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which is better for you ground turkey or ground chicken

by Dr. Emanuel Crona Sr. Published 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago

If we're getting really granular, ground turkey is generally a little leaner than ground chicken. It has fewer calories, less sodium, more iron, and more protein. Still, the differences are almost negligible.22-Jul-2021

What is the healthiest ground meat?

Given this, the healthiest option is an extra lean ground beef, either sirloin or tenderloin. This will help you minimize your saturated fat and cholesterol intake while capitalizing on the beef flavor and nutritional value you love.19-Jan-2018

What is healthier chicken or turkey?

Overall, turkey contains fewer calories and moderately more protein than chicken, except for the chicken breast, which has more protein per serving size of 3 ounces. Turkey also has less cholesterol, less sodium and more iron.14-Jan-2020

Is ground turkey better than ground meat?

Ounce for ounce, ground turkey has slightly more calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium compared to ground beef. However, ground beef has more protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins. Saturated fat is where they differ (though not by a ton), and that's usually why turkey generally gets more “healthy” points than beef.25-Feb-2021

Does ground turkey have less fat than ground chicken?

Fat. When choosing low-fat meats, poultry is the way to go. That being said, when it's chicken vs turkey, turkey is actually leaner, at . 5 g a 3oz serving vs chicken at 3.5 g.

Why should you eat chicken instead of turkey?

Chicken meat provides more than two times more monounsaturated fatty acids. As expected, turkey meat is lower in saturated fat content. Both chicken and turkey are high in cholesterol. However, despite being higher in fats, chicken is lower in cholesterol.23-Aug-2021

Is ground turkey healthy?

Ground beef and turkey are both nutritious meats that provide protein, fat, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Turkey is generally lower in saturated fat than beef. As such, it may be a better choice for heart health. Fat-free turkey is also the lowest calorie option if you're interested in weight loss.16-Nov-2020

Does turkey have more protein than chicken?

Both turkey and chicken are rich in high-quality protein. Chicken breast has slightly more protein than turkey breast, but turkey thigh is minimally higher in protein than chicken thigh. The other meat cuts provide equal amounts of protein.30-Oct-2018

Is turkey the healthiest meat?

Poultry, such as chicken and turkey, is also great protein source, low in calories and saturated fat. Keri Gans, registered dietitian and author of “The Small Change Diet, ” used to recommend light meat over dark, but the fat difference is actually quite minimal.03-Jul-2019

Is ground turkey bad for cholesterol?

But lean ground turkey, which usually contains 7 percent fat compared with the 20 percent fat content of that “80 percent lean” ground beef at the market, is a cinch to disguise. The lower the saturated fat, the less detrimental it is to your cholesterol level.30-Aug-2016

How healthy is ground chicken?

How healthy is ground chicken? Ground chicken usually has less fat than ground beef. It is a good source of protein and easy to prepare. A serving of ground chicken is about three ounces and is lower in cholesterol than regular ground beef.

Does turkey taste better than chicken?

The dark meat of the turkey (particularly legs and wings) is generally much more flavorful than chicken, with a "deeper" flavor that some people love and others dislike.

Why is turkey cheaper than chicken?

Turkey vs Chicken : Cost Plus, turkeys are much larger than chickens, so you're going to pay more for a whole turkey than for a whole chicken based on both the differences in the price per pound and turkey being heavier than chicken.28-Jul-2021

Ground Turkey

There are tons of options regarding ground turkey leanness. Often, you will find that the percentage lean lies in the regions of 85-98%.

Ground Chicken

When it comes to appearance and nutrition, ground chicken meat and ground turkey meat have a lot in common. Percentage leanness in ground chicken also varies, and it lies in the regions of 80-95%. This percentage owes to the quantities of meat used in making the ground chicken.

Health Matters

While it is true that we often associate turkey with the Thanksgiving holiday, there is more to this bird than meets the eye. It might even prove to be better healthwise than chicken. Let’s break down what they have to offer to get to the bottom of this debate.

How to Roast a Turkey

Here in the States, we eat turkey on Thanksgiving, the third Thursday in November. Roast turkey has fond memories for many of us. A poorly roasted turkey has bad memories for many of us, too.

A Bit of History

The turkey, misnamed after a guinea fowl from Turkey, originated in Mesoamerica and was domesticated by Aztecs long ago. The Spanish brought the turkey to Europe where many advances in breeding happened.

Turkey Juice

One mistake most people make when roasting a turkey is that they tend to try to speed up the process by roasting at too high of a heat. Turkey, or any large roast, needs to be slow-roasted, generally at 325F or below. Another common mistake is to forget to baste. Turkey releases a lot of its own natural juices in the cooking process.

Crispy Skin

To get that crispy skin there are a few other tricks of the trade. Always pat the skin dry with a paper towel. Wet skin doesn’t crisp well. Starting the oven out at a high temperature, such as 425F, for the first 30 minutes will help as well.

What is ground chicken?

Ground chicken is a great and popular substitute for ground beef or ground pork. It is a term for ground meat that has been processed from a somewhat cut of a bird. Ground chicken is usually minced in a food grinder or processor and comes out of the string-like tubes, hence its shape when being sold on the market.

What is ground turkey?

Ground turkey, also known as minced turkey, is usually a mixture of white meat and dark meat of turkey that has been processed together until it reaches a ground form. Since turkey is an expensive type of white meat, ground turkey is usually made of turkey thighs and drumsticks rather than turkey breast to be more affordable.

What are the differences between ground chicken vs ground turkey?

Ground chicken and ground turkey may look and taste quite similar, but they actually differ in some ways. Take a look at the following comparison table and you will find out their differences:

What are the similarities between ground chicken vs ground turkey?

So it seems that ground chicken and ground turkey share more common things than differences. Check out the following similarities between ground chicken and ground turkey:

Which one is better?

We have done the research for you and found that both ground chicken and ground turkey are great choices to substitute for ground beef or pork. They have a slight difference in flavor and price, but all are not significant so feel free to use them interchangeably in your recipes.

Basic Nutrient Profile

These birds have very similar nutrient profiles, both being considered white meat and of the same general family of food. However, there are some minor differences that build up to a distinction between the two.

Calories

Both of these meats contain relatively few calories, which make them appealing to those trying to maintain a healthy weight. There's a slight difference between the caloric values of turkey and chicken —turkey being the lower—but the difference is negligible. So we'll give them both a point, for, ya know, encouragement.

Fat

When choosing low-fat meats, poultry is the way to go. That being said, when it's chicken vs turkey, turkey is actually leaner, at .5 g a 3oz serving vs chicken at 3.5 g. The difference is minute, but hey, we're being petty here. And that's okay.

Protein

Both are terrific sources of lean-and-not-so-mean protein, but, again, since we're being petty, turkey has more ( 28g ), with chicken having 25g .

More Points to Squawk About

As one might expect, these two birds boast similar vitamin and mineral profiles—much better than the profiles of your average Tinder boy. Vitamin B6, riboflavin, phosphorus, niacin... is anyone else a little turned on by all the health? Just me?

So... is there a Winner?

If we look at the numbers (which, as an English major, I never thought I'd say), turkey wins by just a little bit. It has slightly more protein and less fat, which is important if you're looking to gain some muscle.

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