Heart Healthy Meatballs

This morning I had an interview for a scholarship opportunity that I’m pretty excited about. As I was sitting there, nervously trying to keep it cool while I tried to see if I was sweating through my make up, one of the scholarship committee members was perusing my resume and saw my information about my blogs and healthy recipes. We excitedly started to talk about recipes, eating healthy, and making healthy substitutions. I casually mentioned this meatball recipe I recently made. "Sure," I said, "it was super easy! Just lean ground turkey, oats, egg whites, and some spices. Super fast – which is just what I need – and healthy and delicious to boot!"

She quickly asked if the recipe was on my blog, and I assured her it would be going up shortly. With that, I present these heart healthy turkey meatballs. I have to be honest – the inspiration was from my mom. When we were home for the holidays, one night she pulled out some meatballs from the freezer that were delicious and made with turkey and oats. I loved the idea of using oats and egg whites – eliminating the cholesterol of the egg yolk and adding more heart healthy properties/ cholesterol reducing properties of the oats. Perfect for someone who’s trying make small changes and be a little more health-minded in the new year.

Heart Healthy Turkey Meatballs

• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 egg white (or 3 tablespoons egg whites from a carton)
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 jar (16 oz) desired tomato sauce (I love the Whole Foods Organic Fat Free sauce!)

Simply combine the ground turkey, egg white, oats, and spices. Once everything is thoroughly incorporated, shape meat into balls. (I made around fourteen meatballs.) You can cook one of two ways:

1. Layer a little tomato sauce on the bottom of a crock pot. Place meatballs on top. Cover with remaining pasta sauce. Cook on high for four to five hours or low for around eight hours (or however long you’re out of the house).
2. Layer a little tomato sauce on the bottom of a sauce pan. Place meatballs on top. Cover with remaining pasta sauce. Simmer on medium for around 45 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with some whole wheat pasta and dig in!

A couple notes:

Feel free to add any other seasonings. I just went with something simple, but you could jazz it up with some chopped peppers and onions, or maybe add some fresh herbs and a little low fat parmesan cheese…whatever floats your boat!

These meatballs also freeze very well. We ate some over the weekend when I originally made them in a crock pot, then froze the rest (sauce and all). Today, I thawed the meatballs in the fridge and when we got home, we reheated the meatballs (with a little extra pasta sauce) on the stove for around 15 minutes and it was just as delicious!

Have a wonderful evening! I’m off to workout and study, study, study! Ciao!