Smart Food Choices When You Have High Cholesterol
Making an effort to lower your cholesterol numbers can require some serious life changes, most drastically when it comes to your diet. For many people, the bad for you list looks a lot like a list of favorite foods and thats the biggest challenge.
But smart food choices are essential for lowering cholesterol and lowering your risk of heart attack. Watching your diet can reduce your cholesterol levels without medication, or enhance the effects of the cholesterol-lowering drug you take. Your genetics play a big role in your cholesterol level, but so do other factors including diet and the foods you eat can help to lower it, says Harvey Kramer, MD, a cardiologist at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut.
If your new diet rules seem daunting, here are some simple food swaps for an easier transition.
Burger Battle: Turkey May Not Be Healthier Than Beef
With all the delicious eats served at the many end-of-Summer barbecues, you may opt for a turkey burger over the traditional beef patty because it’s healthier. Before you swear off hamburgers forever, you may want to take a closer look at the two types of meat to see how they compare.
| 4 oz. raw ground turkey | 4 oz. raw ground beef |
|---|---|
| Calories | |
| 228.3 | 333.4 |
If weight loss or eating less fat is on your mind, the turkey burger is definitely the way to go. But if you’re trying to get more protein or potassium in your diet, you’ll want to choose the regular hamburger. Surprisingly the turkey burger is slightly higher in cholesterol, so if that’s an issue, there’s another reason to go for the beef. Whatever patty you decide to place in your whole wheat bun, make sure you go for extra lean, and here are some other tips for saving barbecue calories.
Which burger version do you prefer?
Why This Turkey Burger Recipe Works
I just gave the classic burger an epic makeover. Whats better about my easy turkey burgers?
- Forget about all those unnecessary fillers like egg, breadcrumbs and exotic sauces.
- Only 5 simple ingredients are all you need for a sumptuously moist, smack-your-lips turkey burger recipe!
- Juicy burgers thanks to one secret ingredient zucchini.
Now you can sink your teeth into the real taste of turkey. And turkey can be flavorful and moist, proof is in most popular turkey recipes here on iFOODreal turkey meatloaf, turkey meatballs and this record breaking star collector ground turkey recipe. It can be good, healthy and amazing!
From turkey chili to turkey to roast turkey breast to turkey meatball soup, I have been using this nutritious, lean and delicate meat in dinner recipes for a decade now. No one ever complains!
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How Much Potassium Is In A Turkey Burger
. Also to know is, are turkey burgers unhealthy?
A 4-ounce cooked turkey burger has 193 calories, 11 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat and 22 grams of protein. Undercooked ground turkey has been associated with salmonella, so make sure your turkey burger is safe to eat by cooking it to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Similarly, why is a turkey burger better than a hamburger? A: You are correct. Whereas ground turkey sounds healthier than ground beef, if the package or label does not specify lean ground turkey breasts, it may contain dark meat and fat-laden skin. In that case, extra lean ground beef may be a slimmer pick. Be a smart consumer and check your food labels.
Also asked, how much salt is in a turkey burger?
One turkey burger contains 290 calories, 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, and 440 milligrams of sodium.
Does ground turkey have more protein than beef?
For this battle, both ground beef and turkey deliver equally in terms of protein. It all comes down to the fat content. Ground turkey can have almost as high a fat content as lean ground beef if it is made from the thigh of the turkey, so opt for ground turkey breast if fat is a concern.
Are Turkey Burgers Better For You Than Hamburgers
Turkey burgers are healthier than hamburgers because they have fewer calories and are lower in fat.
Turkey patties are lean ground meat, bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt, and pepper.
They may also include garlic powder or onion soup mix to enhance the flavour.
Hamburger patties are typically made with ground beef which is higher in fat content.
Turkey burgers are also typically lower in sodium content due to fresh herbs and vegetables, which can contain sodium.
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Can You Cook Frozen Turkey Burgers Without Defrosting
Defrosting frozen turkey burgers is a popular method of preparing the food because it ensures that it will be cooked to perfection.
If you want an alternative, you can fry them or microwave them. This may take a little extra time and effort on your part, but at least you wont have to wait as long for dinner.
How Do You Make Turkey Burgers From Scratch
Anisio Sanchez Moreno
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Tips For Best Results
- To grate zucchini use medium size grater holes. Not the large ones and not the ones that makes a complete mush. This way burgers are right amount juicy.
- Shape patties a bit wider than the bun since they shrink during cooking.
- Dont use a panini press grill as it presses all the juices out of burgers. Indoor one sided grill or grill skillet is fine.
- Flip burgers only once during cooking.
- Prepare all the toppings and buns before cooking the burgers.
If grilling: freeze burgers for 10 minutes prior.
How To Make Turkey Burgers
Its extra fast and easy!
- Combine turkey and zucchini: Simply add ground turkey to a medium-size bowl and add grated zucchini. Yes! Thats my secret ingredient. It keeps the patties moist, flavourful, and zucchini is a superfood, loaded with nutritional benefits.
- Add flavor: Add one chopped garlic clove, cumin, salt and pepper. Thats it! Mix well. Shape into patties.
- Pan fry: Brown patties on both sides in a hot pan about 8 to 10 mins.
- Grill: Not only grilled turkey burgers look more appetizing, but darker grill marks also give more flavour to the meat.
- If grilling, freeze burgers for 10 minutes prior. Helps to hold their shape.
- Make sure the temperature of your barbecue reaches 285 degrees F before placing your patties on the grill, so they wont stick.
- Grill about 8 minutes for well done.
Dinners ready!
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Articles On High Cholesterol Diet
If you have high cholesterol, you should talk with your doctor about what you eat, including meat.
There are good, lean choices. For example, you can consider chicken or turkey breasts without skin pork tenderloin or beef round, sirloin, or tenderloin. Avoid highly processed meats .
Check the nutrition label on the package to be sure the meat is 96% to 98% fat-free. Also, limit your serving size according to your doctor’s instructions. Or follow the TLC diet recommendations of no more than 5 ounces total per day of lean meat, poultry, or fish.
The American Heart Association recommends eating fish with omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week. Doing so can lower your risk of dying from coronary artery disease. Fish higher in omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, and herring.
Other healthy protein alternatives include dried beans and peas, nuts and seeds, low-fat dairy products, and soy products. Protein does not have to come from meat.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: “Eat Heart Smart: Eating Foods Lower in Saturated Fats and Cholesterol,” “Your Guide to Lowering Blood Cholesterol with TLC.”
American Heart Association: “Meat, Poultry, Fish.”
National Cholesterol Education Program: “High Blood Cholesterol: What You Need to Know.”
Are Turkey Burgers Healthier Than Beef Burgers
Beef also has less total fat, but turkey contains less saturated fat than beef. Unsurprisingly, fat-free turkey has over 45 fewer calories and much less fat and saturated fat than 95% lean beef per serving. When it comes to micronutrients, all cuts of ground turkey and beef have comparable amounts of sodium.
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How Much Cholesterol Should I Have
According to the American Heart Association , a persons daily cholesterol intake should not exceed 300 mg. Based on that, a 3-ounce portion of light meat without skin gets you 16 percent of that, and skinless dark meat gets you 22 percent. If you eat the skin, you take in another 3 percent of the recommended daily intake.
Have high cholesterol or an existing heart issue? In that case, the AHA says you should have no more than 200 mg of cholesterol a day.
Hummus Instead Of French Onion Dip
You probably already know to skip potato chips in favor of vegetables such as celery and carrot sticks, but whats the best choice for dipping? Hint: Its not the favorite high-calorie French onion dip. Hummus, made from mashed chickpeas and heart-healthy olive oil, is just as tasty and has both fiber and protein, unlike saturated fat-rich cream-based dips. You can also pair it with whole grain pita chips, which arent fried like potato chips.
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Taking Apart Ground Turkey
Ground turkey contains less saturated fat than ground beef while losing nothing in the cookability area.
In fact, ground turkey is so popular because its a great paleo option for those looking for leaner versions of their favorite meals. Its especially delicious in tacos, stuffed vegetables, sauces, and casseroles.
If you like your meat to have a higher fat content, ground turkey can dry out quicker while cooking than something like 80/20 ground beef. But if youre cooking with the lean versions, both are pretty comparable.
Besides the makeup and versatility of both types of meat, choosing between the two might come down to personal preference. Heres a lightning round to help you decide:
How To Cook Frozen Turkey Burgers
The following will provide you with some tips on how to prepare your frozen turkey burgers:
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and layout the frozen patties on a non-stick cooking sheet.
Place them about an inch apart from one another and bake for 15 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
Once they are finished baking, allow them to cool slightly before serving.
If you are looking for a healthier, better-tasting alternative to beef burgers, these turkey burgers are the way to go!
They are low cholesterol, high in protein, and have zero cholesterol. The best part is that they can be frozen so that they will last up to six months.
Once youre ready to cook them, place the frozen patties on a non-stick cooking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
They can also be cooked on the grill. Allow them to cool and enjoy! Just place them on the grill, then flip after 10 minutes.
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Is Turkey Burger Processed Meat
Ground turkey is not processed meat. Those guidelines recommend consumers limit their intake of processed and red meat. Processed meat is meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or the addition of chemical preservatives. It includes hot dogs, bacon, sausage, corned beef, and the like.
Making Patties In Advance
Yes, you can make ahead of time this clean eating turkey burger recipe and get dinner on the table even faster.
- Fridge: These patties keep well overnight in the fridge.
- Freezer: Make a big batch and freeze them for days when youre extra rushed or when unexpected company comes calling. Arrange patties on a parchment-covered baking pan, freeze, then place in storage containers.
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Ground Turkey Vs Ground Beefwho Wins
The answer? It’s sort of a toss-up. Whether you snag ground turkey or ground beef on your next grocery run should ultimately depend on a few thingshealth goals, budget and taste preferences.
If you’re looking to curb calories for weight loss, take your pick between lean ground turkey or lean ground beef, aiming for a lower-fat variety, like 93/7.
Keeping tabs on saturated fat for heart health? Lean ground turkey is the better pick.
If you’re watching your grocery spend, the leaner the ground beef variety, the higher the price tag . Opt for ground turkey when you’re on a budget, or stock up and freeze lean ground beef when it’s on sale.
Of course, consider your tastebuds. Lean ground turkey is milder in flavor and less likely to dry out when mixed with other ingredients. Ground beef has a more distinctive flavor, so if you’re craving a beef burger or classic meatballs, go for beef, keeping the lean-to-fat ratio in mind. Or, use a combo of the two in your fave dishes.
And while you don’t have to give up meat to eat more sustainably, the production of poultry products may have less of an impact on greenhouse gas emissions compared to beef.
What Is The Healthiest Protein To Eat
What are the healthiest animal protein sources?
- White- meat poultry, such as chicken or turkey breasts.
- Fish, especially fatty fish like salmon, lake trout, mackerel, herring, sardines and tuna.
- Pork tenderloin.
- Lean or extra-lean cuts of beef such as sirloin or round cuts, greater than 93% lean ground beef.
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Healthy Grilled Turkey Burgers
This healthy grilled turkey burger recipe is so easy, juicy and takes under 10 minutes to prepare! Perfect to throw on the grill on a busy weeknight or weekend BBQ with family and friends.
Memorial Day is approaching, which means grilling season has begun! Growing up my family always had a BBQ on Sunday nights, which consisted mostly of easy things to throw on the grill like hot dogs, brats and burgers. Since learning more about nutrition throughout my college years, those brats and hot dogs are slowly migrating towards more turkey & veggie burgers. Store bought turkey burgers are great, but some can be pricey or contain a lot of additives and preservatives. Cue this easy healthy grilled turkey burger recipe.
The main reason I wanted to create a healthy turkey burger recipe is for convenience. We got a grill for our wedding last summer and use it all the time in the summer. I wanted to have a go-to that is easy to prepare with items in my pantry and obviously ground turkey. Easy, simple, done. Now you have some extra time to whip up a greek salad or panzanella salad as a side dish. You’ve got yourself a turkey burger meal! Bon appetit!
Impossible And Beyond: How Healthy Are These Meatless Burgers
- By Emily Gelsomin, MLA, RD, LDN, Contributor
Plant-based burgers are not a novel concept. But new products designed to taste like meat are now being marketed to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Impossible Burger and Beyond Meats Beyond Burger are two such options. Eating these burgers is touted as a strategy to save the earth, casting meat as a prehistoric concept. Both brands also offer up their products as nutritious alternatives to animal protein.
But how do they stack up? It turns out the answer may depend on whether your priorities lie with your personal health or the health of the planet.
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An English Muffin Instead Of A Croissant
Those flaky, perfectly shaped croissants look delicate and delicious at the bakery, but the layers of flour and butter equal a big mistake if youre watching your cholesterol. Butter is high in cholesterol-raising saturated fat, while a whole grain English muffin not only has less saturated fat, but also adds around 4 g of heart-healthy fiber. Making this swap will put you well on your way to the American Heart Associations recommended 25 g of fiber a day to help lower your cholesterol.
Beef Vs Turkey Burger
- Selenium n/a
Say what? Did I read that right?
We have been led to believe that by swapping out beef for turkey in recipes, we can enjoy more protein, as well as less calories. Yet it turns out, this is only true if you select ground turkey breast, and it is freshly ground for you. And even then, its pretty much a wash.
I mean, while youre at it, you could certainly select a much less fatty cut of beef to use in your ground beef mixture, thereby kicking those health benefits up a notch. And then youre right back here where we started.
Much in the same way there are different cuts of red meat, there are also different types of white meat. So its important to be mindful when discussing any type of meat to differentiate between processed and unprocessed meats. Its also critical to be mindful of the sources of your food, and whenever possible, opt for grass-fed, organic meat and dairy.
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