Meat and poultry
Turkey mince on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 27 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked, for around 150 calories. A small bowl of bolognese, about 120 g (4.2 oz), gives roughly 32 g of protein for 180 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from turkey mince alone you would need about 111 g (3.9 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How turkey mince sits on a GLP-1
Mince of any kind is the easiest meat to eat on a GLP-1, because the chewing has been done for you. Turkey mince is leaner than beef, which means less fat sitting in a slow stomach, and it takes on whatever sauce you put it in, so it dodges the meat aversion that hits whole cuts first.
When your appetite is small
Cook it into a sauce rather than serving it as a patty. Half a cup of turkey bolognese is about 25 g of protein and goes down in six or seven mouthfuls, which is often the whole of what you can manage.
Three ways to prepare it
Bolognese, made wetter than usual
Extra passata, a splash of stock, and let it go longer. A wet sauce is easier than a thick one when your stomach is slow.
Turkey and rice soup
Browned mince, stock, rice and spinach. Twenty five grams of protein in a mug, which some days is the only format that works.
Soft meatballs with grated vegetable
Grated zucchini or carrot keeps turkey meatballs from drying out. Three small ones is about 20 g.
What to eat it with
It needs fat and acid to stop it tasting flat: olive oil, a spoon of ricotta, tomato, or a squeeze of lemon. Turkey mince served plain is the most commonly abandoned protein we see.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey mince | about 27 g | 150 kcal | this page |
| Beef mince | about 26 g | 180 kcal | See the page |
| Chicken thigh | about 26 g | 209 kcal | See the page |
| Firm tofu | about 14 g | 130 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Turkey mince in Australia and the UK, ground turkey in the US. The fat percentage is usually printed on the pack in all three.
Questions people ask
Is turkey mince better than beef mince on a GLP-1?
It is leaner, which helps if fat is sitting badly, and it carries about the same protein. If your problem is that nothing tastes of anything, beef mince is easier to finish.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.