Steamed spinach, onion, caraway seeds, crushed red pepper and paprika are mixed with ground turkey and baked for a delicious meatball. Use egg, egg white or egg replacer as a binder and add fresh herbs such as cilantro or parsley for additional flavor and nutritious health benefits.
Baking meatballs is an easy alternative to pan frying and uses much less oil. Other delicious proteins to substitute for turkey include super lean bison and chicken (or lean ground beef). Toss with homemade tomato sauce and spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for a lower fat and higher nutrient Spaghetti and Meatball dinner. For zucchini noodles, see recipe here > Zucchini Noodles with Creamy Avocado Sauce.
Save time and make it a family affair by getting your kids to help make them! They will have fun and enjoy a cooking class in the process. Plus, it’s proven that when kids help make the recipes, they are more likely to try new foods and like them. 🙂
Here, these meatballs are drizzled with a homemade balsamic glaze and serve over spaghetti squash or as an entree with a side dish of quinoa or herb barley. This recipe makes 28 meatballs.
For balsamic glaze, simmer 2 cups of balsamic vinegar over very low heat for about 40 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Remove from heat and let cool. Mixture will thicken a bit more upon cooling.
Nutrition:
Serving size: 4 meatballs
Calories: 162
Fat: 8.1g
Saturated fat: 1.4g
Cholesterol: 93mg
Sodium: 181mg
Protein: 19.9g
Fiber: 1.6g
*NOTE: recipe is high in iron, niacin, phosphorus, vitamins A and C.