Vegetable Meatballs

A kitchen is a laboratory and recipes are experiments. 

There are some amazing blogs just  filled with healthy recipes and awesome fitness tips. Check them out and get inspired.This recipe was an adaptation of two recipes I collected from other blogs:

Blogilates- Super Healthy, Ultra-Clean Meatball Recipe! 

&

A Cozy Kitchen - Turkey Zucchinni Meatballs 

Ingredients:

2 cups carrots

1 cup frozen corn

2/3 cup almonds

1/2 cup flax seed

3 egg whites

2-3 lbs ground Turkey

1 cup oats (the recipe calls for quick oats but I used the old fashioned and they tasted great.)

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese

salt/pepper/oregano/basil

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

I combined the carrots, flax, and almonds in my food processor until they were finely minced. Next time, I will crush the flax up first so it can become a powder. I added them all together and the carrots and nuts ended up very tiny but the flax needed some extra time, I was nervous the carrots would puree so I stopped.

*The flax needs to be ground up in order to be absorbed into the body, otherwise it will just go through your system compared to putting clean oil through a dirty filter in your car. Next time :)

After that I added all of the ingredients together and formed them into larger balls that fit into my muffin pans.

Spray the pans with olive oil and cook them in your hot oven for about 25-30 minutes. 

Feel free to try out adding zucchini, squash, peas, onions, and peppers. I never cook with onions because I don't care for the taste. Let me know what works for you!!

Serve with whole wheat noodles and fresh sauce, in a tortilla, or eat it plain. 

Montana Foods List:

Carrots -163

Ground Turkey-54

Crock Pot Spaghetti

The plus side of making a huge supply of delicious sauce; you will have it all week to add to your meals. This recipe requires a crock pot. I have made Crock Pot Lasagna before, this is a variation of that recipe.

1. Ground meet;browned &drained with garlic.
2. Layer of meat then sauce.

3. Layered meet,sauce, cheeses, and noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of your favorite ground meat (I used deer meat)
• *I browned my meat with a garlic clove (optional, but tasty)
• 5-6 cups of your favorite sauce. 
• 2-3 cups of Italian/Provolone/Mozzarella Cheese (Whatever your preference)
• Whole-Grain spaghetti noodles (I only used half of the box but it's up to you)
• *I added about 4 oz. of cream cheese to make the dish creamer (optional) you could add ricotta cheese instead.

After about a half hour I mixed the pasta very well and added a little more cheese.

Directions:

• Brown meat with garlic; drain
• Layer meat, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese in the crock pot
• Set to low for 4 hours until noodles are tender

*Set on high if you want to speed up the cooking process, but be careful to keep stirring the pasta as it can burn to the side of the crock pot.

Tender noodles in a creamy, veggie sauce with meat. YUM.

Montana Foods List:
Tomato Sauce-263
Ground Meat- 120
Whole Grain Spaghetti Noodles: 52 
Mozzarella Cheese- 81



*I love this recipe because there is no right or wrong way of added properly measured ingredients. Just add what YOU think would win over your eaters and be the most tasty. We all have different food preferences and that is what this blog is all about. Let us know what you liked about this dish and how you made it perfect for you. Keep check out Child Care Connections! Thank you!!