Comfort food is the best food. It can mean different things to different people, but when I think back to my childhood, I imagine eating delicious high sodium foods out of cardboard boxes. Mac n cheese, pizza rolls, rice-a-roni and hamburger helper, all things that I grew up with AND when the mood strikes me I still sneak a little cheat of today.
But… isn’t there always a but?
Sadly pretty much every comfort food that I grew up loving are terrible across the board: tons of preservatives and chemicals, carbs and calories. All around bad news for someone trying to lose weight and stay healthy.
Which is what started me on the path to making my Healthy Homemade Hamburger Helper (that quadruple H, dog!), I knew I wanted to have delicious hamburger helper lasagna goodness, but there was no way I was gonna eat the out of the box stuff anymore.
After a bunch of different variations I have settled on this and let me tell ya, it is absolutely amazing and one of my regular dinner and lunch go-tos. Meaty, tomato-y, Italian spicy goodness with only about a million less ingredients than the boxed stuff, seriously delicious!
Ingredients:
- 1.25 lb ground turkey
- 1.5 cup hot water (or 1 cup water, .5 cup skim milk)
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- “Sauce packet” (mix everything below in a small cup or bowl)
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- 1 tbsp. mixed Italian herbs
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar (or stevia)
- Optional – ½ cup mozzarella cheese (adds a lot to the flavor but is around 175 calories)
Directions:
Toss your ground turkey into a skillet, break into small pieces and cook until brown.
When your turkey is cooking you are going to mix up your “sauce packet” (just like the “real” hamburger helper lasagna!) in a small bowl.
After the turkey is fully cooked, remove it from the heat and add water, diced tomatoes, and then stir in your “sauce packet”.
Return your skillet to the heat; bring the entire thing to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer for 12 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Stir in your mozzarella (optional but recommended if you can afford the calories), turn off heat, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
You can serve over brown rice for an even more authentic hamburger helper experience.