Recipe to beat high blood pressure: turkey stroganoff

Here's a creamy dish of comfort you can gobble up without guilt! Substitute turkey for the customary beef and boost the flavour with portobello mushrooms. It's just as tasty as the original, but so much better for your blood pressure.

• Preparation time: 10 minutes.
• Cooking time: 18 minutes.
• Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 250 g (8 oz) eggless noodles
• 10 ml (2 tsp) poppy seeds
• 350 g (12 oz) fresh-roasted turkey breast, cut into 5 x 1-cm (2 x 1⁄2-in) strips
• Salt to taste
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• 2 portobello mushrooms, 125 g (4 oz) each
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) margarine
• 22 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
• 375 ml (1 1/2 c) reduced-sodium beef broth
• 125 ml (1/2 c) reduced-fat sour cream
• 7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) Dijon mustard

1. Cook noodles according to package directions; toss with poppy seeds and return to empty cooking pot to keep warm.
2. Sprinkle turkey strips with salt and pepper; toss to coat.
3. Remove and discard stems from mushrooms. Cut mushroom caps into quarters and thinly slice.
4. Meanwhile, lightly coat large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Sauté onion 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
5. Melt margarine in skillet over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in broth. Cook, stirring with wooden spoon, until sauce thickens and boils, about 4 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to low. Blend in sour cream and mustard. Return turkey and reserved vegetables with accumulated juices to skillet.
7. Cook until heated through (do not boil). Divide noodles among 4 plates and spoon stroganoff on top.

Each serving provides:

• Key nutrients: 450 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 36 g protein, 52 g carb, 3 g fibre, 160 mg sodium.
• Blood pressure nutrients: 2 mg vitamin C, 60 mg magnesium, 821 mg potassium, 101 mg calcium.

• Prepare this recipe with fresh roasted chicken breast instead of turkey.
• Use shiitake, cremini or white button mushrooms in place of portobellos.

• The leanest of poultry is skinless turkey breast — 75 grams (3 ounces) of cooked meat has only about 1 gram (0.035 of an ounce) of fat.
• The reduced-fat sour cream makes this dish creamy, with half the fat of the original recipe. Avoid curdled sauces when cooking with reduced-fat sour cream by cooking over low heat and never letting the sauce boil.
• Onions contain a type of dietary fibre called fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), which is also found in chicory, leeks, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, barley and bananas. It is believed to stimulate the growth of friendly bacteria in the gut while inhibiting bad bacteria.

You can't go wrong with this tasty and nutritious dish. Keep this recipe in mind and make a turkey stroganoff that the whole family will enjoy.