Quinoa Veggie “Meatball” Recipe

A couple weeks ago we wrapped up the Faith, Food and Fitness class at my church with functional medicine Dr. Stacey Robinson. We ended the series with a “healthy” potluck and while I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan we talked a lot about plant based diets for improved health and I was on the search to find a recipe that the vegetarians in the group could eat while also providing some protein. This recipe looked delicious and I’m always awed by the things that can be made in a different way yet somehow still have a similar flavor and satisfaction to it!

I actually ended up making a gluten free, low glycemic brownie dish that I’ll share with you all soon but I got the ingredients for this as well and couldn’t let it go to waste! Fair warning, this recipe does require a lot of chopping and prep so it’s not what I would call a quick one. However, if you have left overs it keeps well and you can freeze it and eat it later – so maybe it’s worth it!

Ingredients

½ cup dry quinoa, pre-rinsed
1 cup water
1 cup cooked green lentils, well drained
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup gluten free bread crumbs or whole wheat bread crumbs (add more bread crumbs if the meatballs need to be firmer and aren't holding together well)
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat parsley leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg white (for vegan add 2-3 teaspoons water)
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

• First, be sure your lentils are either already cooked or start them before everything else as they require more cook time than the quinoa. This was a mistake I made.
• Add pre-rinsed quinoa and water to a medium pot, cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking 15 minutes or until water is completely absorbed. In the meantime, in a large non-stick skillet add 1 tablespoon olive oil, heat to medium-low and sauté diced onions and bell pepper until tender about 4 minutes, add garlic, parsley and oregano and sauté one additional minute.
• In a large mixing bowl combine sautéed onion, garlic, parsley and oregano along with remaining ingredients, except oil. Use either a potato masher or fork and mash the ingredients until the lentils are well mashed. Using your hands, shape into 1 ½ “ (meatless) meatballs.
• When the quinoa is done, remove it from heat and allow to rest 10 minutes. Press down on quinoa with a paper towel to remove any remaining water.
• Brush the meatballs with olive oil and broiled them for about 15 minutes (flip meatballs after 7 minutes). The result should be evenly browned veggie “meatballs”.

Nutrition:
Servings: 8 | Serving size: 2 meatballs Calories: 291 | Total Fat: 10 g | Saturated Fats: 2 g | Trans Fats: 0 g | Cholesterol: 3 mg | Sodium: 309 mg | Carbohydrates: 39 g | Dietary fiber: 6 g | Sugars: 2 g | Protein: 13 g | SmartPoints (Freestyle): 5

Make it Vegan “Meatballs”:

If you want to turn this recipe into a vegan one you can. Leave the parmesan out and instead of eggs mix together one tablespoon of ground flax and 2 tablespoons of water. Let this concoction sit for a while and then mix it in. The main purpose of the egg is to bind together the other ingredients but this mixture can work as a substitute.