Getting the whole family together for dinner during the week is hard enough. Now, try to make something that everybody likes, and then try to make it healthy. Although it may seem like a pipe dream to think that making a fast, easy, and healthy dinner can actually make your whole family happy, we’ve found a recipe that even the pickiest of eaters will enjoy.

We’ve modified an all-American favorite, the classic meatball, and substituted the beef and breadcrumbs with almond flour and lean turkey. We made them a little more fancy-pants by throwing in some chopped shiitake mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms have long been used in Chinese medicine for their health promoting properties, including immune system enhancement. Recent studies have shown that lentinan extracted from shiitake mushrooms can help shrink colon tumors. Shiitake mushrooms are also high in iron, b vitamins, and selenium.

By substituting almond flour for the panko breadcrumbs that usually bind together meatballs, we’ve made our meatballs suitable for people with gluten-free diets.

These hearty meatballs taste great on their own slathered in marinara sauce, or on top of a bowl of quinoa pasta. Make ahead of time for a super quick meal, or make extra and take the leftovers to work the next day.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Almond flour
1/2 lb of Ground turkey
1 cup of Shiitake mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup of Yellow onion, diced
2 cups of Marinara sauce
1 whole of Egg
1 tbsp of Garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for the marinara sauce.

Roll into medium balls and place in a baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked all the way through. Serve topped with marinara sauce and a sprinkle of oregano.

Makes 6 meatballs.

Nutrition:

Calories: 571
Serving size: 3 meatballs
Servings: 2 servings
Calories from fat:
Fat: 33g
Saturated fat: 5g
Cholesterol: 195mg
Sodium: 1160mg
Carbohydrate: 34g
Fiber: 11g
Protein: 34g
Vitamin A: 23%
Iron: 20%
Niacin: 30%
Vitamin B6: 31%
Selenium: 41%

Sources: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/107555302320825093?2