Turkey Parmesan

So, for the past 7 weeks my nephew has hired me to make a weeks worth of meals for him. He's a pro level athlete and it's that time of year where he focuses on lean body mass and really trains hard. Because healthy food choices are important to me and I know a lot about nutrition, he asked me to take on this task. I end up cooking literally all weekend, but it's fun and I get to research and experiment with new recipes.

Because I am such a huge fan of The South Beach Diet recipes, I have been going to those old recipes a lot these last 7 weeks. High protein, lower carbs and good fats are the focus of South Beach.

I had never tried this Turkey Parmesan recipe before today, but I'm glad I did. I love this recipe mainly because instead of using bread crumbs, you use crushed pine nuts. OMG - amazing taste! What a fabulous substitute! This one took me a little bit of time to prep and make, so I took more pictures as I cooked. This one is Gluten free, too!

You can serve this over pasta if you want, but you could just eat this with a side salad.  If you are Gluten free and want this over pasta, use your Gluten free pasta.

Enjoy this one.  The nutritional information is below!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-sugar marinara sauce (you can use a jar version or make my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup) NOTE:  I always buy a hard block of Parmesan and grate it myself.
• 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 pound turkey cutlets, about 1/3 inch thick
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Heat oven to broil.
• Bring your marinara sauce to low simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
• Stir together pine nuts, Parmesan and Italian seasoning in a wide, shallow dish.

Season turkey breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. then dredge both sides in the nut mixture (make sure your pine nuts are chopped at this point), pressing to adhere.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add turkey and cook until the turkey breasts reach 165 degrees. If the nuts brown too quickly, turn down your heat.

• Once the turkey breasts reach 165 degrees, place the turkey breasts in a baking pan, top evenly with mozzarella and broil until the cheese melts, about 30 seconds.
• Spoon 1/2 cup of warm marinara sauce on top of each turkey breast.  
• Serve over a plate of pasta or eat turkey breasts with side salad.

                                 

Nutritional Value:

Per Serving: 380 calories, 21g fat, 4g saturated fat, 39g protein, 10g carbohydrate, 3g dietary fiber, 650mg sodium

Extremely Healthy Meatloaf (dont worry - this isnt your TYPICAL meatloaf)

This is one of my favorite recipes!  And it's so healthy!!  I don't like meatloaf, but I LOVE this recipe for meatloaf.  Instead of using ketchup and crackers, this recipe calls for brown rice and salsa.  SO yummy and my kids eat every bite and always want 2nds!!  This one is Gluten Free and Dairy Free!  Full of Veggies and high in protein and fiber!

This one is from South beach Diet.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper - chopped
1/2 green pepper - chopped
1/2 lb ground turkey meat
1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup of your favorite chunky salsa
1 egg beaten
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup cooked brown rice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Heat oil in a pan and take the onions, pepper and saute for about 5 min or until tender.

In a large bowl, combine beef, turkey, salsa, egg, salt, black pepper and garlic.  Stir in the sauteed veggies and then the rice.  Place the mixture in an oblong bread loaf or in a baking dish and form into an oblong loaf. 

Bake for45 min to an hour or until the inserted thermometer reaches 160 degrees and meat is no longer pink.

NOTE FROM CHEF - I've had the best results on this one using the oblong bread loaf. See my picture below for the size I use.  Also - make sure this one you really gage by the thermometer being inserted.  I've noticed on this one that if I make anything else in the oven with it...it takes longer than an hour to cook, so make sure you cook this one by itself in the oven.  Also - this one isn't that appealing when it's done.  The juices from the peppers and onions float to the top...but it tastes AMAZING!  Just letting you know beforehand!

This is a picture of the meatloaf in the oblong bread loaf pan and then I served it with my Roasted Veggies.  See that recipe on my blog too!