WHOLE30 Day #29 – This is the penultimate (I just love that word!) day of our inaugural WHOLE30 journey. In plain English, it’s our second to last day. We can see the end from here. It’s exciting. I already feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and I’m grateful that Hubs and I were able to go through it together. But there’s another feeling too, almost a nervousness or apprehension, like I’m not ready for it to end. Gone are the cravings that haunted me a week or two ago. I no longer go to sleep at night counting cream-filled doughnuts. I don’t really want to go back to my previous way of eating. And there are still so many WHOLE30-esque recipes buzzing around in my head that I’ve yet to try.

The one that follows is something that came to me during the period of overwhelming food yearnings. During a rare moment of quiet in our house, I sat gleefully perusing internet food porn while fantasizing about various delicious meals I’d enjoyed in days gone by. I remembered with fondness our annual Thanksgiving feasts, complete with moist turkey, savory homemade stuffing (or dressing if you’re so inclined), gooey sweet potatoes, maybe some mashed potatoes and apple pie too. Then I thought, what if I combined all those flavors into one dish? Something small I could eat with my hands, so I could shove a whole lot in my mouth all at once, something like …. meatballs. Surely, I could find a way to make meatballs taste good using WHOLE30 ingredients. Voilà!

Thanksgiving Meatballs

Thanksgiving Dinner in a Meatball!!!

As an additional comment (added since the original posting of this recipe), I want to mention something I’ve discovered regarding instant potato flakes. It has come to my attention that some brands contain various preservatives including sulfites, which are not approved for consumption during WHOLE30 (and which are frankly unhealthy for us to eat at any time). I highly recommend Bob’s Red Mill Potato Flakes. You can purchase this product online through iHerb or Amazon, and it is also available in many grocery stores. The moral of the story – it’s always important to check the ingredient lists of any products you purchase, especially when doing WHOLE30.

Back to the meatballs – I’ll warn you, this is a somewhat labor-intensive recipe but it’s SO worth the effort. This is possibly my family’s favorite WHOLE30 recipe so far. I’m betting your family will enjoy it as well. Be sure and leave me some comments to let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cooked
• 2 apples, chopped finely (I left mine unpeeled)
• 9 oz. package frozen spinach, defrosted and well drained
• 1 pound lean (e.g. 93%) ground turkey breast (uncooked)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
• ½-3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes (dry)
• ¼ cup coconut oil

Hardware:
• large (preferably nonstick) heavy frying pan with lid or electric skillet
• large baking sheet
• food processor

Process:
1. Place sweet potato in microwave on HIGH for about 3-5 minutes (depending on strength/size of your microwave) until cooked through.
Allow to cool slightly.
2. When sweet potato is cool enough to handle, place in canister of food processor along with apples, and pulse until mostly smooth.
3. Remove lid and add next 9 ingredients. Cover and process on LOW-MEDIUM speed until fully blended.
4. Pour mixture into large bowl and fold in ½ cup mashed potato flakes. Stir until well combined.
5. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight is best.
At this point, you may need to add some more potato flakes to thicken the mixture. Try adding 1 Tbsp. at a time to avoid ending up with overly dry
meatballs. If you do need to add more, be sure to stir well after each addition to fully combine.
6. Using clean hands (I wore disposable sanitary gloves), form mixture into individual meatballs about 1/8 cup each in size. Place on well-oiled baking
sheet.

To cook the meatballs you have 2 options: Fry or bake. I tried both and they work equally well. I’d say that baking was a lot easier for me, but it’s your call.

7. To Fry: Place a large skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat and spray with nonstick spray. If using an electric skillet, preheat to 375 degrees
Fahrenheit. When pan is hot, melt 3 Tbsp. coconut oil and rotate pan to evenly distribute the oil.
Place half the meatballs into the prepared pan and cover pan. Turn heat down to MEDIUM (about 350 on electric skillet). Cover pan and allow to cook about
8 minutes.
Remove lid and carefully flip each meatball over.
Cover pan again and cook about 10 more minutes. Repeat process with remaining meatballs and coconut oil. You may do this ahead of time and reheat them in
a 350 degree oven for about 7 minutes if desired.
8. To Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees (Fahrenheit). Melt coconut oil in microwave (should take about 20 seconds on HIGH) and drizzle over meatballs. Toss meatballs gently to coat with oil.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then remove pan from oven and carefully flip each meatball.
Return to oven and cook about 8 more minutes. Remove from oven and check for doneness. As above, you may prebake meatballs and reheat them in a 350 degree oven for about 7 minutes just prior to serving if desired.
Serve & Enjoy! Makes about 6 large servings

Verse of the Day:
But I will sing to You and sacrifice to You with a voice filled with thanksgiving; Whatever I promised, I will certainly pay it because deliverance is from the Eternal alone.
~Jonah 2:9 (The Voice)
Read more here.

Resource of the Day:
Have you recently achieved a goal and feel like treating yourself to a Pretty Mommy beautification product? Check out this list of drugstore dupes for high-end makeup products. Use this list to score several products for the price of one. Win, win!