Ground Turkey? Good or bad?

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  • Tiff1124
    Tiff1124 Posts: 261 Member
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    I use ground turkey for pretty much everything# Tacos, chili, spaghetti, meatballs, egg bakes. To me it tastes better than beef and it's cheaper too. At least here in MN :)
  • MiniMexxxxx
    MiniMexxxxx Posts: 43 Member
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    I would check the nutritional value. I use ground beef with a fat content of 5% I think some ground turkey (like beef) can have 15% fat so I would go on the label and make a decision from there. If it was just made with the breast meat it would be leaner (and tasteless probably) if it's made with the brown meat it'll be higher in calories.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    When you say "eating with meals" I have the impression that you're eating it along your meals thinking that eating turkey is some sort of a slimming substance.
    It is not.
    Turkey could be a good substitution for other fat meats and that's why it is sometimes recommend. But not "added to" the fat meats if you see what I mean. It is not "slimming" in itself.
    I personally avoid it because it has no taste to me. Tastes like toilet paper (yes I've tried lol).
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    Specific foods don't really "help" weight loss. I suppose they can "hurt" if they are very very calorically dense, but that's not the case here.

    Food is food, it doesn't care whether you're losing weight or gaining. And there are NO foods that will automatically help you lose weight if you add them to your diet.

    The questions to ask are more like:

    1) Do I like this food? Is it something I can regularly eat?
    2) Do I like this food too much? Do I have trouble STOPPING eating it?
    3) Do I truly know the nutritional content of this food? (note that wtih ground meats, this can be tricky).
    4) Do I measure this food accurately every time I eat it? Is it easy to measure accurately?
    5) Does this food satisfy a nutritional need?
    6) Do I feel full or satisfied after eating this food?
  • LowCarb4Me2016
    LowCarb4Me2016 Posts: 575 Member
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    We like it at my house. Its cheaper than ground beef at times so we've learned to use it and like it.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
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    So long as you count your macros or calories and fit it in, it's great. I use 96/4 ground beef a lot and it's awesome. I prefer beef for the better iron, etc. I personally wouldn't add any olive oil as you are just putting fat back in, but that's jus tme.
  • bethanyka
    bethanyka Posts: 159 Member
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    I get the 94% lean- 4oz raw is 160 cal.
    I use it a lot, at least a few times a week. Turkey meatloaf, meatballs, tacos, burgers, stuffed peppers, with brown rice, or elbow noodles and tomatoes.
    This week I am having it sautéed with shredded cabbage, (sometimes with onions too). I love it.

    It's cheap, and light. A staple for me.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    It's a lean protein. It's a very fine lean protein.

    Oh yeah, she's a sexy little lean protein isn't she? But is she the good type of sexy lean protein, or is she a bad bad girl? Sorry, not where you were going with that, is it?

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    I buy it because it's way cheaper than ground beef and I like the taste in most dishes better.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    No specific food is good it bad for weight loss. But my concern is - if you don't know how much fat is in it, how are you logging it accurately?

    These were exactly my thoughts too.

    Don't think of foods as being "good or bad for weight loss." Figure out how they fit in your calories (and log them) and your nutrition goals.

    That said, ground turkey is generally pretty low cal and has lots of protein per cal, so many people find it helpful. I'm not a huge fan (prefer ground beef, ground lamb, and ground pork), but I do have it on rare occasion. My opinion is just taste preference, and nothing about the meat. (I love turkey in other ways, just not ground.)
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited May 2017
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    bbell1985 wrote: »
    It's ground turkey. Not cocaine. It's fine.
    My current fav post of the week!

    bagge72 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    It's a lean protein. It's a very fine lean protein.

    Oh yeah, she's a sexy little lean protein isn't she? But is she the good type of sexy lean protein, or is she a bad bad girl? Sorry, not where you were going with that, is it?
    I always thought she was attractive but respectable
    Maybe she's really a 'gateway' protein to things like lard and sugar, a bad bad girl.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    choppie70 wrote: »
    If you are buying ground turkey to save on calories, then make sure you are reading labels carefully. Not all ground turkey has less calories than ground beef.

    The percentages are useless because not everyone is on the same daily calorie limit, so I'd actually compare the raw numbers.

    I would also compare raw weights, because beef unlike turkey can be cooked other than well done, which will also affect how much fat is left in the food. I don't know what assumptions your image made about how the beef is cooked - if it's cooked to "well done" then my resulting burger is going to have more of the fat (and more calories) left when I take it off the grill.
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
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    Noel_57 wrote: »
    Ground turkey caused laboratory rats to go into starvation mode. That's what Dr. Oz said on Friday. :|

    Of course he did. I wouldn't take his advice for anything. Just me.
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
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    I grew up eating ground turkey instead of ground beef (no red meat/pork, only poultry/fish). I turned out alright.
  • tugsandpulls760
    tugsandpulls760 Posts: 206 Member
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    turkey meatloaf turkey meatballs turkey burgers turkey helper turkey chopsuey turkey sherpards pie get my point? I love ground turkey
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    goalreacher998 wrote: »
    macgurlnet wrote: »
    Is there something you've heard/read that makes you think it's not going to help?

    I love using ground turkey for tacos!

    ~Lyssa

    No, not necessarily. I've just never really eaten ground turkey before so I don't know how much fat or anything is in it. It tastes great! I'm just starting my weight loss so I guess that's why I'm not sure what's "good" or bad.

    First thing to do would be to stop labeling food as good or bad.

    ^^This.

    Second thing, I would read the stickied "Most Helpful Forum Posts" at the top of the Getting Started section. In particular, I think these are fantastic.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260499/i-like-old-posts-and-i-cannot-lie/p1
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    goalreacher998 wrote: »
    So I made a decent amount of ground turkey and cooked it with a few spices (no salt) and a little olive oil. I've been eating some of it with meals, and it's pretty tasty! But is it actually all that good for you? I do weigh it, and don't eat all that much at a time, but I don't want to keep eating it if it's not going to help with my weight loss.
    Thanks. :)

    There are no foods or supplements that will make you lose weight. Only a calorie deficit can do that. Here's the thing though, ground turkey, or turkey, or chicken in general is a high protein low fat food (assuming you don't eat the skin) so yea, if you want to eat more protein and less fat (for less calories, fat in itself doesn't make you 'fat') then I love ground turkey, turkey sausage, turkey brats, turkey cutlets, and plain ol baked turkey. I even BBQ turkey all the time. Good stuff.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    goalreacher998 wrote: »
    So I made a decent amount of ground turkey and cooked it with a few spices (no salt) and a little olive oil. I've been eating some of it with meals, and it's pretty tasty! But is it actually all that good for you? I do weigh it, and don't eat all that much at a time, but I don't want to keep eating it if it's not going to help with my weight loss.
    Thanks. :)

    Good for you in what way? It's a lean protein...that's pretty much it. That said, I prefer ground beef...there's pretty much zero difference between 93% gb and 93% gt.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    gebeziseva wrote: »
    When you say "eating with meals" I have the impression that you're eating it along your meals thinking that eating turkey is some sort of a slimming substance.
    It is not.
    Turkey could be a good substitution for other fat meats and that's why it is sometimes recommend. But not "added to" the fat meats if you see what I mean. It is not "slimming" in itself.
    I personally avoid it because it has no taste to me. Tastes like toilet paper (yes I've tried lol).

    Good catch. I reread the OP and am also perplexed at the use of the phrase "eating with meals" and also the concept of adding olive oil and eating it plain - that sounds like one of the worst uses of ground turkey I can imagine. I use it because it is lean, so adding olive oil defeats that purpose; and because it is so lean it is also pretty flavorless so I only use it "in" things like tacos, chili, spaghetti sauce, etc. I actually usually cook 1-2 lbs of ground turkey and 1-2 lbs of 80/20 ground beef and combine them into 1 lb portions in ziplock bags - then use those 1 lb portions for cooking weeknight dinners. I almost never eat plain ground turkey, even on a burger.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Turkey is fine. I personally like it and that's why I have it in my diet.

    Be aware that if you're buying a turkey burger it is not necessarily any lower calorie that a ground beef burger. There is, for example, a really tasty turkey burger at my favorite burger joint. Tastes just like a grilled Thanksgiving meal: 1/4 lb Turkey burger + sage and spices + tomato + cranberry aioli + brioche bun. It's MORE calories than their Wine Country burger (also a fave): 1/4 lb ground chuck + goat cheese + caramelized onions + wine & balsamic glaze + brioche bun.

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