Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs

Today I needed some inspiration for the ground turkey I had in the fridge. I didn't want to just replace beef with turkey and make something boring like turkey tacos or chili, so when the hubby came home I asked him what sounding good tonight and he said Italian. I pulled all sorts of ingredients out of the fridge and decided a Mediterranean inspired meat ball was going to be on the menu tonight.

First of all do not use extra lean turkey unless you want a ball of sawdust in your mouth. Turkey is lean, some of the fat will cook off and in general we are always trying to add moisture to turkey meatballs, meat loaf and burgers. Speaking of extra moisture that's where the veggies come in. As the veggies cook they release moisture into the meat, that's a good thing. You know what's not good? Big chunks of raw veggies that make your meat ball, loaf, burger fall apart. That's why people think they need a binder ie; bread and eggs in meat balls.  PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Do not add bread crumbs to these meatballs! They will be dry and taste like bread crumbs. Trust me, these babies hold together just fine as long as you chop everything VERY FINELY. That's why I repeat those instructions on every item. Follow these instructions and you will end up with moist, flavorful, not your everyday turkey meatballs.

Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Lb Ground Turkey (not extra lean)

1/2 small Yellow Onion, finely diced 

3 cloves Garlic, finely diced

2 Tbs Red Bell Pepper, finely diced

1 Tbs fresh Oregano, finely diced 

2 Tbs Feta Cheese, finely crumbled 

2 Tbs Kalamata Olives, finely diced

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Roll meat mixture into balls. I made mine into 14 walnut sized balls. I grilled mine over medium heat on an oiled grill pan for about 12 minutes, flipping half way through. Yours may take more or less time depending on the size and cooking method. Keep a close eye to be sure they do not overcook and dry out.

We served our Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs on top of pasta with grilled zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms and kale with red sauce.

Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Onions, Feta and Basil

Spaghetti Squash, my least favorite of the squash family. People are always trying to pass it off as spaghetti hidden under a store bought jar of marinara sauce, or worse a Bolognese both of which are too heavy for the delicate strands of spaghetti squash. This dish was created to celebrate the transition of Summer into Fall with tomatoes and basil from the Summer garden and onions and squash grown to be stored for the winter. Spaghetti squash certainly doesn't have much of a taste on its own so we have punched it up a bit with salty feta and kalamata olives as well as garlic roasted alongside the squash.

Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Onions, Feta,
and Basil

Serves 4
1 Spaghetti Squash

2 cloves Garlic 

1 Yellow Onion, sliced

1 can Diced Tomatoes 

1 Tbs Olive Oil 

9 Kalamata Olives, chopped 

4 oz Feta Cheese, crumbled 

3 Tbs Basil, chiffonade

Preheat oven 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice spaghetti squash open lengthwise and scrape out seeds (I use an ice cream scoop). Place spaghetti squash cut side down on parchment lined baking sheet with cloves of garlic (unpeeled), bake 35-45 minutes. Squash is done when a sharp knife easily pierces the flesh. 

While squash and garlic cook, heat a saucepan over medium low, add in onion and oil stirring occasionally until onions start to caramelize.  When onions are caramelized add in tomatoes and simmer with lid on.

When squash and garlic are done, squeeze garlic out of peel, chop and scrape garlic into tomato sauce. Continue cooking the sauce while you prepare squash.

In a large bowl when squash is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh with a fork to produce strands of squash noodles. Pour sauce over noodles and toss with fresh basil. Serve with a garnish of Feta and Kalamata Olives.

Approximately 225 Calories, 10 grams of Fat, 28 grams of Carbs, 6 grams of Fiber and 8 grams of Protein per serving. 

I'm Back, and how I got here.

 After an almost one year hiatus from Healthy Gourmet on the Go, I'm back. I quit writing a year ago  after we closed our store and there were two reasons why we did it, one reason that we shared with everyone was that we wanted more time with our little boy and we wanted to expand our family. The other reason that we didn't share is that I was suffering from serious burn out. Twelve years working in the health food industry and seven of those operating our own business had done me in. I was so burned out I had lost my passion for even this, my first love food.

I tried to rekindle my passion in January with another blog called Tofu and Tree Bark but I just couldn't get it rolling. Why am I back now? Because I needed to get back on track and get healthy again and I need something to channel my energy into.

This summer we had the best news. The dream of expanding our family finally became a reality at the end of June, I got my long awaited positive pregnancy test. We were over the moon excited and shared the news with family almost immediately. As the weeks wore on I was compelled to start telling friends but something didn't quite feel right, I was filled with worry.

It eased a bit at my 8 week check up when I got to see our baby and it's little heartbeat for the first time. At 12 weeks we heard the baby's heartbeat on the Doppler and I felt more at ease. We started to tell friends as we ran into them, we ordered our son a shirt proclaiming his only child status would be over this coming March. We dreamed of names and wondered whether we were having a boy or a girl.

I got very sick over Labor Day weekend and when I woke up Tuesday morning I knew something was wrong. I went to see the my doctor and that's when we found out our baby had passed away. I was 14 weeks along.

In the last few weeks I've had a really hard time dealing with things. I've been really sick with complications from the miscarriage and have felt really low. The husband and I both decided that a step in the right direction would be to clean up our diet again and try to be our healthiest for us mentally and physically. I've been cooking up a storm because I've always found it relaxing but I didn't decide to do the blog again until I saw a spot on the Today Show with Martha Stewart. As corny as this sounds she has always been my inspiration in the kitchen and seeing her reminded me of the dreams I once had.

I hope this latest journey back into health can heal me mentally and physically and I hope you find some tasty inspiration to take steps to be your best as well.  

With love,

Christine