A leaner meatball! Made without any cheese and without any bread-crumbs!
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In place of the bread-crumbs I use dried onion flakes. And in place of some cheese, I use shredded zucchini and plenty of fresh garlic. Using an egg (no shells!) to bring it all together with the herbs of parsley and oregano, you’ve got your healthy Well-Fed Turkey meatballs ready to be baked and paired with your choice of sauce. Or have them naked with some sauteed mushrooms.
We’re talking Turkey! Protein with some added protein provided by the egg. Shredded zucchini will hide in some vegetables and along with the egg will help keep it all together. The dried onion will take place of breadcrumbs! Fresh garlic, dried oregano and parsley give it the flavor of meatballs.
But… as you can find in an article below, just because it’s turkey doesn’t mean it’s the only way to go to cook up a lean meatball. Depending on the beef you choose, you can still get a lean meatball! That’s some turkey talk, but it’s true! Below is a comparison with lean ground beef 7% fat and lean ground turkey 7% fat. This is something to keep in mind because often it is the 80/20 ground beef that is purchased and used meaning it’s 20 percent fat. (Something to keep in mind with that ratio is that a good amount of that fat is going to render out as you cook it giving you a moist, juicy burger. But in this example we’re looking for a leaner ground meat.)
Another aspect is that you can even choose 1% fat ground turkey or ground chicken! Very lean using only the white meat. I will tell you I’ve had some weird tasting ground chicken, using not a very good brand. When I did some research the fowl taste was due to the darker meat mixed in the ground meat. Odd. So with that in mind if I wanted to use a ground meat with a little more fat, I’d go with beef. If I want to keep it very lean, I stay with the white meat and only use a 93/7 or even a 99/1 ground turkey or ground chicken.
Comparing beef to turkey, surprisingly the turkey patty that came up with slightly more calories, 176 compared to the 162 found in the beef version and both had the same amount of protein, 22g! Even more was the iron, zinc, vitamin b12 and selenium content was higher for ground beef. However, ground beef does come with slightly more saturated fat. Overall, you can make these meatballs using any type of ground meat you prefer; ground beef, ground turkey and ground chicken. It’s, in my opinion, a way to mix things up is to offer many varieties such as having beef hamburgers one night, then turkey meatballs another, and how about a Quarter Turn to the Right (meal made with ground chicken, herbs and spices, sauteed vegetables and rice. Great easy quick dinner meal!) another evening. What makes the biggest difference in any meal is what is added! Here, we’re keeping it light and gluten-free, with no cheese and no bread crumbs.
Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and roll into individual balls.
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Place in an oven-safe baking dish and bake at 350 for about 35 – 45 mins
Enjoy as they are, mix with a gluten-free spaghetti or have some sauce and veggies on the side! Well-Fed appetizer, lunch, dinner ready to go!
