PrintBy eDiets Staff
Who would have thought meatloaf, that 1950s classic that sprung up as a thrifty way to stretch the homemaker’s cooking dollar, would turn out to be a trendy restaurant menu item?
Or that celebrated chefs across the country would be turning this archetype of home cooking into haute cuisine? With the growing popularity of comfort foods, in part a reaction to the stresses brought on by world events, it might not be so surprising after all.
Comfort foods, like meatloaf, can be transporting, bringing us back to a time when things were less complicated. Even its aroma can evoke a simpler stage of life and such childhood delights as a trip to grandma’s. But, given a modern makeover, a dish like meatloaf can also serve to take you away from the doldrums of dieting, proving once again that losing weight doesn’t require deprivation — and it can lead to discovering new ways of enjoying those old favorites.
If you’re watching the number on the scale, you may not have kept meatloaf in your food repertoire. And considering your average restaurant serving has 295 calories and 17 grams of fat per 4-ounces and Boston Market’s meatloaf with gravy has 390 calories and 22 grams of fat, it’s generally not light fare.
Watch out for those frozen meatloaf entrees, too: Stouffer’s Homestyle meatloaf has 390 calories and 21 grams of fat, while Swanson’s Hungry Man version has a monstrous 630 calories and 30 grams of fat!
But a few tweaks to your family recipe can lighten this loaf in no time. Just replace ground beef with lean ground turkey breast, substitute egg whites, egg substitute, or oatmeal mixed with water for whole eggs, and include plenty of chopped or shredded veggies to bulk up your generations-old version.
Looking for an altogether healthier recipe to start passing down to your nearest and dearest? Whip up this slimmed-down take from the American Institute for Cancer Research (for a free copy of their brochure The New American Plate Comfort Foods, which includes this and many other favorite recipes, visit the website at www.aicr.org).
Healthier Meatloaf
1/2 pound ground turkey breast
1/2 pound ground turkey
1/3 cup ketchup
1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs, preferably whole wheat
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup green bell pepper, minced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 Tbsp. ketchup (optional topping)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients, except for extra ketchup, in large bowl. Place mixture in 9″x5″ non-stick loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour, uncovered. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Spread extra ketchup on top, if desired. Cut into slices and serve.
Makes 5 servings. Nutritional values per serving: 276 calories, 9g total fat (2g saturated fat), 25g carbohydrates, 23g protein, 2g dietary fiber and 463mg sodium.
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