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I tend to eat a high protein diet that includes a lot of beans, lentils, meat and eggs but no dairy.  I stumbled on the 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris  early in 2011 when I decided that I needed to make better food choices.  Let me re-phrase that, food choices that didn’t involve so much beer, take away, cupcakes and other sugary foods.  Truth be told, I knew my clothes were becoming a little too snug.  But in reality what it boiled down to was that I wanted my underwear to fit better.  There, I said it.  Yep, that was my goal.  It wasn’t about losing it here, or losing it there, or hating this and wanting more of that.  I just wanted to stop being strangled by my undies.  Four months on, I am pleased to report that I am no longer being strangled and I feel really good.  Note, I DON’T follow his eating style religiously.  I follow it in a way that works for me and my lifestyle of looking after two dogs, working two jobs and typically clocking up a 60-70 hour week, with no great desire to sweat.  Anyhow, I’ll post later about the specifics of how I did it and include some photos too.  For now, meatballs!  (Vegetarians look away now)

Ingredients (serves 2-4, where indicated)

Basic meatball ingredients:
500gm mince (I tend to use turkey as it’s low fat, tasty and cheap but you can buy half-half pork and veal mixes)
1 egg
1/3 C breadcrumbs
salt & pepper to season

Variation 1:
2 T of pesto
a shake more breadcrumbs so they are not too wet

Variation 2:
1 lombok chilli, finely diced but DON’T rub your eyes or lick your fingers after
1 tsp sage, fresh is yum!

Variation 3:
substitute the breadcrumbs for quinoa flakes or grain (high protein, low GI)

Variation 4:
pork and fennel, this HAS to be tasted to be believed.  Grind the fennel seeds with salt in mortar and pestle first for more even flavour.

Any of  the above  will be enough for 2 generous serves, with a side salad and some chutney (my fave) or tzaziki and mash.  I just eat the lot with no mash, and LASHINGS

Variation 5:
soak the breadcrumbs in milk, yip in just enough so that they are covered and leave for about 20 mins until all milk is absorbed.

Variation 6:
add to the one pot, slow cooked, Bean Bonanza! (makes 4 decent serves)

Steps:

1. Bung all the ingredients together into a large mixing bowl and use a fork to mix until well combined and there is a good spread of the ingredients throughout the mince.  You can’t ‘overmix’ this as the meat becomes more elastic (and tender on cooking) the more you mix it.  I heard that on Donna Hay last week, and she doesn’t lie!

2. Put a good splash of oil in a frypan and set it aside to put the meatballs in as you roll them.  No heat in the pan yet.  Lately I’m digging a carotene luminous orange oil, but you can use any, though if you want to be uber good to yourself consider swapping to organic coconut oil.

3. Wet your hands in cold water (so the mix doesn’t stick as much) Using a teaspoon (yes, a teaspoon) take a spoonful of mix and gently roll it into a ball.  Put it in the pan and continue until all the mix is gone.  I tend to fill the pan with about a third of the mix to go so I sit the extras in the mixing bowl all rolled until the first batch are cooked.  Don’t overthink what you’re doing and worry about getting the perfect shape, just work quickly and get those babies rolled!

4. Fry the rolled meatballs in the frypan until just browned on each side if adding to the bean bonanza, otherwise brown longer until not pink (or to your taste).  Clearly you’ll have to sacrifice a few meatballs to work out when they are done.  Just don’t burn your mouth/ fingers/ face like I typically do.

5. Serve with mash, salad and chutney or sauce of your choosing and make sure your beer is extra cold.  Once you’ve eaten so many that you might burst, sit back and marvel at how good a cook you are!

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Louise

With over 15yrs of marketing, business development, sales and negotiation skills Louise is the best friend your small biz needs, the coach to put your social media ideas into action and the photographer who makes you feel better about yourself. lifestyle matchmaker for people who like to get shit done | photographer | F-bomb dropper | #IQS crusader | knitter

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