Here is a Way to Make Use of All that Leftover Turkey!!!

Looking to make good use of all that leftover Thanksgiving turkey piled up in your fridge? One great way is to throw it in a salad recipe- atop greens or mixed into creative "salad" sandwich fillings. After all the fuss of prep work plus cooking for the holiday is over, believe me, these simple and healthy recipes are very inviting! Not only are they easy to make (which sure is nice after the post-feast fatigue sets in) but they are also easy on the waist as well, to help balance out all those calories consumed from festive over-indulging! Use leftover turkey in my Deli Chopped Salad, Turkey Taco Salad, Barbeque Chicken Salad and Waldorf Chicken Salad recipes.. oh and of course my Tasty Turkey Salad too!

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In the News: Drinking Water Before Meals Aids Weight Loss

Check out this article published in the New York Times this week summarizing a few recent studies that drinking more water helps to cut calorie intake which may help with weight loss. It can't hurt to try it since drinking water is healthy anyway!

If you haven't registered for a free subscription to the New York Times to view the article, simply click HERE for the direct link to the summary of the recent study that the article is based on.

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Deli Style Chopped Salad for One

My husband and I are big fans of turkey ANYTHING- turkey breast, ground turkey, turkey sausage, turkey jerky…so we were thrilled to find turkey pastrami in the store a few months back. Luckily turkey is healthy so it’s a good obsession I guess and the turkey pastrami made by Jennie-O seems to fit that bill, except for being a bit high in sodium. (You have to pick your battles though, right?) We were using it for sandwiches when it occurred to me that it would be nice on a salad, so it was the inspiration for this deli style chopped salad. Oh, and another thing that makes it great is the Jarlsberg lite cheese, another find!

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped lettuce (I used butter lettuce)
½ cup chopped mushrooms
½ cup chopped cucumber
½ cup chopped carrots
½ cup chopped tomato
½ cup chopped lean cold cuts/meat, such as turkey pastrami ,turkey, chicken, ham, (or a mix)
1 ounce of low fat cheese chopped into small cubes – such as american or swiss (I used 1 slice of Jarlsberg light)
2 tablespoons low fat ranch dressing
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1-2 teaspoons vinegar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop up all the vegetables, cheese and meat into about ¼ inch cubes, put in a medium sized bowl and toss well. In a small bowl whisk together the ranch and mustard (plus vinegar, salt and pepper if desired) and pour over the salad. Toss to mix well and serve.

Makes 1 serving

Serving size: 1 large salad Calories 300 Protein 28 g Carb 30 g Fiber 5 g Sugars 14 g Fat 9 g saturated fat 3 g Sodium 900 mg

Variation: if you are watching sodium, use low sodium cold cuts and cheese

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The Kids Eat Right Campaign

Now that I have a little toddler to feed, my interest in kids’ nutrition has skyrocketed! Recently I’ve been paying attention to practically every news headline, research summary and magazine article that has to do with this topic. I even went so far as to purchase the Pediatric Nutrition Handbook (the ultimate reference manual for dietitians that work with kids) to read and learn cover to cover. Even though I mainly see adults in private practice and research studies, I find children’s nutrition fascinating and very important, so when the American Dietetic Association put out a call for dietitians to help on the new Kids Eat Right Campaign, I was IN for sure! This national initiative was recently launched to support our government’s movement to combat childhood obesity and promote more healthful eating through public education projects and programs. A website has also been created as part of this program to be resource for parents and caregivers. It provides quality, reliable and fun nutrition and health information to foster optimal growth of our kids and future generations of children to come. I have submitted a bunch of my kid friendly recipes and have written a few articles for the site. Check it out!

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