Tasty Tuesday: Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

Happy Tuesday everyone! My friend Shelbi is our fitness/healthy lifestyle guru out here, and she put together a health and fitness accountability group for April! Basically it's a Facebook group where we can all get together and encourage each other to stay healthy as well as share workout and recipe tips! I always feel like I stick to my diet and workout regime better if I have a group that I'm doing it with, so I was excited to join! I also thought it would be a fun place to share my sister in law's awesome Beachbody recipes! Today, Deanna is sharing her Teriyaki Meatball Bowls! 

Hi, I'm Deanna! I'm a wife to an amazing husband and mommy to our adventurous 2 year old son, Matthew. I live for family, nutrition & fitness, and of course a good book- especially the kind that help me make delicious food! I have a BS in Health Science, I became a Beachbody coach in June 2015, and am currently working on my Holistic Nutrition degree!

I'm so excited to share my Teriyaki Meatballs Bowls with you today! These meatball bowls, are definitely filling, packed with protein, and will cure your cravings for high fat Chinese food! Enjoy!

TERIYAKI MEATBALL BOWLS

Ingredients

MEATBALLS

·        1 lb. ground turkey

·        1 large egg

·        1 cup rolled oats

·        1 cup spinach, chopped very fine

·        1 clove garlic, minced

·        2 inches fresh ginger (1Tbsp ginger powder if needed)

·        ½ tsp liquid aminos (substitute low sodium soy sauce if needed)

·        2 whole green onions optional*

·        10-15 cranks freshly cracked black pepper

TERIYAKI GLAZE

·        ¼ cup light soy sauce

·        ¼ cup liquid aminos

·        ½ cup brown sugar

·        ½ cup water

·        ½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil

·        1 Tbsp rice vinegar

·        2 inches fresh ginger (1Tbsp ginger powder if needed)

·        2 Tbsp corn starch

·        1 Tbsp sesame seeds

RICE BOWLS

·        1 cup quinoa

·        2 cups water

·        1 cup veggies, steamed and chopped (I used broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower)

Instructions

1.      Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the ground turkey in a large bowl. Peel the ginger and then grate it using a small holed cheese grater into the bowl. Mince the garlic, chop the spinach, slice the green onions, and add them to the bowl. Also add the egg, oats, liquid aminos, and black pepper. Mix these ingredients really well until it is all evenly combined (I use my potato masher, but clean hands work also).

2.      Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the meatball mixture into small balls, about one tablespoon each. You should yield about 30 meatballs. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet as you roll them. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown (about 35-40 minutes) turning half way through.

3.      While the meatballs are in the oven, begin cooking the quinoa according to the package directions: Place the quinoa in a metal strainer and rinse thoroughly.  Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium pot.  Add quinoa after boiling starts, reduce to low (1-2), cover and cook for about 20 minutes without stirring. Add in chopped veggies and stir to combine. Turn off heat and keep covered until meatballs are finished cooking.

4.      While the meatballs are in the oven, also prepare the teriyaki glaze. In a medium pot combine the soy sauce, liquid aminos, water, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Peel and grate the ginger into the pot. Heat over a low flame until the brown sugar is dissolved (just a few minutes).

5.      **IMPORTANT STEP SO SAUCE THICKENS**   Dissolve the cornstarch in just enough water to make it pourable (1 Tbsp at a time). Pour it into the pot with the glaze ingredients. Turn the heat up to medium, stir and cook until thickened. It should thicken as soon as it begins to simmer.  Allow the simmering to occur for ½ a minute or so then stir.  Do this process 2-3 times and you will have a perfect consistency.  Once thickened, add the sesame seeds and stir.

6.      When the meatballs come out of the oven, transfer 5 at a time from the baking sheet into the pot with the glaze. Stir to coat, repeat for each serving. Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Build the bowls by placing ½ cup of quinoa in a bowl, add five meatballs and a couple of spoons of extra teriyaki glaze.  Sprinkle extra sesame seeds on top and green onion if used.

 

ENJOY!