It hasn’t gotten consistently chilly at night quite yet but as soon as it does it calls for some comfort food. The most comforting meal that we can possibly think about is Thanksgiving Dinner. Always a great day to spend time with family and of course, over eat. But is Thanksgiving dinner really that unhealthy?
The short answer is unfortunately, yes. It probably is. But it isn’t necessarily what we eat but how much. Plus, really hard to say no to delicious pies even after you’ve already eaten a few helpings. But what about the star of the show? How about turkey?
The question with turkey is always the same; white or dark meat? Which really comes down to whether or not you want to have a slice of turkey breast or leg. You might think that this is because of health, but in reality it’s more about taste, because health wise, there isn’t enough of a difference in calories or fat in the meat to make much of a difference.
Roasted Turkey Breast (Skin-On)
Calories: 160; Fat: 6g; Sat Fat: 2g; Unsat Fat: 2.5g; Protein: 24g; Sodium: 55mg
Roasted Turkey Breast (Skinless)
Calories: 130; Fat: 2g; Sat Fat: 0.5g; Unsat Fat: 1g; Protein: 26g; Sodium: 85mg
Roasted Turkey Leg (Skin-On)
Calories: 180; Fat: 8g; Sat Fat: 2.5g; Unsat Fat: 5g; Protein: 24g; Sodium: 65mg
Roasted Turkey Leg (Skinless)
Calories: 140; Fat: 3g; Sat Fat: 1g; Unsat Fat: 1.5g; Protein: 25g; Sodium: 70mg
Source: USDA
Where most of the unhealthy-ness of turkey comes from is the skin. So if you’re trying to watch out for fat than skip the skin. That being said its all unsaturated fats. So if you decide that crispy goodness is for you that day, you don’t have to feel guilty about deviating from the diet.
We do have some friends that deep fry their turkey. We’ve tried that too and these is very little room left for doubt that it’s really fantastic. But we don’t have to tell you that it’s not very healthy to eat anything fried. Our turkeys are raised to be very tender and juicy after hitting the oven. Plus we feel like the deep frying process takes away from the taste of the turkey itself, which we think is awesome!
One thing to consider when choosing a bird this year: Read the label. Some store bought turkeys are injected with a sodium solution to improve and retain flavor after freezing. When you buy a turkey from us it never gets frozen. It goes right from farm to table. So if you have someone in the family that might be watching their sodium intake make sure to keep that in mind.
Let’s get back to the original question; is Thanksgiving dinner healthy. The over eating part probably isn’t, but if you are selecting local fresh ingredients to put on your table and the star of the show comes from us, chances are it’s really not that bad for you. As long as after dinner you don’t have eleven pieces of pumpkin pie. Maybe this year just have five.
Fisher Hill Farm 