Stealthy Veggies | Turkey Meatballs

Is your child a picky eater?  Does the sight of a cruciferous veggie make him gag?  Why oh why do so many children have an aversion to all foods green?!  In a perfect world, kids would love to eat the healthiest of veggies, but that's just crazy talk, so here we go with our next series!  We'll be featuring recipes with different vegetables hidden inside.

Today, we have a recipe for tender turkey meatballs with onion, zucchini and carrots "hidden" inside.  I say "hidden", because you can see them, but you can't really taste them.  Maybe you can blindfold your child if they really protest the consumption of colourful veggies?  This recipe is based on Jessica Alba's recipe, but I half the recipe, substitute oats for the bread crumbs and am a little looser with the veggie measurements!  These are super-soft and they never last long in our house.  #veggiewin!

Let's get stealthy!

Ingredients (makes approx. 32 meatballs):

• 1 lb (454 g) lean ground turkey
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup ground quick oats (I run this quickly through my Magic Bullet to get more of an oat flour, but be warned, the flour makes the meatballs almost too smooth), or 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp favourite seasoning like oregano, Italian, parsley etc. (this is completely optional!)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• some oil for frying (or none if you're using non-stick), or omit this if you're baking

Tip!  To get rid of the salt in this recipe, omit the salt and substitute water for the chicken stock.  My 10-month-old loves these, and they're always soft enough for him to gum (where are his teeth, seriously?!). 

Method:

1. Grate your onion, zucchini and carrot into a bowl.  You can also chop them finely by hand, but I just find grating them infinitely faster.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Mix in all the other ingredients except for the chicken stock.  I usually just use my hand.  If your mixture seems very wet, add in some more breadcrumbs.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Roll meatballs around 1 inch big.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and place meatballs in to brown, turning frequently.  This takes about 5-7 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Add in chicken stock, cover, and reduce heat to low.  Cook until all the liquid is absorbed.

Tip!  If you want to make this even easier, bake your turkey meatballs on parchment.  Bake them at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Tip!  To get even more veggies into your child, put these meatballs into a tomato sauce that includes veggie puree (or finely chopped vegetables).

Hope your whole family enjoys consuming more veggies through this recipe!  How do you get your vegetables undercover?  We're always looking for new recipes, so please share them with us below!