She maka the meatballs...

If y'all are like me you probably over indulged this Easter weekend.  I'm talking mimosas, entire blocks of brie and jelly beans galore.   I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a junk food detox.   If you feel me, then you should definitely try my zucchini turkey meatballs this week.   My husband calls these "Tricky Meatballs" because it's one of ways I hide veggies from my kiddos!  Granted, I literally have to grate all the veggies into the tiniest, most minuscule pieces so Kam can't detect them, but Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.  This recipe is delicious served over spaghetti squash and topped with tomato sauce or even on top of a salad.  However you choose to serve them, I promise they will not disappoint. 

First you will want to grate your zucchini and squeeze out excess water.

Next, mix zucchini, chopped onion, basil, garlic, Italian seasoning, Parmesan,  chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional), nutmeg, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs.  Lately, I've been swapping the bread crumbs for cooked quinoa and I actually like it better. Plus, it's a good way to sneak in some extra protein and super foods.  See - they really are tricky meatballs!  

Mix in ground turkey meat and egg.  With your hands roll the mixture into individual balls.  I like to make a lot of small meatballs, about one inch each, but feel free to make them as big or small as you like.    

Place meatballs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees, rotating the meatballs halfway through.

Remove and enjoy!

Tricky Turkey Meatballs

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1 cup zucchini, shredded and squeeze out any excess water
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs or cooked quinoa (add more if too moist)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/3 cup shredded Italian cheese (optional if a whole 30 follower)
• Basil (3-4 leaves)
• Salt and Pepper
• A pinch of nutmeg
• handful of chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients and mix with hands until combined. Form into desired sized meatballs and place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes depending on size of meatballs.  I like to rotate my meatballs about half way through.
3. Remove from oven and serve with spaghetti squash or noodles and top with your favorite sauce. 

If I have time, I like to make up a big batch of this sauce and freeze it.  But if I'm in a pinch, I've found this great clean tomato sauce, Cucina Antica Marinara.    It's low sodium, low sugar, and made only will fresh ingredients!

Clean Marinara

Meatball recipe inspired by Kim's Healthy Eats

Healthy(ier) Crunch Bar

I saw this recipe on Thrive Market's blog and I knew I had to try it.    It's no secret I'm a huge fan of quinoa and I may be one of the few adults that will actually still eat a Crunch bar so this combo made my wildest dreams come true.     It's 'healthy' because it's packed full of antioxidant rich dark chocolate and the amazing superfood quinoa.  

Quinoa is one of the most protein rich foods we can eat. It is a complete protein, meaning it contains all 9 essential amino acids. It also has twice as much fiber as most grains. As if that wasn't reason enough to love quinoa, it contains iron, lysine, magnesium, riboflavin, and a high content of manganese. Quinoa is basically the bada#s of all the grains. I put it in everything: salads, burgers, meatloaf, and now desserts. YES!!

First things first for this delicious dessert, I had to pop the quinoa. This was a totally new experience for me so of course I just You Tubed it.  Duh. I'll save you an internet search and give you the down low below.

POPPING QUINOA

I rinsed the quinoa several times under cold water and drained it on a paper towel lined strainer. After the quinoa was thoroughly dried, I spread it out over a baking sheet. Then I baked the quinoa for 1 hour at 100 degrees F,  until it was completely dry.

After the quinoa was done in the oven, I set it aside to cool and got ready to pop it like it's hot.   See what I did there?  

I heated a heavy pot over medium-high heat. I put 3 tablespoons of quinoa into the pot and covered it with a lid.  No oil, no nothing, just my hot pot and my quinoa. It took a me a few attempts to get the hang of it but basically if the pan is hot enough, the quinoa will pop right away, sort of like popping popcorn on the stove. After the popping died down, I removed the popped quinoa and poured it into another bowl. I repeated this for several rounds, 3 tablespoons at a time, until all the quinoa was popped.  

Aside from using popped quinoa for this kicka#s dessert, you can eat toasted quinoa as a snack, like popcorn. The protein and fiber in quinoa will keep you fuller longer than popcorn.   Another added bonus is it stores for several days in an airtight container.   

Popped Quinoa

After all my quinoa was popped, I melted the dark chocolate in a double boiler over the stove.  This double boiler was my grandmother's.  It's an oldie, but a goodie. They just don't make them like this anymore, I swear. Plus it makes me happy when I use it.  It reminds me of a story my grandmother still tells about a time she was visiting when I was little.  She, my mom and I were all cooking together in the kitchen.  My Grandma was trying to help me wash a dish in the sink.  I clearly didn't want her help and I turned to my mother and said, "Mom, she thinks this is HER kitchen."  I guess I always was a bossy B.   

After the dark chocolate was melted, I mixed in the popped quinoa and then poured it on to a parchment paper lined glass pan.  

I went back to the stove and melted the white chocolate in the double boiler.   The original recipe only called for 4 oz white chocolate, but the first time I drizzled in the white chocolate it just dumped right to the bottom. DAMN.  I was determined to make this as pretty as the original picture so I melted 4 more oz of white chocolate and tried again.   Nailed it!  After I drizzled in the white chocolate, I used two toothpicks to swirl the chocolates together in a pretty marble pattern.    Take that Pinterest!

I refrigerated the entire pan until the chocolate was solid and then cut into chunks.  We were headed over to our friends house for a group dinner that night so I figured I'd take them for a taste test.  My girlfriends might pretend like they like it just to be polite and but their husbands will tell it like it is. I'm known for my decadent desserts and these big boys will call me on my diet sh#t if it's not good.

So did this recipe pass the husband taste test?   Well, let's just say Max wasn't the only guy sneaking an extra bite of chocolate crunch.....

 So make like Max, and Treat Yo' Self to this guilt free dessert!  

Quinoa Crunch Bars

Makes: 1 8x11 pan

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 min

Active Time: 15 min

INGREDIENTS:

24 ounces 70% dark chocolate (or higher)
1 3/4 cups popped quinoa
8 ounces white chocolate 

Line an 8x11-inch baking pan with parchment paper

Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler over a water bath.  Remove from heat and stir in popped quinoa. Pour into prepared pan.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler over hot water bat. Pour over dark chocolate.   Use a toothpick to swirl the two chocolates to create a marbled pattern. 

Refrigerate until set. Cut into desired chocolate bar sizes.

***If you are following 21 day fix, I would count this as 1 yellow but use it as one of your treats for the week.  

 

The Accidental Pomegranate Salad

Last weekend I attempted to grocery shop with both kids.   Why on earth would I do that to myself?  I'm not quite sure, but I did.  After a pit stop at the bathroom for Kam, an opened bag of graham crackers for Max and a new comic book for them to share, I finally made my way to the check out with 2 kids and a cart full of groceries.   As I started to unload the groceries I found something peculiar.  What is this? A pomegranate?  How did this get in my cart?  I'm pretty sure I don't like pomegranates.  I don't even know how to eat them.  

I looked up at my 3 year old and he had the biggest sh#t eating grin on his face. Thanks Kam. I was too far in to turn back, so I did what any desperate mom would do, I paid for it and got the heck out of the store!   I'd figure out what to do with it later.

So there I was with a pomegranate.   One pomegranate.   Now what?   First I had to look up how to cut it.    It turns out, it's pretty easy.   Just slice off the top of one end, score along the seams, break it open, and peel away the arils (seeds).   I found it easiest to do this under water.  Discard the waste and strain the seeds. 

Guess what? I actually didn't hate pomegranate seeds but I thought they were kind of boring on their own.  I remembered I saw a recipe for a quinoa salad with pomegranate seeds, which would be perfect as I had some left over quinoa.  

After a quick internet search and scan of my cupboard, I found a few different recipes I thought I could marry together to make one pretty awesome pomegranate salad.  I had a butternut squash I had picked up at the farmers market, along with some dried cherries, pecans, and of course the left over quinoa.  

I chopped the cherries and pecans and tossed them together with the squash and quinoa.  Then I whipped up a delicious dressing with orange juice, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, extra virgin olive oil, and a dash of cinnamon.  After I tossed that together, I thought something was missing.  I really wished I had some goat cheese.  I didn't.  But I had feta.  I threw some feta in and BAM - that was it!  The best accidental pomegranate salad I'd ever had.    Mostly because I've never really had a pomegranate salad but hey, this sh#t is good.   Even my husband agrees.  He ate the whole thing before I could get a pretty propped picture so all I have for you is captured is below.  

I guess the lesson of the day is, when life serves you pomegranates, make a kicka#s salad!

The Accidental Pomegranate Salad

Serves: 4

Time: 30 minutes

Dressing:

1 tbsp  extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

Dash of cinnamon

Dash of sea salt

Salad:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 large butternut squash cubed

1 pomegranate (seeds only) 

1/4 cup feta (or goat) cheese

1 handful of chopped pecans

1 handful of chopped dried cherries

Directions:

1. Prepare quinoa as directed on the package.
2. Cook butternut squash.   I like to microwave mine because it's the quickest and easiest way.  Simply poke holes all over the squash with a fork and microwave for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until squash is soft.   Set aside to cool.  Once cooled slice in half, scoop out seeds, and cut one half into 1 inch cubes.  
3. In a large bowl toss together the quinoa, chopped dried cherries, feta (or goat) cheese, pomegranate seeds, pecans and butternut squash.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, orange juice, and maple syrup.  Add salt and cinnamon to taste.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad,toss and serve.  

**If you follow the 21 Day Fix program one serving would could as 1 yellow, 1 green, 1/2 blue, 1/2 purple, 1 teaspoon