It’s that time of year again. Yes, Thanksgiving is already upon us. People tend to think Thanksgiving dinner and holiday weight gain goes hand in hand. You can blame stuffing, mashed potatoes with loads of butter and gravy, pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie for that, but leave the turkey out of it! After all, turkey is packed with lean protein that simultaneously raises your metabolism and promotes fat burning and lean muscle growth.
Let’s talk about protein for a moment. Protein is the sole macronutrient responsible for building and repairing your body’s tissue stores (fat and carbohydrates simply provide energy). Regular protein intake is vital in accelerating the repair of muscle damage from high-intensity activities like strength training and cardio interval training. In addition, adequate protein intake every two to three hours is essential in maintaining your current levels of lean muscle mass. Simply put, the more muscle you have the larger your metabolic engine. Larger metabolic engine equals more calories (and fat) burned on a daily basis since muscle tissue requires a lot of energy to sustain itself. Protein is also the least likely macronutrient to be stored as body fat. The mere act of digesting protein (thermic effect) requires more than double the energy to digest than carbohydrates and dietary fat. So, if there is any food choice that you can truly get away with overeating this holiday season, it will be turkey.
Another key benefit to eating turkey is that it is easy to prepare in bulk and will save you much needed time in meal planning and preparation during the busy holiday season. You can roast a big turkey and then have tons of meal options for days. Just think of what you can do with all those Thanksgiving leftovers! To inspire your turkey consumption, we’ve put together a few turkey recipes that you can create with turkey as your lean protein foundation. Enjoy!
Turkey Salad
Ingredients:
- 6-8 oz. Turkey Breast chopped into small cubes
- 3 cups of dark, leafy greens
- 1⁄4 red bell pepper
- 1⁄4 green bell pepper
- 1⁄4 red onion
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and enjoy.
Makes one to two servings.
Turkey Shepherds Pie
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cubed cooked turkey
- 3⁄4 cup turkey gravy
- 1 small can whole kernel corn drained
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- 1 cup of water
- 3 cups steamed cauliflower
- 2 cups celery, chopped 2 carrots
- chopped 1 onion chopped 2 cloves garlic
- minced 1 bell pepper, any color
- chopped Salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. First you must make the gravy. Take the garlic, 1 cup of celery, carrots, onion, bell pepper, chicken stock, water, vegetables, salt and pepper to taste. Add to a pot, boil until vegetables are soft and blend in a blender or food processor.
Next, you will take the steamed cauliflower and mash it, or place it in a food processor until the consistency is like that of mashed potatoes.
Next, in a baking dish, layer the turkey, gravy, corn, remaining celery and mashed cauliflower. Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Makes 2 servings
Turkey Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of frozen green beans
- 6-8 oz. of cubed cooked turkey breast
- 1 can of organic cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups Kraft all natural fat free cheese
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients into a casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes or until completely hot.
Makes one to two servings.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
"There is No Tomorrow, Train Today!"
Joshua Mandel
www.NewJerseyBootCamps.com
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