Using turkey sausage in place of other meats at breakfast is a great way to reduce calories, fat and cholesterol. It can pick up almost any flavor you want to add to it, so it's easy and fun to mix things up and create different tasting sausage for breakfast. Apple, sage, basil, cumin, cayenne and garlic are just a few flavors that can be used. If you aren't interested in creating your own flavored turkey sausage, you can probably find multiple options at your local grocery store. It's easy to come up with different breakfast meals using this type of sausage, so consider the following suggestions.
Sausage Patties, Eggs and Toast
Turkey sausage usually comes in tubes and resembles ground beef more than it resembles sausage links or patties, so you'll have to make your own. The good part about this is that you can add any spices you might be partial to and you can shape and size the patties to fit your family's particular needs. Just bake or fry your patties and serve them with fresh scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast.
If you want to lower the cholesterol, calories and fat of the meal even further you can omit the butter on the toast or use jelly instead, and use only one egg yolk for every three eggs you use in the meal.
Baked Sausage Hash
To prepare the hash, simply cook the ground turkey sausage until it's browned while at the same time boiling potatoes that have been cut into bite sized pieces. You will know the potatoes are ready to take off the stove when they're cooked yet still firm.
Drain the potatoes and sausage, mix the two together and put the ingredients in a baking dish. Sprinkle the mixture with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste, a quarter cup of low fat cheese and a handful of olives. You can either bake it as is or put it in the fridge to be baked the next morning. The hash is ready to eat when the cheese it melted and the food is warmed through. You can reduce calories by serving small portions of the hash along with fresh fruit to fill up on.
Breakfast Sausage Sandwiches
Turkey sausage makes great breakfast sandwiches because it has less fat than pork sausage so it doesn't make the bread soggy. English muffins, bagels or regular bread can be used to create a morning sandwich that everyone is sure to love. It's easy to eat on the go too, which is a plus for those who always seem to be on the go. Layered turkey sausage, eggs, low fat or fat free cheese all make a good base for the sandwich.
Make the breakfast healthier and more calorie friendly by using less eggs and cheese and adding fresh veggies to the sandwich. Onions, bell peppers, olives, artichoke hearts, jalapeño peppers and even avocados are tasty and heart healthy choices.
