A little panic was clutching my chest the day I took a look at the health content of deli roast beef, salami, turkey, pastrami and ham. Those were the staples we’ve always had on hand for lunches and every single one of them was off the charts for sodium. The Hubs usually buys that stuff, but today was my day to shop and frankly, I about choked on the prices.
Could we ever have my beloved liverwurst again, I wondered: maybe we’ll be forced to eat soups, salads or chicken/tuna salad sandwiches forever. Turkey deli meats are marked as 15% sodium, but I made the mistake of reading the packaged ones. Some had 560 mg of sodium per serving, which meant three or four flimsy pieces of meat. We’re on a less than 1500 mg sodium allowance per DAY, and that won’t work at all.
I wandered around discouragingly for a while until I found my way back in the fresh meat section. I hadn’t noticed there was a bone-in half turkey breast packaged and ready to cook. The sodium content was reasonable compared to what was in the deli, so I took it home and baked it for 90 minutes at 325, until the internal temp registered 165, and let it rest a while before slicing. It was delicious and totally satisfying.
It saved a lot, too. Deli turkey costs on average $6.99/lb compared to the fresh turkey breast at $2.99/lb — and the last two trips to the market I found it on special and the package marked $3 off, so it ended up costing $2.24/lb. At that price, it would be worth stocking up when it’s on sale.
The Pocket Change Gourmet recommends seasoning it up this way. We remove the skin before seasoning, and trim off any visible fat.
- 1 boneless turkey breast (2-4 lbs)
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon minced dry onion
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon parsley flakes
- ½ teaspoon basil
