
also pretty stoked because I like both
ground turkey and ground beef and now I can eat whichever I choose and not feel
guilty!
2) I need
to pay closer attention to what the labels
on food say and NOT just what I hear other
people say about food. Whether it’s celebrity gossip or the latest diet
craze, we all know that word of mouth is not the most accurate form of
receiving information.
Moral o' the story: the
next time the world around you buzzes over food business, check into the facts
for yourself. Is the person you just talked to a scientist? No? Then read the
labels, my friend, that is literally what they’re there for.
Busted any food myths or other dietary misconceptions lately?
I would love to hear about it!
Share your stories (and photos if you have them!) with me at
Email me! thatbusygirllife@gmail.com
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Blair Clark is a wife, teacher, dog-mother, mentor, wanna-be-chef, recipe collector, crafter, painter, novice photographer, thrifter, writer, marriage ministry leader, Sunday school teacher and blogger. In short, she's a busy girl! Blair lives and blogs from the suburbs of Detroit with her handsome hubby and perfect Chocolate lab.
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