When you’re looking to save a pretty penny while satisfying the meat eaters in your life, look no further than my Healthy Turkey Meatloaf Muffins that just happen to be gluten free…with a serving of veggies too!
We don’t cook a lot of meat in our house — I don’t eat poultry or meat and S is OK without it most of the time. Hopefully, if you’ve been ‘round here enough, I’ve successfully shown you that you don’t neeeeed meat to feel satisfied at dinner. I mean…lentil bolognese??? Vegan BLT bowls?! 100% satisfaction without ANY meat!
BUT as a dietitian, I DO believe that ALL foods can fit ((if you want them to)). When someone wants to eat meat, I suggest the highest quality meat you can afford. To me, that means grass fed and organic so there are NO added hormones, antibiotics, etc.
Quality meat IS expensive, though, so stretching a pound of meat to feed your family a couple of meals is totally worth it. So here’s a healthy AND frugal way to have your meat and eat it too…
ADD VEGGIES!
I try to get veggies into my (and S’s) diet ANY way I can. And when I’m cooking meat for someone else, I try to get extra veggies into their food too ((wha ha ha…JK)). Buuuttt S won’t even know until he’s reading this ((hiiiii hun!)), that there was a riced CAULIFLOWER in his very much loved, asks for them weekly, healthy turkey meatloaf muffins!
Bulking up ANY meal with more veggies — fresh or frozen — sneaks in more vitamins and minerals ((and I didn’t actually mean to sneak it!)), reduces the [saturated] fat content, and increases the fiber (a nutrient MOST of Americans do NOT eat enough of!).
So Frugal Friday Week 6 tip: When using ground meat or poultry, ADD VEGGIES!
Frozen veggies are typically the cheapest, but you can get a TON of riced cauliflower from 1 head of cauliflower and it seamlessly fits into SO many meals ((hellloooo stir fry I’m looking at you!!)).
Here are some other great options:
- Add finely chopped mushrooms to meatballs or tacos. Or just make my 5-Ingredient Shroom Tacos!
- Frozen spinach ((SO CHEAP too)) is essentially TASTELESS! Add it to enchiladas or lasagna or meatballs!
- A mixed bag of frozen veggies can easily be added to chili or soup.
So do you know the muffin man lady….who lives on cauliflower road?!
Ingredients
- 1 pound organic ground turkey (you may alternatively use ground sirloin)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup cauliflower rice
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons quick oats
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal (alternatively can use an additional 1/4 cup quick oats or breadcrumbs)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon True Made Foods BBQ Sauce + additional for topping
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon no salt Italian seasoning
- Nonstick spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix until combined.
- Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray and fill each muffin tin with a heaping 1/4 cup of the turkey meat mixture. Spread an additional 1 teaspoon True Made Foods BBQ Sauce on top of each meatloaf muffin.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and add another 1/2 teaspoon of True Made Foods BBQ Sauce on top of each meatloaf muffin. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. The turkey meatloaf muffins will be slightly browned at the edges when done cooking with edges slightly removed from the tin.
- Serve immediately. The meatloaf muffins will freeze well for about 3 months. Let cool completely before wrapping tightly in plastic wrap prior to freezing.
Have a fantastic weekend…full of healthy turkey meatloaf muffins, I hope!
XO
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by True Made Foods. Thank you for supporting the brands that make C it Nutritionally possible.
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I really need to try my hand at cauliflower rice! Neat use for it!
Yes you do!! It’s SO great and subs just like regular rice 99% of the time!
Awesome recipe Chelsey! My daughter is really into meatballs these days so this would be a great way to get more veggies in her 😉
Oh so good to hear! Then she’ll love these!