Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf or Meatballs

To make this meatloaf/meatballs dish, I reviewed a few turkey meatloaf recipes online. Common ingredients are ground turkey, tomato paste or sauce, egg, soy sauce, veggies, herbs and breadcrumbs or quinoa.

I really wanted to make sloppy joes as well but I thought the combination of turkey and quinoa (from a Whole Foods Market recipe) - instead of breadcrumbs - was a great healthy dish. However, I wanted a thick, flavourful sauce for the meatloaf so I used this Whole Foods Market sloppy joes recipe for the sauce.

An egg can be used in the recipe below but I decided to use a chia-egg (1tbsp chia seeds and 45ml water). I also added in several herbs to give the turkey and quinoa lots of flavour. The cooked meatballs reminded me of pork and herb sausages.

In the past, I've made meatloaf without the meat, using lentils and walnuts as well as lentils and cottage cheese!

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf or Meatballs
Makes 6 slices or 18 meatballs (3 meatballs each)

Ingredients:
Meatloaf/Meatballs
- 225g / 8oz quinoa
- 1/2tsp thyme, dried
- 1/2tsp marjoram, dried
- 1/2tsp oregano, dried
- 1/2tsp basil, dried
- 1/4tsp ground black pepper
- 160g / 6oz onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 85g / 3oz carrot
- 56g / 2oz / 2 stalk celery
- 560g / 20oz lean ground turkey mince, (I use 93% lean)
- 14g / 1tbsp chia seeds soaked in 60ml / 1/4 cup water for 15 minutes
- 45ml / 3tbsp soy sauce, low sodium

Tomato Sauce
- 225g / 8oz tomato sauce, no salt added
- 165g / 6oz tomato paste
- 20g / 1tbsp agave nectar OR honey
- 20ml / 4tsp balsamic vinegar
- 10g / 2tsp yellow mustard
- 120ml / 4floz water

Method:

• Cook the quinoa and allow to cool.
• Transfer to a large bowl and add the dried herbs and ground black pepper.
• In a food processor, finely chop the onion and garlic. Transfer to a pan.
• Add the carrot and celery to the food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add to the pan.
• Cook the vegetables for 5-7 minutes, adding a splash of water to the pan to keep them from sticking to the base. 
• Transfer the cooked veg to the bowl of quinoa. 
• In a separate bowl, combine the turkey mince, chia-egg and soy sauce.
• Add the turkey mixture to the bowl of quinoa veg and mix everything together (with hands if desired).
• Scrape the mixture onto a baking sheet and form into a loaf, approx. 4x10 inches / 10x25cm.
• Bake in the oven at 220C / 425F for 40 minutes.
• If making meatballs, roll into 18 balls and bake in the over for 20-25 minutes turning once halfway through.
• Whilst the meatloaf/meatballs are cooking, make the tomato sauce.
• Combine all the sauce ingredients in a pan and stir gently for 5-10 minutes.
• Pour the sauce over the meatloaf/meatballs and serve with green veg. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Spaghetti Bolognese

This Spaghetti Bolognese recipe is really easy and full of flavour, but does take a good hour to fully prepare and cook. It's a filling meal that uses lean ground meat (protein) and whole grain pasta (carbs and fibre). Plenty of vegetables provide great nutrition and by gently simmering the Bolognese sauce in some broth and red wine, the mince is really tender and delicious.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Makes 5
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
- 160g / 6oz onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, chopped

- 140g / 5oz carrot, chopped
- 85g / 3oz / 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 160g / 6 oz pepper, chopped
- 412g / 14.5oz diced tomatoes, no salt added

- 560g / 20oz lean ground beef OR turkey (I use 93% lean)

- 480ml / 16floz chicken OR beef broth, reduced sodium

- 150ml / 5floz red wine

- 1tsp thyme, dried

- 1tsp basil, dried

- 280g / 10oz spaghetti (I use whole grain)

- ground black pepper

Method:

In a large pan sprayed with cooking spray, cook the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and pepper for 5 minutes, adding a splash of water when the vegetables begin to stick to base of pan.

Stir in the tomatoes, mince, broth, wine and herbs. Simmer gently for 1 hour, until the meat is tender.

Meanwhile, cook and drain the spaghetti.
Spoon the mince on top and season with black pepper. ENJOY!

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Nutritional Information:

Quesadilla Casserole

In addition to the taco recipes featured in this blog (chicken, veggie egg, tofu), I used tortillas in this dish and baked them in a casserole. Regular quesadilla casseroles are loaded with cheese and usually use ground beef mince, which increases the fat content significantly. My version uses lean ground turkey and no cheese. I guess a sprinkling of grated cheese could be nice on top of the casserole but I prefer to eat it with a serving of low-fat cottage cheese or mayonnaise. Tofu mayo would also be a great accompaniment.

I added peas and green pepper to the casserole but other vegetables like sweet corn, jalapenos or red peppers would go well with the black beans and tomato turkey mixture.

Quesadilla Casserole 

Makes 6

Ingredients:

- 110g / 4oz onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed

- 560g / 20oz ground turkey (93% lean)

- 2tsp chili powder

- 1tsp cumin

- 1/2tsp oregano

- 450g / 16oz tomato sauce (no added salt)

- 425g / 15oz / 1 can black beans (no added salt)

- 200g / 7oz peas

- 170g / 6oz pepper, chopped
- 1/2tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

- 6 flour tortillas, whole wheat (6", 38g each)

Method:
In a pan, cook the onion, garlic and turkey for 5 mins.

Stir in the spices. Add the tomato sauce, beans and vegetables. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add red pepper flakes, if using.

In a large baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, spoon a thin layer of meat mixture on to the base. 

Place three flour tortillas on top.

Layer with more meat mixture and another three tortillas. 

Bake in the oven at 350F / 175C for 15 minutes. Serve with a serving of cottage cheese or mayonnaise. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Turkey Chili

An alternative to minced/ground beef is turkey. My turkey chili recipe is really simple to make and tastes great – even if I do say so myself!

The basic ingredients are lean ground turkey (obviously), chopped onion, a can of kidney beans and a can of diced tomatoes. The spices are basic ones I always keep in my pantry. I usually like to add some green vegetables – e.g. kale, spinach, peas, courgette*, broccoli, celery.

Each batch varies depending on what I have in my fridge. The great thing about green vegetables are that they are all extremely nutritious, have similar amounts of calories per serving, very low in fat and have no cholesterol – check out the nutritional information below if you don’t believe me!

Turkey Chili

Makes 5 servings

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:

- 560g / 20oz ground turkey (I use 93% lean)

- 120g / 4.3oz onion 

- 1 clove crushed garlic

- 440g / 15.5oz / 1 can red kidney beans

- 411g / 14.5oz / 1 can diced tomatoes (no added salt)

- 480ml / 16floz water

- 2tbsp chili powder

- ½tsp paprika

- ½tsp cumin

- ½tsp ground black pepper

- ½tsp oregano

- 200g / 7.1oz courgette

- 2 celery sticks

- 85g / 3oz frozen peas

Method:

Cook the turkey mince in a pan for 5 minutes, until brown

Chop the garlic and onion and add to the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes, until onion is soft

Mix in the can of kidney beans and diced tomatoes, plus water

Add the spices and herbs

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes

Add courgette, celery, peas (or other green veg) and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve with quinoa (45g dry), rice (45g dry) or blended cauliflower (150g).

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Quinoa or brown rice goes great with the chili. Recently, I’ve discovered the wonders of cauliflower blended up in a food processor. If you don’t want the calories or carbs from rice or quinoa, blended cauliflower is an ideal substitute. Simply blend up 100-150g of cauliflower in a food processor and then microwave for 2 minutes.

Nutritional Information:

*courgette, also called zucchini. I prefer to use the British-English term instead of the American alternative. If you hear me talking about aubergine, the American-English version is eggplant.