These meatballs are clean eating at its best. All they use are ground turkey, herbs, a little onion and garlic, and a tiny sprinkle of salt. Voila!
These delicious and healthy meatballs make an appearance at our dinner table maybe once a week. They are oh so good, healthy, easy to make, QUICK to make, and usually don't cost too much (depending on where you're getting your herbs from).
When people find out I can't eat gluten, usually one of the first responses is "So...you can't eat pizza or pasta? Or cookies? Or cake?" Well no, I can't eat the kind that you eat but I can make some pretty bangin' substitutes! Pizza I can get over since it wasn't my favorite to begin with and I'll confess those kinds of crusts are pretty difficult to recreate. But I've eaten some really good ones! Pasta was actually the one that got me when I first found out I couldn't eat gluten any more. Spaghetti and meatballs is such a family-meal staple and it's so comforting! Luckily in this day and age there are some really good gluten-free pastas. My favorite is the one Barilla makes and BJ's sells it in bulk so I usually have a few boxes in my pantry just in case. But actually my recent obsession is spaghetti squash! So if you want to be EXTRA healthy, put these meatballs over some of that and you will be one happy person (There's a recipe on how to cook spaghetti squash at the bottom of this post which if you decide to make you'll need to start this before the meatballs as it takes longer to cook).
On the topic of sauce, these meatballs are so flavorful I usually open a can of tomato sauce and doctor it up with some oregano, basil, thyme, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper but if you want to go fancy you can always make your own from scratch or buy one in a jar.
And finally before we get started, I gave some itty bitty teeny tiny ones to my 9 month old (no salt of course) who has been finicky with eating meat and she couldn't eat them fast enough! SO, if you need any other persuasion to make these: They are baby and child approved! Just make sure not to add salt to theirs until they are over 1 year and they're small enough not to choke on!
Here we go!
Ingredients:
1lb ground turkey
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves removed stem discarded
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed stem discarded
8 leaves of fresh basil
8 leaves of fresh sage
A large handful of arugula
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pasta or squash of choice (you should start these before cooking meatballs)
Tomato sauce of choice
Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions:
1. In a food processor, blend together garlic, onion, herbs, and arugula until finely chopped.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together herb mixture, ground turkey, and salt and pepper (leave out S&P if making for a baby).
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper. Take a tablespoon to measure and roll out balls placing each on the baking tray once rolled. If making for a baby, you can use a 1/4 tsp and you'll actually be steaming them instead of baking them (this makes them softer).
4. Place baking tray in preheated oven and bake about 15-20 minutes or until firm when pressed onto with a fork. Serve over pasta of choice with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese! Enjoy!
For Spaghetti Squash:
1. Cut a large spaghetti squash in half hamburger style (as opposed to hot dog).
2. Scoop out the seeds and membranes and discard.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking tray with foil.
4. Salt the insides of both squash halves and place cut side down onto the baking tray.
5. Place baking tray in preheated oven and bake approximately 45 minutes.
6. Once time has elapsed, CAREFULLY turn the squash over and let cool a bit until you can hold the halves. With a fork, pull the squash out from the edges and watch the noodles come out!
21 Day Fix: 1/2 purple, 1 red, 1 yellow (if using pasta) 1 Green (if using squash)