Clean Thanksgiving Dinner that sheds inflammation + Salted Caramel Protein.
Clean turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce without the sugar and mashed potatoes without the bloat. (All gluten & dairy-free). Plus, salted caramel protein for the holidays.
Odds are you are enjoying some turkey on Thanksgiving - 46 million Americans consume turkey on this holiday. Learning how to buy and consume anti-inflammatory foods ensures we don’t put on any extra weight or fatigue this holiday season. Let’s face the facts though, turkey labels are confusing! I will dive into the label definitions next and beneath the recipe section you can see all of the clean brands in order from amazing —> to best.
Natural: minimally processed with no synthetic or artificial ingredients. Some may be injected with salt or a solution- you would have to research the company. Likely, these are not organic so I would avoid this option.
Antibiotic-Free: was not given antibiotics in its feed, water, or by injection. Keep these things in mind: While "no antibiotics" claims are generally reliable, verification isn't required. Testing usually reveals antibiotics in meat. You should know the farmer to know if they use antibiotics or not.
Responsibly-Raised Turkey: means nothing. Companies make up this term and it is a pure selling tactic. You would have to contact the company and ask “what do you mean by this?” and who has time for that.
Cage-Free: This is a sales tactic - no turkey can be raised in a cage. So, again the company is trying to make it look “healthy” but really all are raised outside of cages.
Free-Range or Free-Roaming: this means that turkeys have a door or maybe a pasture somewhere with the “opportunity” to go roam. How long do they roam and can they actually roam year-round depending on location? It is a bit sketchy of a term. Really, means nothing. This does not tell you which type of food the bird is eating so ignore turkeys with this label only.
Organic: regulated by USDA with standards. What organic does well is keep funky (ok, a better adjective is scary) chemicals out of your food - things like herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, etc.. This is the next best label to look for if you can not find pasture. *Keep in mind that small, locals farms sometimes do not have USDA “organic” for financial or limiting processing reasons. They often will have organic birds but not pay the price to have the label. So, connect with them.
Fresh: never have been stored below 26 degrees. If they are stored below 0, they must be labeled “frozen”. This is a taste preference.
Pasture-Raised/ Regenerative: This is how a turkey should live — roaming outside in a beautiful green pasture digging for bugs, insects and worms. However, companies use this term similar to cage-free. It means they have a pasture somewhere (may be a tiny patch of grass next to a dying field and they may or may not ever make it there). So, the only way to know, in fact, the turkey is “pasture-raised: you gotta talk to the farmer, do the research, ask questions. Luckily, you got Wake UP! Jen (me, lol) prying farmers and asking questions and talking to these folks.
Clean turkey brands beneath recipes!
Clean Turkey & Gravy
Serves 10
TURKEY:
12 lb. turkey, thawed
Garlic Butter: mix 1.5 sticks salted grass-fed butter at room temperature, 4 cloves garlic, chopped, 4 Tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped; or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 tsp spicewell sea salt (use code: wakeup15)