Health: Let's talk turkey! What part of the bird is healthiest?

It isn't like in the movie "Meet the Parents"...You can choose a thigh or breast without fear!

photo by flickr user 7D Kenny

When my family gathers for Thanksgiving, my mom always prepares the turkey. She has a gifted ability to make turkey deliciously moist, never dried out. When she goes to carve it, she always divides it by dark and white meat, since she and my sister love the white. My dad and I grab for the dark meat.

Since I always seem to justify my unhealthy habits, you should not be surprised that I wanted to justify the dark meat lovers out there!

It is the great divide for many of you: Which meat do you choose and why? If you like the white meat, go ahead and enjoy, but I just have to tell you, you aren't saving that many calories.

In fact, dark meat is actually more nutritious, even if it does have a few more calories. According to a New York Times article from November, 2007, Turkey-Which is Healthier, White or Dark meat, really, the author Anahad O' Connor concludes:

"Many people choose white meat over dark because of its lower caloric content. But according to the Department of Agriculture, an ounce of boneless, skinless turkey breast contains about 46 calories and 1 gram of fat, compared with roughly 50 calories and 2 grams of fat for an ounce of boneless, skinless thigh.