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…infinite life fitness recipe: turkey meatballs…

turkey meatballs

When it comes to clean eating you have to find recipes that will accommodate your busy lifestyle.  the best way to do this is to prepare meals in advance that you can just grab and go!  This will allow you to have meals ready for you at home so you are not tempted to “grab something on the go” from you local fast food place.

There are SO many recipes for food items that you can make in only a short amount of time! Just think, cook a few things on Sunday evening and you will have meals that will last you all week! That is exactly what I do.  I will prepare meals that I can keep in the fridge (and I will honestly freeze the other half of the items that I cook so they will last me longer than a week if needed).  As the saying goes:

Fail to plan….Plan to fail!

Today I will share with you something that can be made in LESS THAN an hour and this meal can last you for a few days! You can make these type of meatballs with any type of ground lean meat (ground chicken, lean beef, bison, venison, or any other type of meat of your choice!

What you will need:

  • 1 package of lean ground meat (in this recipe i used 99% lean ground turkey)
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/3 cup of oats (you can add anywhere from NO oats to a full cup of oats.  Adding more will increase the macro-nutrients of your meal)
  • 1 tsp cilantro
  • 2 tsp of low sodium meat seasonings (Mrs. Dash is a GREAT option but McCormick and other generic brands also offer various good options as well) OR you can use any other type of spices that you would like (get creative and throw in a different variety of things)
  • You can add diced onions, peppers, tomatoes, or any other veggies that you would like!! For this batch i did not add any of those items

What you will do:

  • Set the oven to 350 degrees
  • get a cookie sheet and line it with a sheet of foil
  • Mix all of the above ingredients in a mixing bowl
  • mix all of the ingredients together
  • get a 1/3 measuring cup and scoop the mixture into the cup and slightly pat it down to get any air pockets out.
  • You can make the scoop somewhat level (this will yield 8-10 balls depending on how much you level off your scoops
  • Drop the contents of the measuring cup evenly throughout the baking sheet (make sure to spread them out somewhat so they are not directly touching each other.  You can also use a muffin tin if you do not have a cookie sheet.  Spritz the muffin pan with olive oil so they will not stick.  Just place the contents of the measuring cup in each slot in the muffin tin)
  • After all of the mixture is scooped up and evenly distributed place them in the oven.
  • It will take anywhere from 20-35 minutes for them to cook. You will have to watch them to see how quickly they start to brown on the outside and cut one to make sure they cooked thoroughly.
  • Sit and let cool
  • ENJOY!!!!

With each meal I will suggest eating 2-3 meatballs.  This will yield approximately 4-6 oz of meat per serving.  You can pair these with veggies, rice, sweet potatoes, or any other sides of your choice! In the morning I will grab a few of these, toss them in a container with some veggies and other side dishes and have a full quick meal ready for lunch (or dinner!).  You can garnish these with salsa or any other sauces that are your favorites.  As with any sauces be careful how much you drizzle on them! Some sauces pack a lot of calories so try to stick with lower calorie options to keep your meal healthy and low on calories.

Like I said previously you can get creative and add/substitute other things to this to make this dish how YOU like it.

 

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…Meatball Monday: Quick Dinner Idea!…

Time is a great issue with everyone!
Time is what allows us to decide if we will be able to work out today…of if you are able to cook the right kind of food.

The key is to MAKE time to fit in your workouts…

MAKE time to create quick and healthy meal options for you (and possibly your family!)

Today I would like to share another quick meal option with you…

Ground Turkey/beef/chicken/Meat Balls

Time: 15-20 Minutes

Oven Temperature: 400 Degrees

What you will need:

  • The meat of your choice (Ground turkey, beef, or chicken.  All should be available at your local grocery store.  The key is to get the LEAN package of meat.  The HIGHER the number is the leaner the meat it.

Example: 94/6 Beef = 94% lean beef 4% fat.  This is the best lean option for beef.  Your store may not have this lean of meat, so try to find the HIGHEST number you can.

Turkey:  99% lean is the best (and the same goes for chicken as well)

Yes it may be a little more expensive BUT these are the healthiest options.  You can even consider the less lean meats but try not to get the most fatty meat)

  • Chopped up veggies (like onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, etc.  You want to make sure that they are chopped into small cubes and that the pieces will fit nicely in the muffin pan holes.

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Instructions: 

***These instructions are made to follow if you use ONE pound of meat.  If you use two I would just double the recipe****

Set your oven to 400 Degrees

First get your package(s) of meat and put them in a big mixing bowl 

Add whatever seasonings you would like to the meat 

Add your chopped up veggies(I usually put onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms on my meatballs.  I will put 1/2 cup of each veggie in a bowl with 1 pound of meat)

Add 1/2 egg whites OR 2 full eggs(I found that this helps to keep the meat ball together so it does not fall apart)

Add 1/2 cup Quaker plain oats(you can also use bread crumbs or any other kind of bread product.  I use this because it adds to the meatball allowing it to stick together as well as adding to the taste of the meatballs) **You can also skip this step. You do not have to add a bread product if you like***

Make Sure to mix all of the contents in the bowl very well to allow for the best distribution of the veggies, spices, and anything else that you put in the bowl

Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray

use 1/4 or 1/3 measuring cup (depending on how much meat/veggie mix will fit in each muffin tin hole)

Measure your meat into the 1/4 cup or 1/3 measuring cups and fill each muffin tin hole

Once all holes are filled

Place muffin tin in the oven

It will take 15-20 minutes for them to cook.

Just watch them and allow them to somewhat harden and turn brown on the outside.

You can break open one meatball to ensure it is all the way cooked before you completely take them out of the oven.

Allow to cool…serve…and ENJOY!

 

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These are great because you can make a batch and keep them in the fridge and grab them when you are in a hurry! You can eat these with pasta, veggie mix, or with anything else you like!

These also allow you to eat the right portion size!
I usually will have two meatballs, a side of veggies, and something else small (like pasta or rice) with this meatball meal.

Hope that you try these out sometime!

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