

Lean Turkey Breakfast Sausage
This is a great breakfast sausage that will leave you full, but not heavy! It also makes a great burger with a couple of tweaks that we have listed below. When concentrating on weight loss it is always preferable to have a simple and effective way to add protein to your day first thing in the morning. But this should not be viewed as a diet recipe by any means. Adding lean proteins like turkey greatly aid in keeping your fat content and cholesterol lower, and that is a good idea for everyone. This recipe is should be enough for 16 mini patties or links, which is 8 servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. chopped sage
- 1 Tbsp. chopped thyme
- 2 tsps. fennel seeds
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1.5 lb lean ground turkey (93% works best as far as texture; if trying to lose weight, you can opt for extra lean, 97-99%, but you may need to all 2 tbsp egg whites to get a good consistency… This will decrease fat content and increase lean protein content)
- Olive oil spray, if using extra lean turkey and your pan is not fully nonstick (if using lean 93% turkey and a good nonstick pan, you won’t need it)
Directions:
- Mix all dry ingredients together
- Add ground turkey (with egg white if using extra lean)
- Mix it all together thoroughly by hand (if you want to use an electric mixer, be careful not to overmix).
- Shape into either patties or links using 1/4 cup or 2oz per patty/link.
- Heat sauté or frying pan on medium heat.
- Brown each patty/link, about 2-3 min per side.
Macronutrients:
Per serving (2 links or mini patties) – 104 calories
- Fat – 4.9 grams
- Carbohydrates – .4 grams
- Protein – 12.7 grams
Micronutrients:
- Cholesterol – 54mg
- Sodium – 353.3 mg
- Dietary Fiber – .3g
- Calcium – 1.7%
- Iron – 4.2%
- Potassium – 151.3 mg
- Vitamin A – .3%
- Vitamin C – .9%
Turkey Burgers
Turns out that the recipe above also makes delicious burgers if you use 1/2-1 cup per patty (4-8 burgers). In that case, replace the sage, thyme, and fennel with 1 Tbsp. onion powder and 1 tsp chopped rosemary (optional). Grill without added oil. If aiming for weight loss, serve as lettuce wraps. If you include 1 Tbsp. light mayonnaise (check out Walden Farms for zero calories mayo and salad dressings), the macronutrients are:
- Calories 232
- Protein 40g
- Carbs 2g
- Fat 6g