Turkey Meatballs

One of my favorite snacks to eat from time to time is turkey meatballs.  They're super easy to make, low in fat, and don't have much by the way of calories.  One thing I should note is that I don't use breadcrumbs or wheat when making my meatballs.  I'm trying to stay away from breads and flour in general, and opting for alternatives when making dishes that call for these ingredients.  Believe it or not, one ingredient that I found has worked as a breadcrumb alternative is large flake oats, ground in a food processor.  One of my girlfriends introduced me to this method about a year ago and you know what, you can barely taste the difference.  


On another note, for those of you who can't live without a sauce or dip of some sort for your meatballs, try Apple Butter.  Apple butter, in my opinion, is quite similar to plum sauce, but waaaay healthier for you.  A serving is 15 grams or 1 Tablespoon and there's about 4 grams of natural sugar in total-just under the recommended sugar intake of 5 grams/meal.  You can find Apple Butter at a health food store or at Superstore (much cheaper there).


Turkey Meatball Recipe
1 package of lean ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 onion (chopped)
3 Tablespoons of large flake oats
1Tablespoon of ground flaxseed (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
dash of paprika
dash of thyme
1-2 tsp of oregano
Dash of garlic powder


Start off by lining a baking sheet with foil and coating with a tiny bit of oil.  Place turkey in a bowl, add spices and mix together.  After mixing, add your oats, onions, then egg and mix until all ingredients are combined.  Using your hands, form a nice size ball and place into baking sheet.   Once mixture has been used up, place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Healthy Spicy Sushi Rolls

I was in a creative spirit this afternoon and decided to experiment in the kitchen by trying something new. Being that I've been craving sushi for quite sometime now, I figured that rather than spending money and purchasing it through a restaurant, I'd make my own. For a first-timer, I must say that I did a pretty good job and believe it or not, I could actually see myself trying this recipe again (smiles).

Either way, here's the recipe to what I call my mock version of sushi.

Healthy Spicy Sushi Rolls

Ingredients:

2 Nori Seaweed sheets

1/4 of a cucumber thinly sliced

1 cup of cooked Shrimp

1 tbsp of Light Mayonnaise

Garlic Chilli sauce

Alfafa Sprouts

1/4 tsp of Sesame Oil

1tsp of Olive Oil

In a frying pan add olive oil and lightly saute shrimp (add a little bit of sea-salt and pepper for seasoning). Cook for about 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and shred shrimp in food processor (blender should do just fine). Once shredded, add mayonnaise, sesame oil and garlic sauce and mix.

Tear seaweed sheet in half and lay-out on hard-surface (cutting board, counter etc). Starting from one end right up till a little past the middle of the sheet, smooth out shrimp mixture, add cucumber and alfalfa sprouts then roll from one end to the other. There should be enough mixture for 4 sheets of sushi (2 large sheets torn in half).

Enjoy!

Healthy Guacamole

In my attempt to eat really clean and not make my diet seem so much like a diet, I've been experimenting with all sorts of new recipes as a way to liven up my meals and take the BOREDOM out of following a healthy, clean diet.

One recipe that I recently came across is a guacamole veggie dipper which I just love and one that I use as a snack alternative with celery sticks. The best thing about this recipe is that it's super, super, healthy and it not only satisfies your cravings, but also makes up your daily fat intake. You only need about 1-2 tbsp/serving and you're good to go.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

2-3 avocados

1/2 a lemon or lime

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

1/3 cup of chopped onion

1 small tomato or 1 tbsp of salsa

salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, pit the avocados and mash together with a fork. Add chopped cilantro, onion, tomatoes and/or salsa. Squeeze lemon into mixture and add salt and pepper.

Granola Alternative

One of my favorite snacks to eat during the day is a nice bowl of vanilla yogurt with cottage cheese, granola and fresh strawberries. For quite a while now I was using a brand of granola that I thought was "Organic" granola, until reading Michael Pollen's, "Food Rules" and learning that what may be packaged as organic may not necessarily be organic. Then again, anything that has to be packaged to begin with should have you questioning its health benefits.

Either way, in my attempt to rid myself of processed, packaged and refined foods I was scanning through the net and came across a really great granola alternative to that found in the grocery store. It's a recipe that comes from Kathy Nichols over at the Healthy Habits Coach Blog. Her recipe uses mostly natural ingredients, is super-duper healthy, and taste amazing.

I altered the recipe a bit, by replacing canola oil with olive oil, using less almonds and agave nectar and opting not to use apple-sauce and sesame seeds. I suggest you experiment with the recipe a bit to match your taste.

Here's the recipe for you:

Healthy Homemade Granola

Dry Ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats (you can also use a combination of rolled grains)
2-3 cups of raw almonds or pecan halves (or other nuts)
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)
¾ cup sesame seeds
½ cup wheat germ or ground flax seed.
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
Options: ½ – 1 cup unsweetened coconut,
½ cup dried fruit (add after cooked) –date pieces, cranberries, cherries, apricots, mango

Wet Ingredients:
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup agave nectar (or brown rice syrup, honey or maple syrup)
Note: see new posting questioning agave.
2 Tbsp canola oil

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together, and then stir into dry ingredients. Stir well to mix thoroughly.

Spread the mixture into two baking dishes. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Stir every 10 minutes to ensure even browning. Stir again when removed from oven to keep it from cooling into a solid mass. The granola will crisp as it cools. If you use fruit, stir once it is cooled.

Store in the refrigerator in a large zip lock bag or other airtight container. Makes about 10 cups.