Not everyone had the same experience with meat loaf when they were a kid as I did -dry and flavourless meat loafs are, unfortunately, an all-to-common scenario. But my mom was a fantastic cook and I remember as a child I would look forward to coming home from school to find out what she had created in the kitchen. The second I opened the door, the delightful spicy aroma of my mom's meat loaf cooking in the oven made my mouth water.

I have updated my mom's recipe to be a little more healthy, and, yes, that means a meat loaf with no ground beef, but it's just as delicious and comforting as its red meat relative.

Please note that although this recipe does not have wheat bread, it uses oats. Some people on gluten-free diets can eat oats and some cannot, please use your discretion.

Protein tip: The protein portion on your plate should be no larger than the size of the palm of your hand. This recipe is so delicious that you will want to eat more than one slice. However, if you eat slowly and enjoy every single bite you will likely feel very satisfied with one slice (about one inch thick) and some vegetables on the side.

See recipe after the jump.

Turkey Loaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 cup rolled oats
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of coarsely chopped parsley leaves
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp honey mustard
1 med. red onion chopped
5 roasted garlic cloves or 2-3 raw garlic cloves minced
Half each chopped red, green and yellow bell peppers
Pepper to taste
Option: 1 cup BBQ sauce (you can find gluten-free, low sugar, low salt in your local health food store)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking pan.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well. When everything is combined, form into a loaf and place in a shallow greased baking pan. Bake until your meat thermometer reaches 155 degrees. Depending on your oven, this may take 45 minutes (determine if it's cooked by the temperature, not the time). Once the loaf has reached the desired temperature, spoon BBQ sauce over the top and cook for 10 minutes more. Once complete, let the loaf rest outside of the oven for 5-10 minutes. Cut into thick slices and serve! This recipe makes about 10-12 servings.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of BBQ sauce, so usually I make my own salsa and put the sauce on the loaf AFTER it is cooked. You can easily heat up your salsa on your stove top. Don't forget you still need to cook the loaf an additional 5-10 minutes to ensure the turkey inside is completely cooked. I will post a recipe for homemade salsa this week. If you plan on making this recipe today or tomorrow, then I suggest if you don't like BBQ sauce, then buy an organic homemade salsa from your grocery store.

There is no bread in this recipe, so keep this in mind when you are cutting the slices of loaf. It is not going to cut like a perfect slice of your mom's old fashioned meatloaf with white bread and red meat. BUT, it will taste just as good and is healthy! Garnish it with some parsley to beautify your dish.

I suggest you serve this with a nice big green salad of your choice or some steamed vegetables. I am sure you can make this completely meat-free, if you have a vegetarian option, please feel free to share it.

This recipe has all three macronutrients to make it a balanced meal: complex carbohydrate, lean protein and good fat. When trying to eliminate cravings, increase your energy and feel satisfied from a meal, eat in balance, even when planning your snacks.

EnJOY!

Joy McCarthy, owner of Joyous Health, is a certified holistic nutritionist and health coach with a passion for inspiring people to eat well, live well and feel more joyous on a daily basis. Joy welcomes your questions or comments and although you may not receive a response, your submission will certainly be read and may be selected as a topic for a future column.