Tuesday: Turkey Parmesan Meatloaf

The tricky bit with lower calorie loaves of meat is that they can be a little bit dry. Here I added in spinach and grated carrot and onion, they add a nice moistness and slip my family some veggies at the same time. Win win! Also surprisingly yummy cold. In a sandwich with a tiny bit of mayo, raw onion and some pepper - amazing! And yes, it is miserable here again, so we get the non-grilled meal. One day it will be nice and there will be BBQ!

You will need:

2 tsp butter
1 large onion (or two small)
1 small carrot
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 c fresh spinach
1 lb ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
Salt, pepper
2 slices whole wheat bread, not fresh - or maybe Whole Grain Whole Wheat??
2 Tbsp ketchup
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Grate your onion(s) and carrot into a non-stick saucepan. Add in butter and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for just one more minute. Just ONE!

Remove to a bowl, let cool. Add three tablespoons of water to the hot pan, cook the spinach until it wilts, under a minute.

Remove to a cutting board, let cool and then mince finely. I know, you could cut up the spinach before you wilt it, but then all the green stuff ends up on my board and I like it to be in my belly.

Tear the bread into chunks and whirl in a food processor until reduced to small crumbs.

Small-ish, anyway

Dump the turkey, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and egg in a bowl.

Cover with the breadcrumbs, then onion mixture, then spinach and ketchup. Mix together, using a spatula orrrr, the best mixer of all, yer fingers:

It's like a spa for your hands

Add the Parmesan cheese last, give it a quick grope and scrape it all into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, checking to make sure it has reached an internal temperature of 180 degrees before removing.

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then place on a plate. Remove the paper and slice into 4 servings.

Soo much less cleaning

I came up with 250 calories per serving, once I added some asparagus and a half cup of brown rice, I was nicely within the Weight Wise 400-500 calorie meal recommendation.

Enjoy!