All along, turkey has been associated to once a year family feasts. You know, the Thanksgiving turkey. The Christmas turkey. Roast turkey stuffed with some yummy stuffing, eaten with gravy or cranberry sauce is a must for the end of the year celebrations.

The fact is, turkey is such a healthy meat, it should not be reserved ONLY for Christmas and Thanksgiving. You should have turkey as part of your daily diet -- especially the breast meat of the turkey, without the skin.

Why?
1. Turkey meat is high in protein.
2. Turkey meat is low in fat.
3. Turkey can be really delicious and versatile, replacing chicken in almost any recipe.

Protein
We can get lots of protein from meat, fish and soybeans. Sure, beef packs plenty of protein that you body needs, but red meats are high in cholesterol. One ounce of turkey contains between 15 mg and 24 mg cholesterol, while one ounce of beef contains 30mg of cholesterol. If you have heart disease or high blood pressure, switching from beef to turkey can make a big difference. As for protein, USA Poultry and Egg Export Council billed turkey as the perfect protein. It has more protein than chicken or even a top loin beef steak. That makes turkey the ideal food for growing children, athletes and anyone who wants lean muscle.

Fat
Most of the fat in poultry is found in the skin. That means, by trimming off the skin of chicken or turkey, you remove most of the fat. Beef, pork and lamb, on the other hand, have the fat embedded in the meat itself. So just by switching to poultry alone and removing the skin, you effectively remove most of the fat.

In fact, 3 ounces of skinless, boneless turkey breast contains a mere 1g of fat and no saturated fat. That is a weight watcher's dream. This is about as healthy as you get.