This Saturday, the girls and I went shopping…that was fun! Somehow the cart is just wide enough to fit between the racks of clothing. The girls have an amazing reach and cat-like reflexes to grab and pull down anything within their grasp! Once we arrived at the checkout, my cart was full of unwanted items.
We had a great day shopping, local vendors at the Holly Springs Farmer’s Market and managed to find a special treat for our upcoming beach trip.
New granola from a local company with gluten-free, non-GMO, organic ingredients with no added sugar. And..it was really good! I never spend money on those kinds of products because it’s so easy to make at home. But, I cut myself a break on this one. One less thing to do for me!!
We made some new booch (kombucha) and started our memorial day preparations!
This week is busy. So, I needed a recipe that would carry me through three nights for dinner. So, I looked to my organ meat meatballs, with sauce and mushrooms. This is a recipe that I can batch cook and reheat easily for three consecutive nights. Usually, I make my own sauce with tons of roast vegetables and puree all in the Vitamix. But, this time I knew I could not get to the farmer’s market this weekend, so I planned ahead on Friday and picked up this really clean sauce from Costco.
The only ingredients are tomatoes, herbs, and olive oil. Awesome!! I knew I had the garden to boost the sauce…I used two bell peppers, beet greens, spinach, chard, basil, parsley, sage, oregano, and fresh garlic. Simply add to the Vitamix and puree in batches with the sauce. That is a simple way to refresh the sauce and boost the nutrition.
Next for the meatballs…I needed enough meatballs for three nights, which means 4 pounds of meat. I know!! That’s a lot! But, you should see the girls eat. I used two 1.5-pound packages of organ meat mix and 1 package of pastured ground pork. The organ meat mix does not hold together as well as pure ground beef, so I added a new binder.
I used 1/4 cup each of hemp seeds, flax seeds, and Italian seasoning. I added this to 1 cup of fresh herbs, including basil, rosemary, oregano, sage, and parsley. I pureed it all in the Vitamix until it became the consistency of breadcrumbs.
I mixed it all together and formed 72 one-inch meatballs. I baked it all on 350 for 20 minutes and then added the meatballs to the sauce. I also added 2 pounds of sliced mushrooms.
I served the meatballs and sauce over spaghetti squash. What a hit!
All four kids loved it! To add a little pop of green and stretch the dinner further, I added some chopped broccoli to the dish.
How are you stretching your meals? What kind of tricks are you using to boost a base for a recipe? I hope this post sparks your creativity in our pursuit of nutrient density… every day!!
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