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Before you jump to Greek Meatballs recipe, you may want to read this short interesting healthy tips about Finding Healthy Fast Food.
Almost every single “get healthy” and “weight loss” posting you read will tell you to skip the drive through and make all of your meals yourself. There’s some value to this. From time to time, though, you definitely do not need to make an entire meal for your family or even just for yourself. Once in a while you just want to visit the drive through while you’re on your way home and finish the day. There isn’t any reason that you shouldn’t be authorized to do this and not be plagued by remorse about slipping on your diet. This is because a lot of the famous fast food restaurants out there are trying to “healthy up” their choices. Here’s how it is possible to eat healthfully while you are at a fast food place.
Go for the side dishes. It wasn’t that long ago that all you could get in a fast food cafe was French Fries. Today the vast majority of the most popular fast food franchises have increased their products. Now plenty of them offer salads. You could get chili. Baked potatoes can also be bought. You could possibly get fruit. There are countless selections that you can choose that do not force you to eat foods that have been deep fried. When deciding on your dinner from the drive through, pick out a variety of side items instead of choosing a pre-made “meal deal”. This makes it possible for you to keep the calorie count low and reduce your fat intake.
Logic claims that one of the best ways to stay balanced is to avoid the drive through and never eat fast food. While, for the most part, this is a good plan, if you make intelligent choices, there is no reason to feel guilty for visiting a drive through one or two times a month. Sometimes what you need is to let someone else create your dinner. If you ultimately choose healthy items, the shame usually associated with hitting the drive through shouldn’t be so bad.
We hope you got insight from reading it, now let’s go back to greek meatballs recipe. You can cook greek meatballs using 34 ingredients and 6 steps. Here is how you achieve it.
The ingredients needed to cook Greek Meatballs:
- You need For the meatballs
- Prepare 1 pound ground beef or pork, lamb, chicken, turkey (or combination of beef and pork)
- Get 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs (paleo - omit, gluten free - use GF breadcrumbs)
- Get 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- Take 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Use 1/4 cup finely chopped Kalamata olives (I use and recommend Lindsay Naturals Kalamata Olives)
- Get 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Provide 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- Provide 1 large egg
- You need 1 teaspoon salt
- Get 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Prepare 1 teaspoon paprika
- Get 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Get 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- Take 3/4 teaspoon oregano
- Provide 3/4 teaspoon thyme
- Provide For the Roasted Vegetables:
- Get 1 medium eggplant (choose one that isn't too fat but more slender to avoid too many bitter seeds), peeled and diced into ¼ inch pieces
- Provide 5 cloves garlic, peels left intact
- Use 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Provide SAUCE
- Use 1 medium red onion, chopped
- Take 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Provide 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- You need 1/2 cup dry red wine (or use white if using chicken or turkey)
- Provide 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I recommend certified San Marzano's from Italy)
- Provide 1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
- You need 1 teaspoon salt
- Use 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Use 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- Use 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- You need 1 cup whole Kalamata olives, drained (I use and recommend Lindsay Naturals Kalamata Olives)
- Get 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- You need 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Steps to make Greek Meatballs:
- First we’re going to get the eggplant going so that can roast while we’re working on the other stuff. Select an eggplant that is on the narrow side. Fat ones tend to have more seeds which results in a bitter flavor. The peel also tends to be bitter in flavor and tough in texture, so peel the eggplant completely. - - Dice it into chunks about 1/4 inch in size. You can make them larger if you prefer. - - Don’t worry about tossing them with lemon juice to prevent them from getting brown. They’re going to get very brown while roasting them anyway. - - First get the roasted eggplant and garlic going. Toss them with a little salt and the olive oil and spread them out single-layer on a lined cookie sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned, turning once with a spatula after about 10 minutes. Remove Set aside. Once cool, peel and mince the roasted garlic.
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands or a food processor to incorporate the ingredients. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls (you can make them larger if you prefer).
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the meatballs on all sides (See NOTE for oven baking method). Transfer the meatballs to a plate and set aside.
- Add the red onions and the oil if more is needed and cook them until soft and caramelized, about 6-8 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and cook for another couple of minutes until softened. Add the wine and bring it to a rapid boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
- Add the roasted eggplant, roasted garlic and all of the sauce ingredients, except for the olives, parsley and mint, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the whole Kalamata olives, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes then stir in the chopped parsley and mint.
- Garnish with some extra parsley and mint and serve with crusty bread, rice or orzo and a Greek or leafy green salad
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