Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs
Today I was determined to cook. A little bit of stress has been weighing me down as graduation approaches and my dreams become more and more important.
There’s a lot of strategy involved with making a blog grow…a lot of marketing, connecting, etc. I haven’t really announced this yet but I’m hoping to make this blog a full time gig one of these days. I want to encourage a fit lifestyle and focus on the beauty of internal well-being. So many of us stress the importance of perfection and in turn become so self-critical of our “wrongs” and barely appreciate our “rights.”
We are all beautiful. We should pursue fitness to feel good, not just to look good. We should eat in a way that will encourage our happiness and lift us up emotionally as well as physically. When I was dieting for my show, I was starving. When I was trying to build muscle I was gorging. Either way I was extremely uncomfortable but I thought I HAD to do both of those things to achieve the perfect look I was going for. I was either pulling up my loose pants as they tried to fall down my waist, or I was bloated and wattling everywhere from the amount of carbs I needed for muscle growth.
Let me tell you something guys. THAT S*** AIN’T NECESSARY!
Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell my former self it’s NOT about perfection, it’s about progress. Am I better today than I was yesterday? Yes, I am believe it or not! And I know it because today I am happy, I am full, I am content. I am not starving, bloated, angry or irritated.
I’m just me, intuitive and natural. That’s the way I’m supposed to be. I’m eating clean and wholesome foods to fuel my spirit, body and mind. I’m eating so that I can perform well in the gym, which actually will lead to “better” looks whether I like it or not.
So I hope to be able to spread this message time and time again through my blog, but in different ways.
One of the ways I want to spread this message is through recipes. Because good recipes lead to happy stomachs, which lead to happy minds. It’s a full circle, you see. And today’s recipe is…well, kinda superb if I do say so myself.
Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs (gluten & dairy free)
Ingredients:
1.25 lbs extra lean ground turkey
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup gluten-free oats
1 egg
1 T dried parsley
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry
salt and pepper or season to your liking
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes, pierce them with a fork a few times and microwave them for 4 minutes. Flip them over and microwave for another 3-4 minutes. Let them cool for a moment, mash them and then put in a mixing bowl with all of the other ingredients. Coat a baking dish with organic cooking spray, olive oil OR coconut oil. Mix everything in the bowl together thoroughly with your hands and form into medium sized balls (I made 12). Place them on the baking dish and put them in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve them with veggies, spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles!
Or eat four of them standing by the stove like me.
Ahhh the colors.
I’m such a foodie. Not much else can improve my day like a recipe gone right. Before these meatballs, I actually attempted to make a parfait to photograph but it went completely wrong. I forget how quickly yogurt swallows up other ingredients. Makes a perfectly layered parfait difficult to accomplish. But fear not, I’ll get it right soon!
I hope you have a wonderful Friday. Connect with me on facebook, twitter or instagram to stay up to date!