Fw: Low Sodium Cooking - Turkey Dinner

[Guest guest]

Jeanne

Subject: Low Sodium Cooking - Turkey DinnerTo: "jeanne2113" Date: Friday, November 14, 2008, 4:30 PM

Showing You How To Give Up Sodium Without Giving Up Your Life

Low Sodium Cooking - Issue 6, Number 9 - Turkey Dinner

This week's recipes:- Injected Turkey- Turkey Gravy- Stuffing Bread- Stuffing- Green Beans With Caramelized Pearl Onions- Sweet Potato Casserole- Onion Cranberry Relish- Dinner Rolls- Pumpkin Pie Filling 2- Pie CrustPlease feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone who mayhave an interest.=======================================Hello to all our regulars and welcome to the new subscribers.This issue we're going to do our annual look at the traditionalturkey dinner associated with the United States Thanksgivingcelebration. If you are one of our readers from outside the U.S.,feel free to grab a turkey and join those us in celebrating thebounty of the earth and all the other things we have to bethankful for.All of these

recipes have appeared before, some a number oftimes. We are talking tradition, after all. In our family atleast, Thanksgiving dinner looks almost the same from one year tothe next. Hopefully I didn't mess up too much in the cutting andpasting of previous work to create this. One year I had to sendout a special correction issue just to get everything straight.The idea of this issue is to help people have the kind of mealthey've traditionally liked without going over their sodium limit.It will probably be higher than most meals you eat, but hopefullywe'll be careful enough that at least most of it will fit intoeveryone's diet. Of course there are other limits you'll need tobe aware of too. A number of the traditional recipes are fairlyhigh in sugar and fat, even though the sodium counts might bereasonable. Even though part of the tradition is overeating, youshould be careful to

enjoy yourself while still sticking to yourdiet.But the bottom line is to enjoy your holiday. I hope thecomments and recipes below will help some do that.These recipes are also available online in Microsoft Word formatat http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/Recipes111408.docEnjoy.=======================================This week's issue will include additional comments interspersedwith recipes as I run down the traditional Thanksgiving dinner,at least what's traditional in my family.The star of the show of course is the turkey. And this can also bethe center of the sodium problem. We can probably blame the"self-basting" turkey, which has been around for a long while now,for being the forerunner of all the "enhanced" meats we see

thesedays. It has become quite difficult to find turkeys andchickens that have not been injected with a broth solution toincrease juiciness and tenderness (and to provide the moreprofit, some people would say). This is a good way to makethe breast meat, which has less fat than the dark meat, morejuicy, but the solution used raises the sodium level from the65-80 mg range for natural turkey meat to 250 mg or more. I wentout this morning and did a quick check of the three grocery storehere in my town to see what the sodium content of availableturkeys was. As in the past, the news was mostly bad. It has beenpretty consistent for the past four years now, so things don'tseem to be getting worse. It was still far enough before theholiday that stores didn't have the full stock of turkeysavailable yet, particularly fresh ones, which are often the onlylow sodium choice. None of the

stores had any turkeys that didn'thave at least some added sodium. The lowest was at Giant, where aShady Brook Farms Fresh and Natural turkey had 190 mg per pound.This is still more than twice what it would have without the addedsalt. From there, they values ranged from 250 to over 300 mg. Ididn't get a chance to check BJ's Wholesale Club, which in thepast has carried the Perdue All Natural chicken and turkey. I hopethey will have them again this year. In the past, the sodiumcontent of this bird was listed as 50 mg for 3 ounces of whitemeat and 70 mg for 3 ounces of dark. I'm also hoping that as inthe past there will be some fresh turkeys available nearer theholiday without the add broth. My advice as always is to shopcarefully. There are some other good sources of natural turkeys.If you have a local butcher shop or meat market you can probablyfind one there. Here in southern land there

are severalfarmers in the Amish community who sell fresh poultry. And astore like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's that carries organic birdsmay have some.Now on to the cooking ....There are probably as many people claiming to have to best wayto cook a turkey as there are people cooking turkeys. I happento like the recipe below. It gives you a nice juicy bird withcrispy skin. Other methods probably work just as well. We'vealso done fried turkey, and we will likely do that for Christmas,when it seems to take a little longer to get into the kitchen andstart dinner.=====================Injected TurkeyYou can get the same kind of extra juiciness that the commercialmeat packers do while saving lots of sodium by injecting yourown turkey. Using a low sodium chicken broth adds very littlesodium per serving. You can find injectors in the gadget aisleof

many large supermarkets. Often they are with the barbecueequipment. You can also buy one online somewhere likecooking.com for only a few dollars. Starting the cooking at ahigh temperature seals in the juices and gives you a nice brownskin. 12 lb Turkey 1 c Low Sodium Chicken Or Turkey BrothPreheat oven to 500F. Using a hypodermic needle or baster-injector inject the broth into the turkey, concentrating mainlyon the breast. Put turkey in the oven. Let cook for 20 minutesor until the exterior is crisp, but not golden brown. Reduceheat to 375F. Let bird roast until finished.Yield: 24 ServingsPer Serving: 256 Calories 49 g Protein 6 g Total Fat 2 g Saturated Fat 2 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g Monounsaturated Fat 0 g

Carbohydrates 0 g Fiber 83 mg Sodium 685 mg Potassium 154 mg CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 0 Starch 0 Fruit 0 Milk 0 Other Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 4 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 2 Fat=====================Mashed Potatoes and GravyFirst on your list of side dishes is probably mashed potatoesand gravy. Making your own mashed potatoes from scratch isn'ttoo difficult, the usual recipe seems to be about 1 1/2 cupsheated milk and 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine per 6large boiled potatoes. If you buy the instant ones, make sureyou check the label (as with any processed food). Some containadded salt. The "complete" ones are usually the worse. Also beaware that the milk contains naturally

occurring sodium, so takethat into consideration. You can substitute some chicken broth orbroth from the turkey pan for some of the water or milk to add alittle flavor if you like.Turkey GravyIf you go out and do a search for turkey gravy recipes online,you'll come across some with 20 ingredients and a full page ofinstructions. Seems like a bit of overkill to me. Basicallywhat you need is the broth in the bottom of the roasting pan andsome flour to thicken it. I will go a little further thanthat though. One trick I learned some years ago to add someadditional flavor to the gravy is to put half an onion, a cut upcarrot and a few stalks of celery in the bottom of the roastingpan. A more recent trick I read is for separating the fat ifyou don't happen to have one of those measuring cups with thespout at the bottom designed for that purpose.

Pour the panjuices into a zipper baggie, then snip a small triangle off abottom corner and let the broth drip out until nothing is leftbut the fat. The recipe below is for 2 cups of gravy (notnearly enough). Use a tablespoon of flour for each cup for afairly thin gravy. 2 c Turkey Broth 2 T Flour 2 T Turkey FatPour broth from roasting pan, allow to settle and drain off fat.Add 2 tablespoons of fat back to the pan. Heat, scraping up anybrowned bits from the bottom. Add flour, stir until it beginsto form a ball. Add broth, cook and stir until thickened.Yield: 8 ServingsPer Serving: 38 Calories 1 g Protein 3 g Total Fat 1 g Saturated Fat 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g Monounsaturated

Fat 1 g Carbohydrates 0.1 g Fiber 15 mg Sodium 2 mg Potassium 3 mg CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 0 Starch 0 Fruit 0 Milk 0 Other Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 0.5 Fat=====================StuffingStuffing (or perhaps more accurately dressing for those like uswho don't actually stuff it in the bird) is another tradition.Unfortunately, even the "lower sodium" Stove Top mix is prettyhigh is sodium. I started baking stuffing bread a few yearsago, patterning it after a loaf that one of the local storessells of the bread that usually would be cubed and bagged. Thisgives you a head start on the flavor you want. This is anotherarea where everyone has a

different idea of what should be instuffing, so feel free to experiment.Stuffing BreadThis was inspired by a local store that used to sell loaves ofsliced stuffing bread around the holidays. It makes greatsandwiches with leftover turkey as well as stuffing. You maywant to make this a few days in advance, cube it and let it dryout. 1 1/4 c Water 1 T Unsalted Margarine 3 1/4 c Bread Flour 2 T Sugar 1/2 t Tarragon 1/4 t Rosemary 1 T Poultry Seasoning 1/2 t Parsley 1/2 t Minced Onion 1 3/4 t YeastPlace ingredients in bread machine in order specified bymanufacturer. Process on large white loaf cycle.Yield: 12 ServingsPer Serving: 153

Calories 5 g Protein 2 g Total Fat 0 g Saturated Fat 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g Monounsaturated Fat 29 g Carbohydrates 1 g Fiber 2 mg Sodium 53 mg Potassium 0 mg CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 2 Starch 0 Fruit 0 Milk 0 Other Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 0 FatStuffingThis is kind of a framework for making stuffing. Almosteveryone has different herbs and additives they like. Feel freeto change the seasonings with such things as thyme and basil.You can also add other things like chestnuts or other nuts, applesor dried fruit, mushrooms, chopped turkey giblets, etc. if this issomething you would

normally do. The longer you let the breadcubes dry out before making the stuffing, the more broth you willneed. Many recipes also call for melted butter or margarine, orbutter pats on top during baking, but I've left these out in theinterest of reduced fat. This mixture can of course also be usedfor stuffing the bird. 8 c Stuffing Bread,Cubed Or Crumbled 2 c Low Sodium Chicken Or Turkey Broth 1 c Onion,Chopped 1/2 c Celery,Chopped 2 t Tarragon 1 t Sage 1 t Poultry Seasoning 1 1/2 t Black PepperCombine all ingredients and toss lightly. Place in a greased9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 until heated through, about 30minutes.Yield: 12 ServingsPer Serving: 186

Calories 8 g Protein 3 g Total Fat 1 g Saturated Fat 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g Monounsaturated Fat 46 g Carbohydrates 18.5 g Fiber 51 mg Sodium 907 mg Potassium 1 mg CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 2 Starch 0 Fruit 0 Milk 0 Other Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 0 FatIf you are more into the southern style cornbread stuffing, takea look at these two recipes instead,http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/Cornbread.htmhttp://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/CornbreadStuffing.htm=====================VegetablesWe'll have some green vegetable, usually green beans. We've beenmaking the following recipe in recent years. It's a little easierand a little more "up-scale" than the casserole from the back ofthe French fried onions can.Green Beans With Caramelized Pearl OnionsThis makes a nice alternative to the usual green bean casseroleand has become an annual addition to our meal. It's easier tomake and lower in sodium and the sweet flavor goes well with thetraditional meal. If you don't have a steamer, you can boil thevegetables. 2 lb Fresh Green Beans 1 lb Pearl Onions (fresh, not canned) 1/3 c Unsalted Margarine 1/2 c Brown SugarArrange beans in a

steamer basket over boiling water. Cover andsteam 15 minutes; set aside. Place onions in boiling water for 3minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Cut off root ends ofonions and peel. Arrange onions in steamer basket over boilingwater. Cover and steam 5 minutes. Set onions aside. Meltmargarine in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add sugar, andcook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Add onions, cook 3minutes, stirring constantly. Add beans, and cook, stirringconstantly, until thoroughly heated.Yield: 8 ServingsPer Serving: 176 Calories 3 g Protein 8 g Total Fat 1 g Saturated Fat 2 g Polyunsaturated Fat 3 g Monounsaturated Fat 26 g Carbohydrates 4.9 g Fiber 14 mg Sodium 376 mg Potassium 0 mg CholesterolDiabetic

Exchanges 0 Starch 0 Fruit 0 Milk 0.5 Other Carbohydrates 2.5 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 1.5 FatSweet PotatoesSweet potatoes are a good choice for this meal and traditional inour family. They are naturally very low in sodium. Boil themuntil almost done then bake in a covered casserole with a littleorange juice and honey or brown sugar or try the recipe below.We will probably do the traditional sweet potato casserole withthe marshmallows on top, since my daughter wouldn't think it wasThanksgiving otherwise, but you could try this alternative.Sweet Potato Casserole 3 lg Sweet Potatoes,Cooked And Mashed 1 cn Crushed Pineapple With Syrup 1/4 c Brown SugarMix ingredients together.

Place in covered casserole dish andheat in 350 degree oven until heated through, about 15-20minutes.Yield: 6 ServingsPer Serving: 118 Calories 1 g Protein 0 g Total Fat 0 g Saturated Fat 0 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g Monounsaturated Fat 28 g Carbohydrates 1.4 g Fiber 13 mg Sodium 179 mg Potassium 0 mg CholesterolRutabagaThere will also be rutabagas at our house, traditional in mywife's family. I haven't any idea what heritage that comes fromsince she's Italian/Irish/Dutch/English/etc., but at 20 mg perserving, feel free to indulge yourself in a large helping.=====================Cranberry Sauce and other MunchiesGo for it. Regular canned cranberry sauce, either the jellied orwhole

berry variety, has nothing in it that would be a problem formost diets. It has minimal sodium, no fat and is perfectlyacceptable as is. Along the same line. sweet pickles aregenerally low in sodium. Stay away from dill pickles and olives.Celery and carrot sticks are great.Onion Cranberry RelishThis recipe I came across just sounded so good that I had to tryit for Thanksgiving a few years ago. Now I end up making it everyyear. 1 lg Onion,Vidalia Or Other Sweet Variety 1 T Unsalted Margarine 1/4 c Raisins 1/4 c Red Wine 3/4 c Brown Sugar 4 Cinnamon 12 oz Fresh Cranberries 1 c WaterChop onions. In a skillet cook onion in margarine for 5 minutesor until tender, stirring occasionally. Add

raisins, wine, andsalt. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Remove from heat and setaside. In a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1cup water; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered,for 10 minutes. Add 2 cups of the cranberries and cook,uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remainingcranberries; cook 3 to 5 minutes more or until berries pop,stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon sticks. Stir in onionmixture. Transfer to a medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 2hours or up to 3 daysYield: 12 ServingsPer Serving: 163 Calories 1 g Protein 1 g Total Fat 0 g Saturated Fat 0 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g Monounsaturated Fat 99 g Carbohydrates 1.4 g Fiber 10 mg Sodium 307 mg Potassium 0 mg

CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 0 Starch 2 Fruit 0 Milk 0.5 Other Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 0 Fat=====================Dinner RollsI like fresh hot rolls with my Thanksgiving dinner. This recipeis actually the same as the one I use for hamburger buns. Theonly difference will be in the shaping. 1 c Water 2 T Unsalted Margarine 1/4 c Egg Substitute 3 1/4 c Bread Flour 1/4 c Sugar 1 T YeastPlace in bread machine in order specified by manufacturer.Process on dough cycle. At end of cycle remove to a flouredboard. Pull into 16 pieces. Shape each into a rounded roll andplace in greased 9x13

pan or in individual muffin cups. Cover andlet rise until double, about 1/2 hour. Bake in preheated 375degree oven 12-15 minutes or until golden brownYield: 16 ServingsPer Serving: 131 Calories 4 g Protein 2 g Total Fat 0 g Saturated Fat 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g Monounsaturated Fat 24 g Carbohydrates 0.8 g Fiber 8 mg Sodium 56 mg Potassium 0 mg CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 1 Starch 0 Fruit 0 Milk 0 Other Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 0 Fat=====================DessertPumpkin pie is the traditional ending for the big meal. And thegood news is that Cool Whip is low

in both fat and sodium, unlikewhipped cream. If you want a whipped topping, RediWhip is alsosodium free and low in fat.Pumpkin Pie Filling 2This is the creamiest, best flavored pumpkin pie filling I'veever tried. You can also bake this as a pumpkin custard andskip the fat and carbohydrates in the crust. Just pour it intooven proof custard cups or soup bowls that have been sprayedwith vegetable oil spray. No custard cups? What about ovenproof coffee mugs and serve it right in the mug. 1 3/4 c Pumpkin,Cooked And Pureed 1/2 c Brown Sugar 1/2 c Sugar 2 T Maple Syrup 1/2 c Sour Cream 1/2 c Half & Half 1/2 c Egg Substitute 1 t Cinnamon 1/2 t Ground Ginger 1/8 t

Ground ClovesPreheat oven to 425. Dump all the ingredients into a blender andpulse until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into greasedcustard cups or ovenproof soup bowls, or unbaked pie shell. Bakefor 15 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 45minutes, or until set. Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving.Top each portion with whipped cream or Cool Whip, if desired.Yield: 8 ServingsPer Serving: 196 Calories 3 g Protein 5 g Total Fat 3 g Saturated Fat 0 g Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g Monounsaturated Fat 35 g Carbohydrates 1.7 g Fiber 48 mg Sodium 264 mg Potassium 12 mg CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 0 Starch 0 Fruit 0.5 Milk 1 Other

Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 1 FatPie CrustI find this oil based pie crust easier to work with than withsolid shortening. And it seems to stay flaky through morehandling. 1 1/3 c Flour 1/3 c Oil 2 T Water,ColdAdd oil to flour and mix well with fork. Sprinkle water overand mix well. With hands press into ball and flatten. Rollbetween two pieces in waxed paper. Remove top waxed paper, invertover pan and remove other paper. Press into place. For pieswhich do not require a baked filling, bake at 400 until lightedbrowned, about 12-15 minutes.Yield: 8 ServingsPer Serving: 156 Calories 2 g Protein 9 g Total Fat 1 g Saturated Fat 5

g Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g Monounsaturated Fat 16 g Carbohydrates 0.6 g Fiber 1 mg Sodium 22 mg Potassium 0 mg CholesterolDiabetic Exchanges 1 Starch 0 Fruit 0 Milk 0 Other Carbohydrates 0 Vegetable 0 Lean Meat 0 Very Lean Meat 2 Fat=======================================Publisher's RantingOK, there you have it ... a wonderful example of American excess.I won't add up the calories, but let's take a quick look at thesodium and see how we've done.Turkey (3 ounces each white and dark) (166 mg)Mashed Potatoes (30 mg)Stuffing (51 mg)Gravy (15 mg)Rutabaga (20 mg)Green Beans (14 mg)Sweet Potatoes (13 mg)Hot Roll with unsalted margarine or butter (or the butter

flavoredspray (8 mg)Onion Cranberry Relish (10 mg)Celery and carrot sticks (20 mg)Pumpkin pie with cool whip topping (49 mg)Total sodium 396 mgMore than you'd want to have per meal on a daily basis perhaps,but for the biggest single meal of the year, not that bad at allin my opinion. (You may have noticed that I sneaked in twice therecommended serving of meat, knowing that I can't resist a tasteor two while carving). The keys are of course the sameas usual, finding or making low sodium replacements for the highsodium items and being careful how much you eat, particularly ofitems that are high in sodium or whatever other nutrients you arewatching.Everyone have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and we'll be backto talk to you soon.You can still get your very own copy of my "500 Low SodiumRecipes" cookbook. I had reports of it being available

placeslike Borders, and Noble and Costco, or you can get it fromAmazon.com here:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592332773/lowsodiumcook-20 AND ... I'm hard at work on a followup book, 500 Low CholesterolRecipes. They will still be low in sodium, although some may be alittle higher than what you typically get in the newsletter andthe first book, mainly because of the use of ingredients like lowfat cheddar cheese. It should be out sometime in the late summeror early fall.'til next time,Dick=======================================Quote of the WeekWhat we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside onthe fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, whyelse would they call it Thanksgiving? - Erma

Bombeck=======================================Administrative StuffToday's Low Sodium Cooking was created while listening toJimmy Buffet.Have a wonderful and healthy week and we'll talk to you againsoon.Subscribe to this newsletter at Http://www.LowSodiumCooking.com or send an email tomailto:Dick@...?subject=joinUnsubscribe from this newsletter using the link below or send anemail to mailto:Dick@...?subject=leaveAll recipes and information provided in the Low Sodium Cookingnewsletter and posted on LowSodiumCooking.com are provided "asis". While I make every effort to ensure accuracy, I cannotguarantee nor make any claims that the nutritional values,

whereprovided, are accurate or that each recipe is appropriate foreveryone.In no event shall LowSodiumCooking.com be liable for damages ofany kind, due to the use of recipes and information provided inthis newsletter or on the website.It is your responsibility to decide if the recipes andinformation are suitable for your personal diet. When in doubtplease seek the advice of your physician or health careprovider.Dick LogueWebmaster, http://www.LowSodiumCooking.comTo contract me: mailto:Dick@... =======================================

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[Guest guest]

Thanks for the great recipe ideas. I think I will try to stuffing bread this year. I am hosting again (have every year for ages). Several of the other recipes look good too. Dinner might look a little different this year.

Blessings,

Barby - KS

PS - babysitting for my 2 grandchildren ages 1 month and 2yo while their parents go to the Kansas-Texas game