Ground Turkey

This is total comfort food, but made with less saturated fat and more veggies than traditional recipes.

Swap in any kind of ground meat and any kind of vegetable for this saucy, clean-out-your-pantry rice noodle stir-fry.

Shaping meatballs into perfect spheres is too fussy for a weeknight meal. Instead, drop dollops of spiced ground chicken onto a sheet pan and roast with carrots until both are golden brown.

Here’s a lean, green chili that still packs some spicy heat!

Spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and cocoa powder, this warming bean and turkey chili pairs perfectly with the sweet fall flavor of roasted spaghetti squash in this naturally gluten-free dinner.

With three options for plating, you can enjoy these aromatic meatballs plain, in a rich coconut noodle soup, or with added heat from a bit of red curry paste.

I love burgers that ooze cheese when you bite into them, but turkey burgers typically fall apart when you make them with a chunk of cheese in the center. Instead of working against the ingredients, I work with them.

These tasty burgers have a little chile kick and are ideal to pop into a sealable container and take to work for lunch.

These tender, flavor-packed meatballs are the perfect Thanksgiving party snack, but—for what it’s worth—they'd also make an excellent meatball sub.

Meatloaf needs no introduction, but this one gets kicked up a notch with the Chinese-inspired flair of fresh ginger, scallions, and a hoisin sauce glaze. It's delicious and so simple to make.

These pitas stuffed with herb-flecked turkey meatballs and dolloped with tangy tzatziki come together in about 30 minutes so they're perfect for weeknight dinners. The yogurt sauce can be made several days ahead or whipped up while the meatballs cook. The meatballs and tzatziki would also be delicious served over greens.

Sub in whatever you have on hand in Dana Cowin's mix-and-match chili recipe

These flavorsome burgers are ideal for relaxed family meals and offer a good hit of mood-lifting tryptophan.

Tart, fruity pomegranate molasses brightens up the mellow turkey.

The star of this turkey chili recipe is plump, tender GOYA® Low Sodium Red Kidney Beans. Mix with quick-cooking ground turkey, tomato sauce, and smoky, GOYA® Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce. In just 30 minutes, you’ll have a mouthwatering pot of healthy, nourishing chili that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours. Top with cheese, avocado, and cilantro for heaven in a bowl.

Mom's Russian "Hamburgers" Kotleti for lunch, kotleti for dinner, kotleti of beef, of pork, of fish, of chicken—even kotleti of minced carrots or beets. The entire USSR pretty much lived on these cheap, delicious fried patties, and when comrades didn't make them from scratch, they bought them at stores. Back in Moscow, Mom and I harbored a secret passion for the proletarian, six-kopek variety produced by the meat-processing plant named after Stalin's food supply commissar, Anastas Mikoyan. Inspired by his 1936 trip to America, Mikoyan wanted to copy Yankee burgers in Russia, but somehow the bun got lost in the shuffle and the country got hooked on mass-produced kotleti instead. Deliciously greasy, petite, and with a heavy industrial breading that fried up to a wicked crunch, Mikoyan factory patties could be scarfed down by the dozen. Wild with nostalgia, Mom and I tried a million times to recreate them at home, but no luck: some manufactured treats just can't be duplicated. So we always reverted back to Mom's (far more noble) homemade version. Every ex-Soviet cook has a special trick for making juicy, savory patties. Some add crushed ice, others tuck in pats of butter or mix in a whipped egg white. My mother likes her kotleti Odessa-style (garlicky!), and adds mayo as binding instead of the usual egg, with delightful results. The same formula works with ground turkey or chicken or fish. Buckwheat kasha makes a nostalgic Russian accompaniment. Ditto thin potato batons slowly pan-fried with onions in lots of butter or oil. I love cold kotleti for lunch the next day, with some dense dark bread, hot mustard, and a good crunchy dill pickle.

Citizens of Casseroleville, bow in the presence of the king of all baked dishes! This recipe gets two thumbs-up not only for being gluten-free, but also for allowing you to keep your blood sugar in check. By replacing lasagna noodles with thin layers of sliced zucchini, the carbs stay low, but the flavor is still full and zesty. We suggest using a mandoline for even slices and quick prep. Just be careful—those things are sharp!

Prefer the big taste of beef in your Joes? Substitute lean ground beef. Or bison. Or a blend. Sloppy Joes are a total what-have-you recipe. Somebody in the family off carbs or gluten? These are awesome in lettuce wraps, too. Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients. This recipe comes together effortlessly in minutes. Editor's note: This recipe makes 4 servings, plus more for leftovers. Please see "Next-Day Sloppy Joes" and "Sloppy Joes Chili" below for tips on how to enjoy the leftovers.

My invites to tailgate parties usually come with a condition. I absolutely have to show up with this casserole in hand. Since I can whip it up in about twenty minutes flat using only a skillet and a baking dish, this is one condition I'm only too happy to comply with. Most of the time I make it with lean ground turkey. But you can also swap out the turkey and use lean ground beef. This cheesy baked casserole is packed with Mexican flavor, from the spice of the taco seasoning and tomato salsa right on down to the creamy black beans and sweet corn tortillas. It's seriously tasty, seriously easy, and seriously, it's good for you.

Served at LYFE Kitchen restaurant, this breakfast sandwich is perfect when you are on the run, and even better when enjoyed around the kitchen table with your family. Be sure to buy whole wheat muffins, a better source of complex carbs than the traditional English muffins.

These mini-taters keep portion size in check, so you can enjoy cheesy, bacony goodness without thinking twice.