Serves 4

This meat loaf substitute is adapted from the American Heart Association Cookbook. Since you're in ultimate control of the ingredients, you can vary them to be even lower sodium or lower fat and cholesterol (by using less % meat). This entrée is good for people on a diet as well as someone who just wants to eat healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• ½ cup low/fat-free milk
• 1¼ pounds lean ground turkey breast
• 1 white onion
• ½ cup canned no-salt-added stewed or crushed tomatoes
• 1 stalk diced celery
• 1 egg or egg substitute equivalent
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
• 3 pinches of finely minced fresh jalapeño pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons ketchup (approximate)
• Vegetable oil spray (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray a loaf pan or use a non-stick one (approximately 10½x5½x2½ inches; mine is a slightly different and works fine).

Put the bread in a food processor or chopper to process into fine crumbs. In a shallow bowl, combine the milk and breadcrumbs and the bowl soak while you prepare the remaining items in a separate bowl.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, except the ketchup and blend. Drain any extra milk from the breadcrumb bowl, add to the turkey mixture, and blend well. Spoon the final product into the loaf pan and spread ketchup in a thin layer over the loaf. Bake uncovered for about 1½ hours. Let it cool slightly before eating.

Notes and Commentary

• If you don't like cooking, this recipe isn't so unbearable when you realize it can be completely made using a food processor and/or chopper and a blender.
• If you buy turkey already ground-up in the meat department like I do, they usually come in either 1.25 or 1.33 lbs packages. There is a difference between "ground turkey" and "ground turkey breast," the later being more healthy (and more expensive). If it doesn't say breast, it will probably be more fatty and use more parts of the turkey that you don't want to know about being "mechanically processed."
• A motorized, hand-held spatula mixer should do a good job with blending the loaf ingredients together. The blades on those mixers can be rough on bowls, so I use a big metal bowl I don't mind getting marked up.
• The celery doesn't get very soggy during cooking, so if you don't want to have crunchy bites in your moist loaf, spend some extra time making those celery bits smaller.
• I chop the onion to be as liquid-y as my motorized chopper will make it. Fresh parsley doesn't always cut easily in food processors, but one way to make it easier would be to throw it in the chopper with another ingredient like the onion (they'll be mixed together later anyway). I think it's also worth the extra effort to trim stems from the parsley leaves.
• During cooking, the loaf shrinks and the edges of the loaf start boiling in juice. If you used the low-fat breast turkey meat, this juice should be the pleasant stuff that in combination with the ketchup insulator, keeps the loaf moist (as opposed to greasy).
• Some recipe variations add bell pepper or change up the amount of jalapeño pepper. You should be able to safely add ¼ cup of peppers without any significant change in the loaf consistency.