One of the best meats you can consume is grass fed organic ground beef – so this recipe includes this as well as lots of healthy ingredients and no bread crumbs! These mini meatballs are great for a high protein snack on football Sunday or any day of the week. Normally I make mini meatballs using a combination of beef and either turkey or chicken, but recently I have been gravitating toward grass fed organic ground beef which I pick up at my local Trader Joe’s. You can find this packet near the other meats and it is roughly $8 a pack. The beef is 100% grass fed, no hormones and not antibiotcs, USDA organic and high in protein.
Why did I start to use grass fed organic beef? There has been a lot of articles lately that are suggesting that this is a healthier option when looking for ground meats. Trader Joe’s Organic Ground Beef comes from organically raised cattle that are never given antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. The cattle are 100% grass fed, grazing on wide-open pastures — their diet of natural greens contributes to full-flavored, well-marbled beef that’s rich in healthful Omega-3 fatty acids. Most turkey and chicken ground meats are not organic and are not grass fed. The living conditions for this live stock is usually sickening to see and many chicken coops are over crowded and the animals loaded with antibiotics to prevent sickness and disease. While beef may be a little higher in fat content, I do prefer purchasing this lately since I know that the source is a lot healthier. I also only now buy organic meats so that is a lifestyle choice moving forward when it does come to meat products. Also be careful not to fall into the trap of “All Natural” on packages – that does not mean organic and it does not mean that the animal is living in conditions that are good at all. Also make sure the package says “100% grass fed” otherwise many companies might put it on there but the animal is fed a mix of grass and other grain products. It’s a shame that companies can put so many marketing terms on a package to confuse you – so please be aware and shop smart.
If you’d like to learn more about the difference between grass-fed beef and grain-fed beef here is a great article to check out
Moving right along, let’s get back to my little baby meatballs! To make these I used:
Mighty Mini Meatballs with Oats
- 1 Cup Raw Baby Spinach
- 1 Egg – Large
- 1 clove Garlic, raw
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 TBSP, Ketchup – Organic
- 1/4 cup Organic Rolled Oats Now Real Foods
- 1/4 cup, Diced White Onion
- 1/4 cup Chicken Broth Low Sodium
- 16 ounces Organic Grass Fed Ground Beef (1 package)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray baking tray
- Knead all ingredients and then roll into 1 ½ inch meatballs
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown
- Makes 15 meatballs
1 meatball: 79 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs, 0 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein
Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl and knead it all together with your hands.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a baking sheet.
Create small, rolled balls using the mixture and lay out on the baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Once the meatballs are finished they will turn a nice, dark brown color. Lay them out on a dish that is lined with a paper towel to absorb any juice from the meatballs. You can use cute little tooth picks in these for easy grabbing on game day or just leave out on a plate for friends to just grab and pop into their mouths. These taste delicious and if you like you can even sprinkle a little bit of Parmesan cheese on top and pair with a small bowl of marinara sauce.
Let me know if you try this recipe out and how you enjoyed it! This is a great alternative to the very carb heavy meatballs filled with bread crumbs. The oats help to bind everything together and are a much better source of carbohydrates than most GMO bread crumbs out there. If you do enjoy using bread crumbs, Trader Joe’s makes an organic bag of bread crumbs that is pretty tasty as well.
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