Ideal Turkey Portion

We all love seeing a huge roasted turkey gracing our holiday table. It is both a tradition and also somewhat of a staple for the holidays. Preparing the holiday bird will require figuring out just how large a turkey you will use and how large is an ideal turkey portion size should be prepared.

Ideal Turkey Portion Size

You will notice that restaurants will have larger portion sizes. In fact a lot of them serve pretty large portions of food of whatever kind. To some customers, this is some sort of hint that restaurants simply want to sell customers more food so that they can easily hit their respective price points.

Unfortunately, what you see served in restaurants is not the ideal portion size you should serve during the holidays, unless of course the guests at the table would prefer to gorge. If you want to stay on the healthy side then you should take note of what nutritionists usually recommend, which is a portion size of three to four ounces of protein.

Now, you might think that this ideal turkey portion won't be as satisfying as you imagine it to be. To the contrary, those who have tried feasting on this much protein, turkey or otherwise, on a regular basis find themselves full without wanting some more. Of course, you might have to make a few adjustments at first since on average we normally consume twice the ideal recommended amount of protein.

Nutritional Benefits of This Portion Size

One will appreciate the benefits of the ideal turkey portion size if you compare its nutritional benefits with the regular portion sizes we usually serve. Take note that the regular portion size we serve during the holidays is about 6.5 ounces. A simple comparison of these two portion sizes will help you see which one will be healthier for you.

Let's start with the total number of calories per portion size. The ideal portion size gives you 155 calories while the regular roasted turkey portion will give you 368 calories. The ideal portion size will yield five grams of fat while the regular portion will yield 16 grams of fat.

The ideal portion yields one gram of saturated fat while a regular portion has seven grams of saturated fat. Both portion sizes give you zero grams of fiber. Finally, the ideal portion size gives you 115 mg of sodium. On the other hand, the regular portion size will give you 994 mg of sodium. As a final note, remember that you get to decide whether to stick with the ideal turkey portion size or just go for the regular turkey portions we usually serve.