The other day while writing a recipe, I paused for a moment to gaze through my window, and noticed “my garden” needs work. In a dream world, I would love to have my own garden and grow my own veggies and herbs. If I could I would grow everything I needed and never buy from the supermarkets. As they However, getting back to reality I do not have a huge garden, and do not grow all my own veggies. However I do have some growing which I am proud of, hence the name Garden Fresh Meatballs.
I try to grow as much as I can on my balcony in pots. I think for the amount for the amount of space I have it’s not too shabby! As you can see below I have Kale, and a few types of lettuce, most of the herbs, cherry tomatoes, and hot peppers. It’s kind of a wild little jungle.
Getting back to my recipe inspiration this week, if you haven’t guessed it yet my inspiration came from the garden. I picked all the ripe items, trimmed things up a bit, and realized I had a bunch of veggies I needed to put to good use. I mean what is better tasting than freshly grown, ripe vegetables from your own little garden? So this is where my “Garden Fresh Meatballs” came from.
Again keeping to a lean, healthy, clean diet I decided to use a ton of veggies from my garden to get extra vitamins and nutrients in each bite. I also used ground turkey meat to keep in lean, although you could use any meat you like or have. For me keeping it grain-free, dairy-free if very important and I think makes it a versatile recipe to suit most diets.
What I love about these garden fresh meatballs is that not only are they bursting with flavor in every bite; they are also super easy to make. You can easily double the recipe and make extra to freeze or keep in the fridge for the whole week. They are a great snack, lunch or dinner and taste good hot and cold.
So get your knife chopping, and whip up a batch or two of these for now and for the weeks to come, you will love them. Also just to let you know these were a huge success with kids! Although they are packed with veggies, kids don’t even notice them, and gobble them up. Happy Cooking!
INGREDIENTS
1 lb of ground turkey breast
2 tbsp almond flour
1 egg
5-6 kale leaves de-stemmed and chopped very small (equivalent to 1 cup when chopped)
1/2 cup of broccoli cut in small pieces (baby bite size, no stem just florettes)
2 carrots chopped very small
1/2 and onion diced very small
1 tbsp avocado oil
2 tsp of each of the following spices: garlic powder, onion powder, Italian spice
1 tbsp tomato paste
Salt and Pepper to taste (approx. 1 tsp of each)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a baking rack on top, and spray with avocado oil (I like to use this one), set aside.
Using a small skillet or frying pan, heat avocado oil. Place all chopped veggies in pan and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
in the meantime, use a large bowl and add ground turkey, almond flour, tomato paste, egg, and spices.
Add sauteed veggies to meat mixture and mix all together.
Form small round meatballs, about 1″ in size and place on the rack.
Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Serve them as is, with a salad or rice on the side, or in a tomato sauce, it’s up to you. Alternatively and once meatballs are cooled, you can store them in an airtight container in fridge for up to a week. They also freeze well. Just pop them in a ziplock for upto 4 months.
