Light Meatballs

I don’t think it’s necessary to sacrifice eating delicious foods, even if we want to eat healthy and light. These meatballs taste even better than the traditional ones! They are juicy and tasty, and above all healthy and low in fat. Serve with rice or quinoa for a full meal, or pair with veggies for a low-carb meal.

Ingredients:

• 750g minced pork and beef
• 1/2 small zucchini, grated
• 1 egg
• Oat bran (about half a cup)
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• Chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 large chopped carrot
• 1/2 large chopped onion
• 800ml of meat broth (approx.)

Preparation:

The first thing we will do is the mixture of the meat. Put in a large bowl the minced meat, grated zucchini, egg, oat bran, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.

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We mix it well with our fingers to get the ingredients well distributed. With this mixture we shape the round meatballs.

Afterwards, we put them in a pot with a little bit of olive oil to brown them, turning them from time to time so that they get done on all sides. I like to use a pot with enough depth, because we will also use it to cook the meatballs in the sauce later. Remove the meatballs from the fire and set them aside in a dish.

When we have finished making all the meatballs, in the same pot we toss the chopped onion and carrot. We want to take advantage of the same oil where we have cooked the meatballs, since it has all the flavor. If you see that it is too much oil, remove some of it before putting the vegetables in.

We stir-fry the vegetables until they are soft and we pour in half of the broth. We let the flavors mix for about 2-3 minutes. Put it in a blender to make the sauce. You will see that the carrot gives it a thicker texture.

We return the sauce to the pot and add the rest of the broth. We move it a little and now we will put in the meatballs. We’ll let it cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes.

Serve over white rice for a full meal, or with a veggie side dish for a low carb dinner. These meatballs are not only healthy, because they are full of vegetables both inside the meat and in the sauce, but they are also delicious. My two children have had seconds and they didn’t even care that they were made with vegetables. A total success!

If you want to try another kid friendly minced meat recipe, try the Russian Fillets, they are also amazing!