Easy Protein Prep - Meatballs

These meatballs have been my go to protein to make for the week lately. They are extremely versatile but also very tasty. I've included all the meals I use the meatballs in below.

Ingredients:

- 2lbs of extra lean ground meat (I like beef but turkey would work too)

- 1 cup panko bread crumbs (I would recommend trying to find panko, it makes the texture much better than regular breadcrumbs

- Half an onion chopped

- 2 eggs

- 2 tsp garlic powder

- 2 tsp sea salt

- 4-6 basil leaves chopped (can use dried basil but fresh is fairly cheap and makes it so much more flavourful)

- 1 tsp oregano

- 1/2 tsp thyme

Directions:

1. Dice your onion and basil and combine in a bowl with all other ingredients and mix well (honestly, your hands will work best).

2. Divide the mixture into 30 meatballs and place on a baking tray.*

3. For extra flavour, try brushing your meatballs with a little bit of BBQ sauce before you bake. If you're looking for a lower calorie option, I use a mixture of sugar free ketchup and sriracha instead. It will not take much, approx. 1/4 cup.

4. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

5. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

*The easiest way to get accurate meatballs is to use a kitchen scale. I place an empty bowl on my kitchen scale and zero it out, then add the mixture to the bowl. Take the weight of the mixture and divide by 30. Zero out your scale again and remove mixture until you get the weight of one meatball. Continue this process until you have 30 meatballs on your tray.

Meal Ideas:

- Add to pasta (or spiralized veggies/spaghetti squash) with marinara sauce (this is my favourite marinara sauce I use, so much better ingredients that typical pasta sauce and it's delicious)

- Make a nourish bowl with rice and roasted veggies

- Take to work as a high protein afternoon snack, I love it with some cup up veggies and hummus/guac

- Dice up the meatballs into bite sized pieces and add to a salad as a protein

- Dice up and use a filling for a taco/burrito, I love doing this with eggs, salsa, cheese and peppers for a breakfast taco

- Use as 'mini meatloaf' with mashed potatoes and veggies

Happy cooking!