Herb Roasted Turkey

Are you ready for the big game?  Thanksgiving is the Superbowl for cooks!  I’m excited to make it delicious and healthy!  This recipe for turkey is just bursting with flavor, and it is very simple to make.

I’ve used oregano, thyme, lemon, garlic, and onion to season this roasted turkey.  These ingredients are all full of antioxidants and other disease fighting nutrients, so it’s a good idea to eat lots of them in the fall and winter!  Oregano, in particular, is very good at fighting off colds and boosting your immune system.  A.D.P. is an extract from oregano that kills disease-causing microbes, but helps build the healthy flora in your gut, especially if coupled with a low carb diet.  Whenever I have a persistent cold my nutritionist puts me on an oregano supplement (click here for a link to my favorite brand of it…make sure to talk to your doctor if you decide to try it).  As you can see, oregano is a healthy, delicious addition to our roasted turkey!

Before we get to the recipe for Herb Roasted Turkey I want to invite you to join with others who are making healthy changes, if you haven’t done so already.  I’d love to walk alongside you in your journey towards wholeness and health! Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!”  Freedom from food addictions is part of having a truly full life.  

• 14-16 Pound Turkey
• 1 Cup Mixed Herbs (I used thyme and oregano)
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Onion
• 4 Cloves of Garlic
• 3 Tbsp Melted Coconut Oil
• 2-3 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Pepper

Thaw your turkey.  You can place it in the refrigerator 5 days before you are planning on cooking it.  Make sure to check it the day before, to make sure it is really close to being unfrozen!  If you don’t have that much time, or if the turkey is still frozen just before you want to cook it, place it, wrapper on, in water for a few hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Place your thawed turkey into a large turkey roasting pan that has a wire rack placed in it.  The bird should not sit on the bottom of the pan.

Place all of the ingredients, except the turkey, into your food processor and run it until everything is minced into paste.  It won’t look very tasty at this point, but wait until you smell it!

Slather the garlic/herb/onion paste under the skin, on the outside of the skin, and in the cavity of your turkey.  I also brush olive oil on the outside of the bird, to help it brown well.  I usually don’t cook with olive oil, because it is unstable at high temperatures, but we don’t eat the skin (plus, it’s just a little bit).

Bake for 3-3 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, without touching the bones, reads 170 degrees (180 for thigh).  Let the turkey sit, covered with tin foil, for about 15 minutes before carving it.  Enjoy!

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Here are more directions on how to roast a turkey (don’t use butter if you’re allergic to dairy).