Our segment on @TheDoctorsTV airs this Wednesday on FOXLA at 3pm – Check local listings – https://www.thedoctorstv.com/when-its-on
A few months ago the producers from the day time talk show “The Doctors” reached out and asked if Kaia and I would be interested in doing a segment with them. We obliged ; )
The segment focuses on healthy food alternatives. The goal is to spotlight the still growing issue of diabetes amongst children in the United States where 1 in 5 kids is pre-diabetic.
They asked us to come up with some recipes that would be a healthy alternatives that are easy to make, and can be fun to cook for parents and kids together.
– Dinner 1 – Turkey Meatballs, homemade marinara on noodles.
Ingredients –
- 2 lbs 93/7 Ground Turkey
- 1 cup Spinach chopped
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Garlic
- 1 cup Bread Crumbs
- 1 tbsp Pepper freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 cup Pecorino Cheese grated
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Italian Parsley chopped fine
- Basic Tomato Sauce or we can make our own. – Roma Tomatoes, Fresh Oregano, Yellow Onion, Garlic, Black Pepper, Green Onions, Salt, Vegetable Stock
- 8oz. Spaghetti Noodles
Preparation – Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. – Meatballs – In a large mixing bowl combine the ground turkey, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, 1 cup of chopped Spinach, 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tbsp of minced garlic, 1 tbsp of Salt, 1 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper, 2 tbsps of softened butter. Mix the ingredients together well. Roll and Ball the mixture into a about 16 2 oz. meatballs. In a cast iron pan or saute’ pan, heat a tbsp of Olive Oil and place the meatballs in the pan browning them. Use the remaining oil for the 2nd round of meatballs. After browning the meatballs. Place the pan with all the meatballs into the oven and cook for 10 minutes – Noodles – In a larger pot, boil salted water, add noodles and cook al dente – Sauce – in a separate pan, heat the sauce and add the meatballs to finish cooking. Add the al dente noodles and continue cooking on low heat for about 3 more minutes. Use a fork or tongs to twirl noodles on. Plate meatballs and pasta. Shave the Pecorino cheese on top of the plated pasta and add some chopped parsley.
After submitting this particular recipe, we received an almost immediate response from producers asking if there was a way to get rid of certain ingredients? Like the butter, cheese and breadcrumbs which we knew were not so healthy additions to our meatballs… We knew there was a way! After a few different try’s we sent this…
“Hi everyone, we’ve tried some new variations of the our Turkey Meatballs and landed on this iteration… in lieu of the breadcrumbs and butter we used roasted cauliflower and a couple eggs. Instead of the softened butter we used eggs plural. But, we think we could have gotten away with only one egg, and if you are making this recipe try it with one egg only! Oh, and no cheese at all, and use zucchini noodles instead of the spaghetti noodles”.
In retrospect, my email response could have been a little better put together and not so scattered, but you have to understand we were meat-balled out by then. After they got our notes, they asked if I could send the new recipe… I forgot to send the recipe, HA!
Anyhow, after laughing off my previous blunder(s), they got the recipe.
The new recipe is…
- 2 lbs 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey
- 1 cup Chopped Organic Spinach
- 1 cup Riced and Roasted Cauliflower – preheat oven to 400 degrees, chop or use a food processor to dice the cauliflower (stock removed) fold in a tbsp of olive oil and a tsp of salt, cover a sheet tray or pan with foil and lay the cauliflower flat, roast for about 25 mins, remove from oven and let cool.
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tbsp of Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This is only to coat the pan.
It’s the same preparation as the last, but instead of the breadcrumbs and butter you will add the riced and roasted cauliflower. After mixing the ingredients well they go into the oven at 375 for 15 mins. The lower temp and longer time allow for the cauliflower and egg to firm.
Ultimately we were still asked on the show. With the initial challenge of making our meatballs healthier by eliminating and replacing certain ingredients, we learned a great deal and were able to flex our creative muscles to make them work. The roasted cauliflower and egg was a genius idea that proved to successfully bind the ingredients as well if not better than the breadcrumbs and butter.
Hopefully the ingredients, prep and cooking descriptions are workable for you. If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We love hearing from you!
We had a lovely time working with the team @TheDoctors. Hopefully we can bring some more of our creations to them and you!
We are looking forward to a continued great 2020! We will be launching a line of breakfast bars, jams, jellies and preserves in the next month. They will be available online! Stay Tuned!
Daddy Daughter Cooking 