Meatloaf- The Healthy Kind

As I was making the menu for the week for my grocery trip Chad had mentioned he wouldn't mind some meatloaf. Not a typical meal for 90 degree weather, I like to think as meatloaf as a fall/winter type of meal. Happy he was suggesting something, I wrote down meatloaf. I remembered a meatloaf recipe I made from Cooks Illustrated earlier this year (during meatloaf season) and decided to use that recipe. When I looked at the ingredients (2 lbs of meat for 2!) I decided I would have to modify the recipe to make it fit for just us, and also to use a different meat, turkey.

I omitted a few things, to make it lighter and when I put my ingredients into my trusted recipe calculator, I found what I was looking for. A healthy kind of meatloaf.

The gelatin remained in the recipe, as I like my loaf to be slice-able, and not falling apart. I reduced the amount of sugar and ketchup in the glaze to make it less fattening.

The end result was fantastic. I couldn't even tell I was eating turkey. This healthy eating isn't so bad after all.

Turkey Meatloaf

(Modified from CI)

1 lb. ground turkey

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

2 garlic cloves minced

1 Tbs. fresh basil chopped

1 Tbs. fresh parsley chopped

6 whole wheat saltines crushed fine

2 Tbs. egg beaters or other egg substitute

2 Tsp. lite soy sauce

1/4 cup 2 % mozzarella chopped fine ( I just used shredded and chopped it with my knife)

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin

2 Tbs. low sodium, fat free chicken broth

Glaze:

2 1/2 Tbs. ketchup (low fat would be great but didn't have any)

1 Tbs. cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. ground coriander

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. cover a broiler pan or a cookie cooling rack with two layers of foil and punch holes in it so fat can drain. Then put pan or rack in another pan to catch drips and prevent your oven from smoking you out of the house.

2. Add meat to a medium sized bowl and add all ingredients except gelatin and broth.

3. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let stand 5 minutes. After 5 minutes add the gelatin to the ground meat; mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Transfer meat to foil rectangle and shape into an oval about 2 inches high. Bake 35 to 45 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and turn on broiler.

4. While meat loaf cooks, combine ingredients for glaze in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium low heat and cook, stirring, until thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meat loaf with rubber spatula; place under broiler and cook until glaze bubbles and begins to brown at edges, about 3-5 minutes. Let rest 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Serves 4

Calories 277.4

Total Fat 13.9 g
Saturated Fat 4.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.9 g
Cholesterol 89.9 mg
Sodium 665.7 mg
Potassium 356.1 mg

Total Carbohydrate10.2 g
Dietary Fiber1.4 g
Sugar 2.4 g
Protein 27.0 g