Editor’s Note: This was written well before the Pandemic had an impact on U.S. food supplies. To read the latest for Thanksgiving 2022, click here. To read about my 2021 turkey quest, click here. To read which items have disappeared from store shelves during the Pandemic, click here.

White-meat turkey is one of the only meats allowed on most low-fat diets. So a traditional Thanksgiving turkey should be no problem right? Think again, I’m afraid. As I’ve written before, any self-basting turkey is loaded with salt, upwards of 300 mgs in four ounces.

If you’re likely to eat much more than four ounces, there goes your salt count for the day. So scout out a fresh or organic turkey with no added salt. I found a great deal on a fresh turkey at Costco today, $1.09 a pound, considerably cheaper than the $2,49 a pound I saw at other retailers carrying fresh birds.

My Butterball fresh has only 70 mgs of sodium per four ounces, what’s naturally in the turkey itself. Always read the nutrition label before buying, I saw some Butterball fresh turkeys at local retailer Jewel that had more salt, I couldn’t tell what the difference was other than the salt content, the labeling looked identical. Continue reading “How to find a low-sodium Thanksgiving turkey” →