Southern Turkey for Your Heart

February is American Heart Month and this Southern Turkey recipe is a great way to keep your heart healthy! Did you know that the No. 1 killer for women is heart disease and that most Americans consume about 4,000-7,000mg of Sodium per day? The American Heart Association recommends only 1500mg of Sodium per day. Consuming too much sodium causes you to retain water which can make you feel bloated and heavy. Diets high in sodium can also cause high blood pressure which puts you at risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and congestive heart failure.  


One way to keep your sodium intake from going over the recommended daily intake is trying to consume less than 200 mg of Sodium per serving. 


Another way to lower your sodium intake is by using The Delicious Dietitian Spices and Wine Vinegars that are used in this recipe! All of the products are sodium free and are packed full of great local flavor (to see more about The Delicious Dietitian products visit www.thedeliciousdietitian.com/annabruckmann). The Southern Turkey recipe is a wonderful thing to cook on Sunday if you don't have a lot of time on the weekdays after a long day at work to prepare a home cooked meal. It can be used throughout the week in your salads, sandwiches, casseroles, and as part of meal with roasted vegetables. If you notice the next time you're in the grocery store getting deli meat, most of them contain about 400-700 mg of sodium for every 2 ounce serving - that's almost half your recommended daily intake!  


The Southern Turkey will not disappoint you or your heart!  



Ingredients: 

• 1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 6 1/2 to 7 pounds (or 1 whole fryer chicken at the same weight)
• 2 tbsp southern spice blend (or any of the other spice blends)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup The Delicious Dietitian white muscadine wine vinegar

     Optional ingredients:

• 1 lemon, cut in half 
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and peel 
• 2 garlic cloves, cut in half and peel 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.

In a small bowl, combine the spice blend and olive oil (you may omit the wine vinegar if you don't have any yet), whisk ingredients together and Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the mixture directly on the meat. Spread the remaining mixture evenly on the skin. As desired, sprinkle a little extra of the spice blend on top of the skin of the turkey (1/4 tbsp) and place the halved onion and lemon in cavity of turkey breast. Put the peeled halved garlic cloves under the skin of the turkey breast.

Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (I test in several places.) If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey. Enjoy one Heart-Healthy Southern Turkey!