When I use ground beef, I always use lean meat. After I brown it, I drain the grease then rinse the meat in very hot Water (in a colander) to get off as much fat as possible. Based on this, how much difference is there between the ground beef and ground turkey for use in Chili? I actually use a combination, but I wonder if I'm fooling myself into thinking the ground beef is healthy after it's rinsed.

Thanks for your words of wisdom!

Thank you Cathy! My main reason for the beef preference in purely economic - ground turkey breast is somewhat more expensive. I just didn't want to sabotage myself comletely while saving a couple of dollars.

Remember when Turkey used to be cheaper than ground beef? Before everyone figured out it was better for you?

What's up with that????

Remember when Turkey used to be cheaper than ground beef? Before everyone figured out it was better for you?

What's up with that????

Ground turkey is still cheaper than quality ground beef but the jury is still out on whether it is better for you or not.

Its pretty senseless saying one food is "better" for you anyway.

What is good for you is a varied diet including a wide variety of foods. Many people choose not to eat red meat and that's fine, but it does contain many quality nutrients, particularly Iron and B12 which can be hard to get in the same bio-available form. What is "better" for you is eating a little of everything and not too much of any one thing. Red meat is bad when you have it 7 times a week, however replacing that with 7 times per week white meat is not necessarily an improvement. Having a bit of red meat, a bit of white meat, a bit of fish and a few non animal Protein sources is your best bet.

"Probably the worst choice is the budget stuff, that's just lips and assholes and very fatty. You'd need to always buy the lean one."

This statement alone will lie in my memory for every time I am at a grocery store and looking at the meat on sale... yikes!!!

I agree with a varied diet... a little bit of everything won't do no harm!! I would rather enjoy my food too. I only buy filet mignon for steaks, very lean and so tender. I can't eat much anyway so I want those bites to be GOOD. :thumbup:

I'm always mildly amused when I go to the grocery store. why do we pay anywhere from $4.99 to $8.99 a pound for beef, but when it's ground it's around $2.69 a pound. But with turkey....you buy a whole turkey at the holidays and it's 79 cents a pound, but you find it ground and it's more expensive than hamburger!!! WTF????!!!! What is wrong with that picture. I never have understood that.....

Jachut is correct. always check the fat content for ground beef or turkey. That is always more critical than type of meat/poultry. The generic ground stuff is usually parts left over, parts that are getting old, or parts not usually sold separately, like lips, ect. I use both ground beef /turkey and will combine both in a dish at times.

You should get rid of meat altogether and try a leaner alternative that is better for you AND the environment!

Try Morningstar Crumbles, Texturized Vegetable Protien (TVP), or TOFU in place of ground beef or turkey in nearly any recipie!

Seriously...think about what's healthiest for you and the planet.

I like tofu and cook with it pretty often, especially when I make something with a good sauce.

However, for me it is not a substitute for good meat, the taste and texture doesn't work.

There are countless delicious vegetarian foods. Sadly, the ones that pretend they are something they are not usually taste like ass. A lot of heavy meat eaters may end up trying those lousy fake meat substitutes, assume all veggie cuisine tastes like that and never try it again.

well i guess my choice is clear now....i choose ground turkey. because they dont have lips