Mmmm! Meatballs

They’re a great high protein, low-carb entree. They’re easy to assemble and require very little hands-on time. You can mix up a single, double, or triple batch in short order. You don’t need to sauté or stir them while they cook. You can simmer them on top of the stove in a little bit of broth or bake them in the oven, depending upon the season and your preferences.

Mix up the meats
A single meatball recipe can be varied almost endlessly with different kinds of meat. Try beef, buffalo, lamb, ground chicken, turkey, pork, venison, or ostrich. I like to use a single meat rather than a mix of two; that gives me more variety throughout the week.

I’ve watched 14 month old babies and picky adults devour these meatballs made with lamb. So don’t be shy, give the meat and herb variations a try even if you think you don't like a particular kind of meat.

Note: If you use chicken or turkey breast meat or ostrich to make meatballs, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil or avocado oil or 3 to 6 tablespoons of chopped, toasted almonds, walnuts, or pecans per pound of meat to add moisture or replace the 1/4 cup of milk or broth (used to soak the oats) with cream or full-fat coconut milk.

Sub different herbs and spices
You can vary the herbs and spices you add to the meatball mix, making Italian, Greek, German, Mexican, Thai, Cajun, or Chinese flavored meatballs. You can very the kind of sauce you serve with them. I like to serve them with my Better Barbecue Sauce (see YouTube video and recipe link below) from my book, The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook. Of course you could use your favorite home-made or store bought spaghetti sauce or some other tomato sauce. Sometimes I serve meatballs without any sauce at all.

Serve them any way you like
You can serve them as an appetizer, and entrée or a snack. Dab ‘em with your favorite flavored mustard (Jalapeno, Roasted Garlic, Onion, Honey Mustard, or some other flavor; try True Natural Taste Mustard, my favorite brand, which also happens to be gluten-free!), or a hot-and sour or sweet-and-sour sauce.

Serve them over a green salad with vinaigrette. Wrap leftover meatballs in lettuce leaves after dabbing with mayo, mustard, fruit-sweetened ketchup, or salsa and guacamole, then secure with tooth picks. Serve leftover meatballs as a sausage stand-in with eggs and cooked veggies for breakfast.

Meatballs minus the pasta
You don’t need pasta for a great meatball meal (see ideas above). Of course if you do want pasta you can choose a gluten-free variety made from brown rice or quinoa. I prefer serving them without grain––-over spaghetti squash or mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower or over steamed or blanched vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and carrots; asparagus with cauliflower and carrots; or finely shredded and sauteed kale with red onions. Serve them as a side dish with a crisp, colorful green salad, sauteed leafy greens, or blanched vegetables and a delicious dip or dressing.

Here’s my favorite meatball recipe and my signature sauce. Note: The barbecue sauce is more like a ketchup or all-purpose tomato sauce so don’t wait for a barbecuing occasion to make it and slather it on your favorite foods.

Herbed Meatballs                
Prep: 20 minutes/ Cooking: 15 to 20 minutes/Yield: 24 meatballs; 6 servings

Notes: Be sure to transfer frozen meat to the refrigerator 24 to 48 hours before cooking. You can use rolled oats (oatmeal) in place of bread crumbs.

If you have celiac disease be sure to by certified gluten free oats or bind the meatballs with dried shan yao (Radix Dioscorea), a starchy white tuber sold as dehydrated slices in Chinese markets and herb shops. You can powder the shan yao in a blender or coffee-grinder, then add it to meat mixture below.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Celiac safe rolled oats (aka oatmeal) or powdered Shan Yao (see notes above)*
• 1/4 cup almond, cow, or goat milk or 2 tablespoons cream or coconut milk + 2 tablespoons water
• 1 medium to large egg or 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried herbs or 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs: Italian blend, Herbes de Provençe, or combination of 2-3 herbs: sage, thyme, marjoram, oregano, basil, thyme,
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin or dry mustard
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotlé or black pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes 
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt or 1 to 2 tablespoons wheat-free tamari soy sauce
• 1/2 cup minced onion or 1 tablespoon freeze dried onion or shallot flakes
• 1 to 1 1/4 pounds 90 to 96 percent lean ground beef or bison
• 1/2 cup water, if simmering meatballs only

1. In a medium bowl, combine oats (or shan yao) and milk. If possible, soak for 1 to 8 hours in the refrigerator. Add eggs, herbs, cumin or mustard, pepper, garlic, parsley, salt or tamari, and onion.
2. Crumble meat into a large bowl and add the mixture from step #1 above. Mix with clean bare hands pulling apart rather than squeezing and packing to evenly distribute seasoning (I use disposable gloves). Do not over mix. Shape into 24 (1-inch) balls.
3. To simmer: Bring 1/2 cup water to boil in a 12-inch skillet. Add meatballs; cover, reduce heat; simmer 15 to 20 minutesuntil the same color throughout. Remove lid; cook away liquid.
4. To bake: Omit 1/2 cup liquid. Bake meatballs on parchment-lined baking sheet in a preheated 350˚ F-oven for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until done.
5. Serve, then freeze any leftovers you don’t plan to to use within 3 days.

1 serving (beef): 140 calories, 19 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate (1 g fiber), 5 g fat, 26 mg calcium, 202 mg sodium

Variations:

• For egg-free meatballs: Replace the egg with 1 1/2 teaspoons Energy Foods Egg Replacer dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water and whisked after 5 minutes or 1 tablespoon flax seed meal mixed with 3 tablespoon hot water and allowed to stand for 5 minutes, then mixed again and added to the meat.
• Turkey or Chicken Meatballs: Replace beef with ground chicken or turkey. If using breast meat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil or3 to 6 tablespoons chopped, toasted almonds, walnuts, or pecans.
• Ostrich Meatballs: Replace ground beef with ground ostrich above; see variation above for adding oil or nuts for moisture.
• Replace herbs in the master recipe with 1 teaspoons ground coriander; increase cumin to 1 teaspoon; add 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 clove garlic.

Source: The Garden of Eating: A Produce—Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz © Copyright 2004

Better Barbecue Sauce   

Prep: 20 minutes/Cooking: 20 to 30 minutes/Yield: 2 1/3 cups; 9 servings

This mild, slightly smoky sauce contains less sugar, less sodium, and fewer calories than conventional barbecue sauce. You can use it liberally at the table the way you’d use ketchup or tomato sauce, over meatballs, meatloaf, burgers, steaks, roasts, chicken, turkey, pork chops, even salmon.

Note: Consider making a double batch because this sauce taste so good and freezes well.

Note about ingredients: Look for ground chipotlé pepper powder in the spice or ethnic section of natural foods stores, gourmet markets, and Hispanic grocery stores.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or unrefined coconut oil
• 1 cup minced fresh onion
• 1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt or 2 tablespoons wheat-free tamari soy sauce (cut in half if using salted broth)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon) or 1 teaspoon garlic granules
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (preferably ground fresh)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/3 teaspoon ground chipotlé (smoked dried jalapeno pepper powder)
• 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled basil
• 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled oregano, optional
• 6-ounce can salt-free, sugar-free tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cups water or homemade chicken or vegetable broth or stock (Page 000, 000, or 000) or preservative-free chicken or vegetable broth, such as Imagine Foods or Pacific Brand
• 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar or 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon stevia extract powder (a brand with no fillers and no FOS)
• 1 or 2 tablespoons honey, agavé nectar

1. Heat oil and onions in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. After adding liquid, whisk until smooth.
2. Bring to a low boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer with the lid ajar or cover with a spatter screen, and stir periodically, until thick, 20 to 30 minutes. 
3. Pour sauce into 1or more wide-mouth glass jars. Cover when cool, and refrigerate. Freeze what you don’t plan to use within 2 weeks.

Variations:

• For Cajun Ketchup: Replace the garlic, cumin, mustard, chipotlé, basil, and oregano with 1 tablespoon of mild, salt-free Cajun spice blend. You can replace honey with maple syrup.

Source: The Garden of Eating: A Produce—Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz © Copyright 2004

Thanks to Sunwest Appliance Distributing & Cooking Studio AZ for letting us use their kitchen for taping these two videos.

Comments

[Hemp-Oil-Taylor]

The virgin coconut oil is very useful.it can be use even in foods that we are going to prepare.and it will be a healthy food. thanks virgin coconut oil.

[Coconut-Oil-Tailor]

Wow! This luscious meatballs are not only yummy but also healthy. Using unrefined coconut oil which has lauric acid, a rare medium-chain fatty acid found in mother's milk that supports healthy metabolism and is now being studied for its anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial health-protecting properties. It is one of the good fats that comprises about 50% of coconut oil.

[Chef Rachel]

Yes, I am a fan of virgin coconut oil, coconut milk, unsweetened flaked coconut, and coconut butter. I use them in many applications, both sweet and savory. I tell my students about the benefits of coconut oil too!

Thanks for posting!

Chef Rachel

[cod liver oil]

Amazing recipe here! Thanks for sharing such wonderful healthy recipe here and also for this good recipe book. I think it will be very delicious. I will try to make this by following these recipe tips.