My Mom is from Denmark and made a version of these meatballs that I loved as a kid. I have made some pretty drastic changes to make them Zone friendly...but my kids now love the healthier version too!Turkey Meatballs: Mix 1 lb ground turkey, 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 TB Worcestershire sauce, 1 egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 cloves garlic, 3 TB whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper.
Cook meatballs over med- high heat in pan with 1 TB olive oil. Cook until dark brown on each side. Place meatballs on sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
I make these on the smaller side so each meatball is about 1/2 oz.
Meatball Dinner- 3 blocks
4-5 meatball (weigh for exact blocks)- (3 blocks protein/ 1 block fat)
2 cups broccoli/ cauliflower steamed (1 block carb)
2 cups spinach salad with 1/2 apple sliced, sprinkling of feta and pecans (2 blocks carb/ 1 block fat)
2 tsp Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette (1 block fat)
Post thoughts to comments.
I have never made meatballs before, but always wanted to. I think these will be my first attempt. Thanks, Michele.
ReplyDeleteThis looks very good. Does it have any healing properties? I had a brutal workout today that left me with I have learned are "CrossFit Tattoo's". Will the Turkey Meatballs help?
ReplyDeleteMichele,
ReplyDeleteAfter much research and trepidation, I am starting the Zone. I am going in at 6:30 to get my body mass/fat taken. Any advice on getting started on the right track?
PS- Thanks for taking the time and care to build this site.
Hi. Can you explain energy bars...like the Zone bar...I see it says it has 24g carbs and 17g protein (from the zonediet website). I thought 9g was 1 carb and 7g was one protein...so how is this only 2 blocks? Is it just close enough? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteScott - The only thing that is going to help you is a little Butt Paste :)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm.... my compliments to your Mom, Michele, and my hats off to you for tweaking this so it's Zone friendly. I am once again a member of the clean plate club, and enjoyed a Zone meal. Thanks again and keep those recipes coming!
ReplyDeleteAnnie- I hope you enjoy your first meatball experience!
ReplyDeleteScott- Follow Katie's advice...she knows what she is talking about.
Nancy- thanks for the props...my Mom would be proud!
lw-
ReplyDeletemy best advice when starting out is to keep it simple for the first two to three weeks. Keep the recipes things that you know how to measure and know the blocks are balanced. I also think it is much easier to stay on the Zone if you do not eat out in the beginning. It is very difficult to maintain portion control and there are too many temptations! Good luck and let me know if there is anything I can do to help! The best motivation is how much better you will feel so stick with it!
Anonymous-
ReplyDeleteThe zone is not an exact science by any means! Barry Sears states that pretty clearly in most of his books. Saying that, you have a little flexability as far as grams go. For example using the Zone bar: 24 grams of carbs= is roughly 2 blocks of carbs and 17 grams of protein are roughly 2 blocks of protein. Most foods will not have exact blocks so youw will need to use your better judgement as to whether or not to round up or down with you blocks. Hope this helps!
Hi fellow zonee's!I tend to throw a lot of dinners together on the fly combining quick veggies and protein. Tonite I wanted to eat a healthy-quick good for you green and salmon. Here is my quick 20 min 3 block dinner:
ReplyDelete4.5 oz wild salmon 3 blks protein (I George Foreman grilled it)EASY!
1/2 cup mashed sweet potato's (aprox 2 carb blocks) pre cut wedges (microwaved in a covered glass dish for 10 min then mashed w a fork a dash of sea salt and lemon pepper)
Chopped Chard mix ( 1/2 pkg aprox 1 carb block) prepared w garlic and olive oil till wilted, then added in 1 jar of marinated garlic mushrooms with juice. Cover and steam till chard is tender( aprox 10 min.)add sea salt and pepper. Sounds sort of strange but turned out pretty tasty.
Greens served on the side and salmon served a top the sweet potatoes. Yummm. Btw all the ingredients were purchased at Trader Joe's.
Adios,
Rowena
Thanks, Michele. That's good advice. I'll keep you posted on progress.
ReplyDeleteLen (LW)
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteI am attempting to become one with the Zone. After reading stuff on your site, crossfit site, and the nutrition site (which is a bit over my head right now, but I'm learning), I've seen that for some people it was suggested to double or trebble the fat blocks and cut the carb blocks.
How does one know what to adjust, etc.
I'm supposed to have 18 blocks per day. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Also, thank you so much for creating this site and sharing the recipes.