Ground Turkey

It's not the super-lean stuff they encourage you to buy in the fitness magazines, but it is leaner than ground beef, and the way my wife's been getting it, it's been cheaper than ground beef.

Yup. We're talkin' turkey.

It's been an experiment. Neither of us have much experience with the stuff, and I was a little surprised to see that it thawed to more of a soupy texture than the consistency we normally associate with ground beef.

Undaunted, we started thickening it up. Rather than using breadcrumbs, like you'd do for meatballs, we used oatmeal. Higher fiber, complex carbs. Also, I still have a can of Neston I got at an international food shop a while back. Neston is a flakey, whole wheat cereal Nestle sells in Brazil that makes a good additive for shakes. It's got vitamins and minerals and thickens the same as the oatmeal or breadcrumbs would.

We've also learned that it's dreadfully bland by itself. We've added all manner of seasonings, from barbecue sauce to Grillmates to vinegar. We've made burgers, meat sauces and meatballs with it, and while some experiments have been more successful than others, we're getting closer to figuring it out. The spaghetti Marci made tonight turned out really well.

So I recommend it to those frugal adventurers who are willing to put the extra bit of work in the extra few cents will save you, but do be warned that what you're going to get will not be something you can just form into a patty and put on the grill. The addition of the oatmeal or bran or whatever-your-flavor will do the trick, though, and makes the final product even better for you.