Updated March 25, 2015.

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Turkey is so tasty. The problem is having to cook a large bird -- while the leftovers are nice, it takes a lot of time and preparation. Fortunately, if you love turkey, you can buy and roast just the breast, so that's my choice for tonight's meal. For sides, I've picked whipped sweet potatoes, lemon-walnut green beans and a salad with Romaine lettuce and pine nuts.


Each recipe comes from the Food Channel at About.com.

You can serve this meal family style at the table, or fill a plate for each person. In that case, each plate should have one serving of turkey (about the size of a deck of cards), and scoop or two of the sweet potatoes. The salad and green beans should take up at least half the plate.

• Roast Turkey Breast
• Whipped Sweet Potatoes
• Lemon-Walnut Green Beans
• Romaine Salad With Pine Nuts

Tonight's Entree - Roast Turkey Breast

Turkey breast is low in fat, plus it's a good source of protein and minerals like zinc. Baste the turkey breast to keep it moist. One turkey breast serves six to eight people, so you may have leftovers for sandwiches the next day. This recipe comes from our Culinary Arts Guide at About.com.

Side Dishes

I think sweet potatoes go nicely with turkey, but I wanted to avoid the super-sweet marshmallow type dish. I picked out a recipe that includes apples and a little maple syrup. It's designed to serve eight, so you may want to cut it in half.

Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A and fiber and apples contain phytochemicals that may be good for you.
Green beans are low in calories and nutritious, but they can get a little dull. Add some flavor and even more good nutrition with walnuts and lemon. This recipe is big - it serves 12, so you may want to cut it in half or even to one-third.

Add a Salad

I want a salad to add a change in temperature and texture. I think a simple salad is perfect for tonight's meal -- Romaine lettuce, pine nuts, lemon juice and olive oil.

Complete Your Meal

Add some whole grain dinner rolls and serve this meal with water or your favorite healthy beverage. If you want dessert, how about blueberries with a dollop of whipped cream?

Shopping List

Here's what you'll need to have on hand for tonight's meal, enough to serve four people:

• skin-on turkey breast
• sweet potatoes
• green beans
• golden Delicious apple
• Romain lettuce
• green onions
• lemons
• walnuts
• pine nuts
• maple syrup
• rosemary
• olive oil
• butter
• salt and pepper
• whole grain dinner rolls
• low-fat milk, water, or your favorite beverage, juice, tea or coffee
• Additional ingredients for dessert:
• blueberries
• whipping cream or whipped topping

Preparation Tips

The sweet potatoes take the longest, so you'll need to start them first. But, you can cut down that cooking time by microwaving the sweet potatoes in place of the first baking. Pierce the skin with a fork and microwave for about 10 minutes (time varies by microwave - sweet potatoes are done when a knife slides through the flesh easily). The turkey needs about one hour to roast so start that next. When you look at the recipes, you'll see the turkey and sweet potatoes call for different oven temperatures -- that shouldn't be a problem if you leave the temperature at 450 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the sweet potatoes for about 20 to 25 minutes. Once the turkey and the sweet potatoes are in the oven, get going on the green beans and the salad. When you're ready for dessert, simply place berries in a dessert dish and top them with whipped cream (you can whip your own cream or buy whipped topping).

Yuck! I Don't Like This Meal

Oh well... I do my best to bring you delicious and healthy meal ideas, but if this dinner idea isn't to your liking, I've got more to choose from: Healthy Family Meals