Is Turkey Meatloaf Healthy?

Comfort foods don't get much more comforting than meatloaf. Often paired with buttery mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese, meatloaf is the type of food people crave when they go on a diet. Traditional meatloaf is made with ground beef and served in large portions with lots of calories and plenty of saturated fat. Lean ground turkey contains fewer calories and less fat than ground beef, making it a healthier way to get your meatloaf fix while still watching your waistline.

Saturated Fat

The most significant improvement you can make to your meatloaf is to lower the amount of saturated fat. If you choose lean ground turkey, you'll significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your meatloaf. Look for ground turkey that specifically states on the label it is low-fat and made from breast meat without skin. Substituting ground turkey for ground beef can save you as much as 7 g of fat and 4 g of saturated fat, according to MayoClinic.com.

Calories

A 4-oz. serving of lean ground turkey has 200 fewer calories than a 4-oz. serving of ground beef, according to MayoClinic.com. If you cut 200 calories from your diet every day, you would lose just shy of 2 lbs. per month. If you're not ready to completely give up your favorite meatloaf recipe, try replacing half the ground beef in your recipe with lean ground turkey. To further reduce calories, choose lean ground beef, such as a kind that contains less than 15 percent fat, recommends the American Heart Association.

Nutrients

Ground beef or ground turkey are nutritionally similar, but ground beef provides an edge when it comes to some vitamins and minerals. For example, ground beef contains nearly twice as much vitamin B12 as ground turkey. It also contains more niacin, zinc and iron. However, if you eat a well-balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, you will have no trouble getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.

Recipe and Serving Size

Your choice of meat isn't the only factor that determines how your meatloaf rates on the healthy scale. Commercial soup mixes commonly used to flavor meatloaf can contain large amounts of sodium. Some recipes call for shredded cheese, gravy, eggs, crackers or canned soups that may be high in saturated fat, calories and sodium. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends 3 to 4 oz. of meat in a serving, or an amount roughly the size of a deck of cards. Typical meatloaf portions often mean double or triple the recommended serving size and double or triple the calories, fat and sodium.