Clean Turkey Mini Meatloaves

There are a lot of people out there trying to figure out how to sneak veggies into their children's diets. I am blessed to have children that will devour things like shrimp stir-fry, taco salad, and steamed broccoli. I don't worry too much about their veggie intake these days.

My husband on the other hand....

He is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. More than once I have watched him devour a 2 pound steak, and IF he chooses to have a veggie with it, he typically chooses fried sweet potatoes. I am a big fan of all of the health benefits of sweet potatoes, but the guy need some greens!!!

I designed this recipe with the hope that I would be able to convince him that he was eating meat, while sneaking in a FULL serving of green vegetables. These mini meatloaves are moist and flavorful and pack a powerful nutrient punch! I served them with steamed, mashed sweet potatoes seasoned with a bit of rosemary so that he could still get his carb kick.

What you need:

- 1 Pound Lean Ground Turkey
- 2 Eggs
- 2 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce (You will have a bit leftover if you use a 14.5 ounce can)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (about half a medium zucchini for me)
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 5 Tbsp ground chia or flax seeds
-Seasoning of choice;  I used garlic, oregano, basil, parsley and black pepper)

- A food processer is VERY helpful, although probably not necessary
- Muffin tins, although if you adjusted bake times/temp you may be able to use a bread pan.

What ya do:

1) Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees. Shred your zucchini. If you are less concerned about exact measurements you can just throw 1/2 a zucchini in your food processor. I shredded and measured mine.

 2) Throw your onion in the food processor and pulse until lightly chopped. Top with your loosely measured 3 cup of spinach. Throw in your zucchini and add your seasonings. 

 3) Pulse until well blended. Your mixture is going to resemble a pesto at this point! Don't worry! It WILL turn in to meatloaf! Add 1 1/4 cups of your tomato sauce and pulse again.

 

 4) Crack your eggs and dump them right in to the food processor bowl. Mix just until blended. Yes, I am aware how disgusting it looks right now. It will be okay, I promise.

5) Take your pound of turkey and put it in a large bowl. Add your veggie/egg mixture and get your hands dirty. Mix it all up. It is going to seem really wet right now, that's okay!

This is where the magic happens. Mix in your 5 tablespoons of chia seeds.

Walk away for a few minutes.
Find your muffin tins.
Find out why your kids are being so quiet.
Regret finding out why your kids are being so quiet.
Contemplate what you will cook for dinner when this doesn't work out.

Come back and it will look like this....

See? We are getting closer to meatloaf texture!

6) Divide the mixture among 15 muffin cups using a large spoon. Flatten meat cups with spoon and divide remaining 1 1/4 cups of tomato sauce amongst all 15 cups. Top with additional seasoning if desired.

7) bake muffin cups for 40 - 50 minutes, or until tomato sauce begins to crack and filling is solid. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minute and carefully remove from tin with fork.

Enjoy!!!

These were kid-tested (and approved). The hubby approved to! He ate 5 mini-meatloaves, which means he got almost 2 cups of veggies in and didn't even realize it!

 

21 Day Fix conversions:

 

 3 Mini-meatloaves equates to 1 Red, 1 Green, 1/2 Purple and 1/2 Orange