Friday, January 31, 2014

Turkey Meatballs

These are from Bob Harper's "The Skinny Rules" book.  The way mine turn out, there are about 5 meatballs in each serving.  

Turkey Meatballs
Whether you have just a couple of meatballs as a snack or a larger serving for lunch or dinner, wrap them in lettuce instead of a bun.
Makes 4 servings.

Brown rice is a healthy substitute for the usual bread crumbs.

Ingredients
1 lb extra-lean ground turkey
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c. cooked brown rice, cooled
olive oil spray

Directions
1. Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a large mixing bowl and shape into about 30 meatballs 1 inch across.
2.  Spray a large nonstick skillet generously with olive oil.
3. Cook the meatballs for 5-6 min, ,working in batches if your pan is not large enough to fit them all, occasionally moving them around to brown all sides.

Variation: Once all the meatballs are cooked, add a jar of low-sodium marinara sauce to the pan.  Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 20 minutes.  These sauced meatballs are great by themselves or served over quinoa, farro, or whole-wheat pasta at lunch, or over spaghetti squash or other veggies for dinner.

Nutrition Information per serving:
213 calories, 24g protein, 8g carbs, 9.6g fat