Ground turkey or ground chuck? Is switching to turkey really much better for you?

I prefer ground turkey in tacos and stir frys and chili. In other things, I can tell a difference,

Is ground turkey significantly less fattening than ground chuck?

I don’t see the point. Turkey has about the same fat and cholesterol, although it does depend if your turkey has all whote meat or not. You could switch to ground round from ground chuck and the beef would be a little leaner and drain off the fat after cooking before adding the sauce.

Some people think red meat is the worst for you, I really have never believed this. I am not a medical professional though so probably good to do your own research. Look up the cholesterol and fat in both and you can make your own determination. I think all meat is bad for our health, although I think small amounts (small, like less than 10oz a week, and I say that assuming no other cholesterol ridden animal foods like cheese, eggs, and fatty milk) probably doesn’t have much of a negative impact (varies by individual of course depending on health issues) Fish probably better than other types of animal.

You could also consider combining the two meats.

I’m a vegan. I’d prefer to have the fake burger crumbles. The fake burger crumbles I use are called “gardein” they are really good.

The information for 100g of turkey I found is this:

“There are *104 calories* in 100 grams of Turkey Breast Meat.*Fat:* 1.66g (Saturated Fat: 0.48g).*Carbs:* 4.21g (Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar 3.51).*Protein:* 17.07g.”

On the Gardein website it says:
In 100g of Gardein there is 24g of protein, 0g cholesteral, 0g fat total, 0g of saturated fat, 4g of fiber and 139k calories.

So yes I know what people will say, “there are more calories in that”, but maybe they fail to recognize there is more good stuff and you are getting rid of the almost all of the bad stuff. So that is why exercise is important.

Gardein tastes amazing. Very satisfying.

If that is not for you then turkey I think is the leanest meat.

I just had to add:

6 ounces (which I think is slightly over 100g I suck at math, sorry) of lean, chuck beef, braised contains 49.2 grams of protein, 505 calories and 32.59 grams of fat.

THANKS @KaY_Jelly ! I see by your chart that chicken breast is significantly lower in fat and saturated fat than beef. That may mean that turkey breast meat is much lower in both than beef. So I will investigate whether I can buy ground turkey breast since what I’ve bought is simply ground turkey. Not the same.

@Aster You might want to buy a small book that has the fat, calories, sodium, cholesterol, etc of many foods. I have a small pocketsize one that is an easy quick way to compare calories of foods. I find it to be easier than using the internet. My biggest concern is calories and cholesterol, and often cholesterol is not in quick searches. My book is in a box somewhere because we moved a few months ago or I would have glanced at it for this question. You can keep it in a kitchen drawer or in your pocket book so you have it in the supermarket.

Thanks, JLeslie . At this point I was just wondering about ground turkey vs ground chuck. If truth be told, I think beef in any form is horrible for peoples’ health and yet, I sometimes eat it anyway.

Your welcome. :)

Btw, I was just talking to my brother and and asked him he still has a few turkey products in his freezer and looked for me and in 100g of ground turkey there is 120 calories, 5g of fat, 0g of carbs and 19g of protein.
He just quit his job at a turkey processing plant :( for a better job.

@aster But, you think poultry is ok? I never understand why people feel that way. I’m not criticizing you, more asking why? I feel like there is this umbrella of belief that has taken hold where people have latched onto red meat being bad and everything else is better. I’ll never forget the first time I became aware of this, my close friend’s grandmother had just recovered from heart bypass surgery and she ordered the chicken tenders (breaded and fried of course) rather than beef becuas it would be healthier. I’m not saying you would do it, I am just saying she thought she was eating The much healthier choice. That’s am extreme example of course of that type of thinking. I have another friend who has high cholesterol and talks about how she chooses food because of her cholesterol problem. She won’t eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger, she hates to eat any fast food because of the cholesterol, but she eats things like cheese plates for appetizers when we dine out, orders duck when it is on the menu, tons and tons of cholesterol, more than a quarter pounder and fries. I am pretty sure she has no idea, because she doesn’t look it up. Always look things up, don’t guess or assume.