Grain Free Lamb Meatballs (with Greek Yogurt Tzatziki Sauce)

I kind of have a Greek food obsession. If I was going to move overseas I would want to head to Greece and just eat olives and feta and stuffed grape leaves all day long. I also look forward to all the summer food festivals that include gyro stands and the especially the festivals put on by the local Greek churches. I could go crazy. So this little gem of a recipe also helps fill that I need some Greek food now and can't possibly wait until summer craving. It is seriously handy in January.

So this is what I did:

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

1 1/2 lbs ground meat (I used a mix of grass fed beef and lamb feel free to use all lamb)
Juice of half a lemon
1 1/2 TBS coconut oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 1/2 tsp fresh)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1 1/2 tsp fresh)
1 tsp salt (I used Himalayan Salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper

For the tzatziki sauce:

3/4 cup greek yogurt*
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
Juice of 1/4 of a lemon (about 1 TBS)
1/2 tsp dried dill (or 1 1/2 tsp fresh)
1/3 tsp dried mint (or 1 tsp fresh)
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt


Grab a large bowl and mix together all of the meatball ingredients. (I use my hands. It works the best even if it does have an ewww factor.) You can let this marinade at room temp for 20-30 minutes or skip it if you don't have time. The flavor is better if you let it marinade but it's not a make it or break it factor for me.

Roll the meat into small meatballs (about 2"). Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

While baking, make the sauce by placing all ingredients in a bowl and whisking together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

I always serve this over Zoodle Salad.


*when I am avoiding dairy I sub with coconut milk yogurt



21 Day Fix Container Breakdown:

1 red (1/2 for sauce and 1/2 3 meatballs*)
2 green** (if adding zoodle pasta)

*varies based on what size you make your meatballs
** you can also measure out one green container here instead of two. I went for two because green is what I always tend to have left.

For more info on zoodles and why I am obsessed check this out.

The BEST Zoodle Salad (that you can top with just about anything!)

This is another one of my go to make a whole big batch to eat all week recipes. Why? Because it is super easy, has very few ingredients and tastes awesome alone or with pretty much anything on top of it. Shrimp, chicken, quinoa, lamb meatballs and tzatziki sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil and balsamic drizzle. You name it and it will probably work. Sometimes I switch up the herbs based on what I have (hello fresh cilantro or basil) and it still works.

AND I get to bust out my favorite kitchen tool to make it.

I have not been shy about the fact that I am in LOVE with my spiralizer and use it for everything from zucchini and summer squash to sweet potatoes and parsnips but I will tell you that this recipe may be my absolute FAVORITE from now on.

I have been following Danielle Walker on social media and  reading her cookbooks, Against All Grain and  Meals Made Simple (both of which are awesome by the way) and have been really just trying to cut back on the amount of grain that is in our diets. It's one of those things (like dairy) that until you really start to think about it you don't notice how much of it is everywhere. And too much of anything is not a good thing, so if I can make a yummy sub for noodles in a recipe with a veggie that offers way more nutrition, it's a win for everyone. Even my four year old gobbles them up and loves to help me turn the crank. She thinks watching the zucchini go from a whole zucchini to noodles is the coolest. And she likes feeding my puppies the "core" that gets left behind.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

2 large zucchini
2 medium/large yellow summer squash
1 TBS cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1 1/2 tsp fresh)*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 red onion sliced **

Using a spiralizer or julienne peeler, make noodles from the zucchini and summer squash. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and salt. Allow to marinade for 15-20 minutes.

If I have tomatoes on hand I toss those in sometimes too.

And that's it. Super easy.

*I have also subbed in fresh cilantro, fresh basil or any other herb I have on hand depending on what I am serving the salad with and the direction I want to go. The oregano works well with lamb meatballs and tzatziki sauce, the cilantro works well with shrimp and chicken. And I like to add basil, tomato and fresh mozzarella for a different spin on a caprese salad.

** I have used almost any kind of onion in this salad (sweet, red, green, basically whatever I have on hand) and it is always amazing.


21 Day Fix:

2 green
1 spoon

(plus measure containers for any extras like quinoa, shrimp, chicken, cheese, etc)

Dabbling in Paleo -- Grain Free Wedding Soup (21 Day Fix approved!)

There is something about winter...it being cold outside or maybe being stressed and crazy over all the Christmas to-do....but it makes me want to eat soup. It must be a deep rooted comfort thing because I want to make it all the time. Soup and a big old loaf of crusty bread for dinner sounds like perfection.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately and feel like I need to cut back on the eating of grains thing. This past summer I was having a lot of issues dropping weight no matter what meal plan and workout I was doing. I wondered if food allergies were to blame. I set out to do an elimination diet and shortly after that found out I was preggers. So following my doctor's advice, I am putting that off until the baby is here and my hormones settle down. Until then I am dabbling in different ways of eating. Following the 21 Day Fix meal plan (with the added calories I need for a healthy pregnancy) and just generally cutting back on grains as a whole. I am trying to stick to 2-3 servings a day. Many of my pregnancy cravings have revolved around white bread and bagels and that has thrown me down a slippery slope to wanting to eat more of those than fresh veggies.

Not to mention the fact that when I am not pregnant....I tend to crave (and really want) to eat more of a plant based diet. Meat just doesn't appeal to me. There is something going on with my hormones that is totally making me want to eat things like steak....at every meal. Since this is a healthy craving (as opposed to chocolate and donuts) I decided to go with it and am incorporating more animal based protein into my diet, at least for now. Post baby I am probably going to go back to my plant based tendencies but we will figure that out when we are there. Right now I am taking things one day at a time.

Last night I was able to finally use the homemade chicken stock I made back in September. It has been sitting in my freezer for months waiting for the perfect recipe to make use of it's golden goodness and this one was a winner. In fact it made such a difference in this recipe that I never want to go back to buying store bought stock again. Not only is the color totally different but the flavor of homemade stock is amazing. I used to think I hated soup but in reality I never really had good soup until I started eating homemade soup. No more cans of soup for this girl. Ever. And making my own stock was one of the easiest things I have ever done. I am not going to be that weird relative that asks to take home the turkey or chicken carcass from family dinners and stores them in my freezer until I have time to make stock. I never want to let the amazingness of them go to waste again. Who knew the secret to the best soup ever was in a typically discarded carcass of chicken bones?

Anyway....my aunt made a recipe similar to this when we were visiting in Texas and I also picked up a new (totally awesome) cookbook by Danielle Walker, Against All Grain: Meals Made Simple and am slightly obsessed with it. So this recipe is kind of a fusion between her soup and my aunt's. (Although my aunt added tortellini to hers and it was kind of awesome.) And if you have a recipe for grandma's or great grandma's mini meatballs for wedding soup....feel free to sub it and use that instead. Unlike most of my friends, I do not have Italian roots so I don't have attachments to things like sauce and meatballs. If you are trying to do the Paleo or gluten free thing there are so many substitutes for breadcrumbs you can try until you get it just right. Gluten free oats, almond meal, quinoa, minced veggies....as long as you get it to bind.

I opted out of adding any type of noodle and honestly this soup was so full of flavor and other goodies I didn't miss it. At all. (Which for my bread addicted self, that is kind of a big deal.) You can also use parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast. I don't do well on dairy so I try to only have it when it makes a HUGE difference in a recipe (or because I just really want to eat a hunk of cheese.)

So here is what I did:

Ingredients:

(for the meatballs)
1/2 medium sweet onion
1 large egg - scrambled
2 cloves of garlic - minced or grated
2 teaspoons of coconut flour
2 1/2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb of grass fed ground beef
1/2 lb of ground lamb

1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 cups peeled and diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
10 cups of chicken stock
3 cups of baby spinach


To make the meatballs:

1. Grate or mince the onion
2. Combine onion, egg, garlic, coconut flour, nutritional yeast, salt pepper, and ground meat.
3. Mix well and roll into bite size meatballs
4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use

To make the Soup:

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large pot until melted. Saute carrots and celery until slightly cooked (maybe about 5 minutes)

2. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil

3. Turn the heat down to medium and add the meatballs. Cook until the meatballs are cooked through (about 10 minutes) and start to float to the top.

4. Turn the heat down to low. When ready to serve add the spinach and let cook about five minutes or until wilted.

5. Season to taste

I didn't add any additional salt to my soup but if you feel that it needs salt and pepper feel free to add. You can also play with the type of meat used in the meatballs too. Subbing in turkey or ground pork for the lamb. And I feel like this recipe could be made easily in the slow cooker. Adding the spinach just before serving. There is something that is awesome about coming home to a house that smells like dinner after a long day (and having very little to do before you can eat!)

21 Day Fix containers used: (per 2 cup serving)

1 red
1 green
1/2 teaspoon*

*There is very little oil used in this recipe once portioned out. Technically less than half a teaspoon....so if you are over on your teaspoons for the day, I wouldn't sweat it.

Here is what Autumn has to say about soup and the containers. I was pretty close. Since this soup has no grain in it but is loaded with spinach and other veggies I swapped out the yellow container for the green.

Happy Eating!