High Protein Low Fat Meatball Sandwiches

For most of us time can be an issue when it comes to dinner. We either don’t plan ahead, or  if you’re like me in most cases when I plan ahead things change and so does my ability to prepare dinner. In an effort to thwart off any urge to “grab something quick and easy” I try to remain flexible and look at the main ingredients in my planned meal to see if they can be changed into something quicker and easier to prepare.

So these tasty meatball sandwiches were originally going to be a hearty meatloaf! But as I said things change… I had a plan, and it included dropping the kids off at school, hitting the gym, coming home to do some work around the house and get our meatloaf ready to go for dinner. But instead my day went something like this: got the kids up, made breakfast for everyone, did a load of laundry, got the kids dressed and took care of the dog. We managed to get out the door on time, which on most days is a miracle; I dropped my daughter off at school at 7:50. I then doubled back to drop my son off at preschool, because of course, even though preschool is conveniently on the way to my daughters elementary school the preschool  program doesn’t begin until 8:30am UGG… Ok dropped my son at preschool and drove to the gym. Did I mention the gym is exactly halfway between the two schools I just drove to, so yes I turned around and drove back down the same road again to the gym! So at this point I have driven 6 miles, on only 2 main roads in 45 min. OK at the gym, happily putting in my ear buds and getting my run on to a cool mix of Beyonce, Christina Aguilera and Eve (don’t judge me!). I am 3 miles into a 6 mile run and then I hear the all too familiar ding-ding tone on my phone that lets me know when I have an upcoming appointment. Panic-SO what did I forget…my son’s follow up doctor appointment in 45 min, 36 miles across town! My fault, I forgot and now I’m a sweaty mess who is going to be LATE!

We made it to the doctor, on time, and all was well. But now my day was changed. I was now driving the 36 miles back home, to pick up my daughter who has early-out teacher work days once per week, gotta love that, and there would be no time for making and cooking the meatloaf that was planned for the pound of lean ground beef in my frig… I should also mention that this day was “gymnastics day”, the day where both of my children attend gymnastics classes 20 miles away in the next town for 4 hours! So typically on this day I have a make ahead meal ready for my husband to pop in the oven, or I have something prepped and ready for him to cook for us. This day of course we were supposed to have an already cooked meatloaf ready to reheat in the oven. So now the race is on we have exactly 30 min from the time we enter the door to get everything ready to hit the gym, change clothes, snacks, water bottles etc… and of course what about dinner? I love my husband to death, but I have learned in almost 11 years of marriage he has his limits and coming up with an idea for dinner from scratch is not his forte. So dinner prep went something like this: My daughter was getting dressed in her leotard, in the great room, while I was spouting off spelling words to her from the kitchen so she could practice for her upcoming spelling test, my 4 year old son was busy making the snack bag for the gym (not my best delegation idea as we ended up with some unconventional snacks in the bag, like a pack of gum and a baggie full of dry black beans…he tried!) and I was turning my meatloaf into little bite-sized meatballs to make sandwiches with. I thought well I can use all of the same ingredients and make them small enough to cook quickly! I mixed the meat, rolled the meatballs and covered and refrigerated them for my hubby to pop in the oven when he got home. I sliced up some onions and peppers, tossed them with a little drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and tucked them away in the fridge before we headed out the door and down the hill. When we walked in the door that evening the house smelled as if something had been cooking for hours!

I opened a jar of my homemade tomato sauce and heated it up with some fresh herbs, sliced a whole wheat baguette and quickly sautéed my already prepped veggies. We assembled the sandwiches and dinner was on the table within 15 min of our walking in the door! We didn’t have any mozzarella to top off the sandwiches so I used two low fat part skim milk cheese sticks my kids eat as snacks. I just grated them with the box grater and voila- a tasty, quick, healthy meal for dinner, no takeout required!

My crazy schedule these days is typically due to my kiddos, but there was a day not so long ago that included 12-14 hours work days plus kids activities etc. And BK (before kids) I was known to work even longer hours at the office! I have always worked hard and made it a priority to eat healthy homemade food, and now it’s more of a priority than ever to ensure my children are eating this way. I like to use whole oats in my meatballs, meatloaf and even burgers vs. breadcrumbs. You get more texture and higher fiber and protein when you use a whole grain. I have also successfully used leftover brown rice, quinoa or cous cous as a substitute for breadcrumbs. I make my own tomato sauce during the summer and can or freeze it, but feel free to use canned or jarred sauce. If you do, just check the label and chose something free of ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and added vitamins and antioxidants, tomatoes are full of nutrients without adding anything extra. You can also make a quick tomato sauce from a can of crushed tomatoes; I’ll include a recipe below. If whipping up the tomato sauce proves to be one step to many on a hectic day forget it and take the meatball recipe, turn them into burgers top with the sautéed veggies and serve with a quick salad. You can even make the meat mixture the night before and refrigerate it to save time!

The Meatballs:

1 lb 95% lean ground beef (sometimes I use 93% if it’s on sale, but never anything higher in fat than that)

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 large egg white

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp fresh minced herbs (I like rosemary and thyme)

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil spray (a drizzle of olive oil spread to coat with a basting brush will work if you don’t have a misto)

2-3cups tomato sauce

1/2 medium sweet bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips

1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips

 1 whole-wheat baguette or whole wheat rolls

1)      Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine beef, oats, egg white, tomato paste, fresh herbs, salt and pepper and garlic. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray or brush lightly with olive oil. Form meatball mixture into 1.5-inch balls, this will yield approximately 30 meatballs. Place meatballs on baking sheet, with a space between each meatball. Bake in the oven until done, approximatly15-20 min.

2)      While meatballs are cooking make or warm tomato sauce and sauté veggies.

3)      Remove meatballs from oven and add to sauce pan with tomato sauce. Coat meatballs with sauce.

The Quick Tomato Sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2-3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh minced herbs (thyme, oregano and rosemary) OR
½ tablespoon dried herbs (thyme and oregano)
1 28-ounce can crushed red tomatoes
dash of balsamic vinegar

1)      Warm oil in a med sauce pan, add garlic and sauté for 1-2 min until fragrant-do not brown garlic

2)      Add herbs to garlic sauté for 30 seconds

3)      Add the can of crushed tomatoes and simmer for 5 min

4)      Add a dash of balsamic vinegar and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Sautéed Onions and Sweet Peppers:

2 tbsp olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 medium sweet bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips

1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips

1)      Warm oil on med-high heat in a med sauté pan

2)      Add onions and sweet peppers sauté until translucent, about 5 min sprinkle lightly with kosher salt

3)      Add sliced garlic and sauté another 5 min until all veggies are soft and translucent

4)      Transfer to a warm bowl

To Assemble:

1)      Slice baguette into 4 sections, and then slice each section in half horizontally. Tear out a bit of bread from the middle of each section to make room for the meatballs, this also cuts back on unwanted calories. If desired toast bread under a hot broiler for 1 minute until crisp.

2)      Open up each piece of toasted bread, place 3-5 meatballs per sandwich. Top with sautéed veggies and a light sprinkling of grated low fat part skim milk mozzarella. Top sandwich with the other half of the bread and serve with a nice green salad. Enjoy!