New Year, New Turkey Meatballs
These past two weeks have been a very interesting experiment for me. I started a clean eating cleanse, that consists of eating very very clean in order to flush your gut of all toxins. A nice way to start the new year, and a nice way to dive head first into my resolution of being healthier this year. Not in a juice cleanse, refuse to eat kind of way, but more in a, eat a lot but make sure its green or protein kind of way. It has challenged me to really think about what I am putting in my body, and to truly understand the way that food fuels your body.
In doing this, I came across my new favorite recipe that I wanted to share. I was browsing a few websites for some ideas and decided to combine a couple recipes - making this delicious, cheap and easy dish. A couple people reached out to me, asking me for the recipe, which made me very happy, so I wanted to share.
I have always loved pasta, and could eat it for every meal if I could. Recently, I have been transforming different vegetables into pasta and it has been the best discovery yet. All you need is a spiralizer (thanks to my roommate) and you can turn just about anything into pasta.
For the meal below, I actually made spaghetti squash pasta, which is so simple anyone can do it. I topped the squash with a few figs, and some turkey meatballs and finished with a basil pesto dressing. I actually did not have as much basil as i wanted, but it turned out so good, i was pleasantly surprised.
The first step is to prep and cook the spaghetti squash, as this will take the longest. Take any size spaghetti squash and slice it right down the middle. It helps if you can cut the ends off, giving you a flat surface to cut - or you can throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes to soften a little before cutting. Scoop out the seeds in the middle and place face down.
Put the Squash in a microwave safe dish, and fill with about 2 inches of water, just so the bottom of the squash are in water. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the microwave for 20 minutes.
Take the squash out, and remember it is very hot. Let sit, while you prep and complete the rest of your meal - do not touch it until your done.
While your squash is in the microwave you can make the meatballs. I used a pound of organic ground turkey, flax seed (to replace the egg during my cleanse) olive oil, salt, pepper, and butt rub. Yes, it is actually called Butt Rub, and is my dad's favorite spice. Mix all together, roll into small balls, and place in a hot pan with olive oil. You can keep the heat high, flip each meatball as they start to brown, and then cover the dish and turn on low to cook the middle of the meatball.
Now, while your meatballs are cooking (keeping an eye on them), you can move on to make the sauce. Some basil, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Last step, cut up some fig and you are good to go!
When you are all finished, take your spaghetti squash and run a fork through it, creating a pasta like texture. You can scoop the whole thing into a bowl, and you will even have leftovers! The squash will go on the bottom, topped with the figs, and then the meatballs. Take the pesto and drizzle on top, and voila! A yummy, cheap, healthy dish! Enjoy!!!
