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who knew you could hide so much goodness inside tasty meatballs?

Sneak-it-in Healthy Meatballs

I know you can see it as well as I can;  I have been on a roll with hiding vegetables in my recipes so my daughter can eat better. I just know that sometimes we are at our wit’s end with trying to get our kids to eat the good stuff and they simply stress us out even more by picking out the tiniest bit of veggie or the smallest pieces of herbs and spices. I think eating in a stressful environment is probably even worse than not eating the healthy food at all in some cases! I know I get indigestion if dinner is rushed or we have a heated argument over food and so, quite a bit ago, I decided to make sure dinner was always an enjoyable, peaceful experience for us all. Thus, I had to get sneaky!

My kids love meatballs. They have loved them ever since my mother gave them their first Keftedes or Greek Meatballs which she makes on a regular basis. I wanted to try and make a recipe that tasted similar but had more nutritional “umph” to it. It is also very hot here and cooking on the stove is simply torture and so, with my new oven, which is well insulated, I thought I would make a baked version instead.

Sneak-it-in Healthy Meatballs

Makes about 30 medium meatballs

1 Pound grass fed ground beef, meatloaf meat combo or ground meat of choice

1/2 Cup rolled oats

1/2 Cup Aromatic Veggie Puree (or 1/2 cup crushed canned tomatoes or your own home made tomato sauce)

1/4 Cup buttermilk, sour raw milk or whole milk

1 Cup home made bread crumbs (perferably whole wheat) or Italian-style bread crumbs

1 Whole egg slightly beaten

1 Tsp oregano flakes

1 Tsp basil flakes if not using Italian breadcrumbs

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine oats, 3/4 cup breadcrumbs, milk and puree well. If you want to make this a soaked recipe, use all the bread crumbs. Cover and place in fridge overnight or allow to moisten for 15 minutes in the fridge before proceeding.

Beat egg into mixture and then add in the ground meat, herbs, if using and salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands until all the ingredients are combined. Mixture should be wet, but not gooey. Add in a bit of breadcrumbs to reach a moist but handle-able consistency.

Roll meatballs into desired size. I made mine medium; about the size of a ping pong ball, and arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake about 25 minutes until cooked through. Turn the whole cookie sheet about half way through cooking so they bake evenly, but do not flip the meatballs as they are rather delicate before cooking but firm up nicely. The meatballs are ready when they are firm and browned lightly.

To freeze, arrange in single layers in quart sized ziploc bags. Defrost before using in sauces. These store well and can be made a month ahead of time if freezing or a week ahead stored in a covered container in the fridge. If you have a cooler day or want to make a bunch for use in other recipes, simply double or triple the recipe!

My kids adore these meatballs with or without sauce. They love to dip then in ketchup or have them with pasta. They have no clue they contain anything other than meat and that makes me happy as well as them!

This recipe is a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop Volume 51. Please stop back next Tuesday for the 1 year anniversary of the Hearth and Soul Hop and a celebration giveaway!

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