Seeking Meatball Recipe with Veggies!

What about grating some carrots and then adding them to the ground meat. or try Jessica Sinfelds book "deceptively delicous" it has all sorts of great recipes. good luck!

Actually, instead of going through all the work, Costco sells a package of 60-something veggie meatballs for $10 and they're delicious! My husband and I love them and so does our toddler. They have a lot of really good ingredients and by far have the best taste of anything like that I've found. They're in the refridgerated section.

Hi there,

My kids are older now and eat fairly healthy--(I had to be a bit sneaky when they were little to get them that way..)

You can take tomatoes, small bits of greens like spinach, some onion and chop them up small--you can use a food process. or my favorite which is a pampered chef chopper and mix the chopped veggies in with your meat, crackers/crumbs/bread (whatever yor meatball mix is) I also add a small amount of sauce with mine. then go ahead and cook as usual. He gets his meatballs with veggies and is none the wiser for it....

I used to make burgers with veggies mixed in. You can shread up the veggies and add them to the mix. Carrots, potatoes and zucchini/yellow squash work the best. You can also chop up other veggies really small and add them. I have also added rice to meatballs that I cook in broth or soup.
BTW, my d also loves meatballs. I hadn't thought about adding veggies to them. It has been a long time since I've done it. Thanks for the reminder. :)

I don't have a recipe per se, but I can tell you that you can add pureed or shredded veggies into any meatball or meatloaf recipe. I put shredded carrots and diced green peppers into my meatloaf, or sometimes spinach. You can also use jarred baby food if you don't have the time or inclination to cook & puree your own. Oh, and pureed beans also works wonderfully and is a great source of protein. I add a can of white kidney or chickpeas to ricotta when I make stuffed shells or lasagna...

Hi B.,

Try onions, tomatoes, carrots,celery and cut them up really small, maybe even blend them. Mix them up in the meatballs before you cook them and see what happens. Also, try the salad or spinach bags for a side with dressing. My kids really enjoy that.

All the Best!

Hi B.,

I have 4 children who eat just about anything, but my husband hates veggies. I bought the book Deseptively Delicious by Seinfeld's wife. I puree carrots, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. and add different ones (not all)to meatloaf which is the same recipe I use for hamburgers and meatballs. My husband doesn't have a clue and he usually compliments my cooking. I also use flaxseed meal in at least one item in our dinners. It hides nicely in ground meat because it is like bread crumbs but full of omega-3. In the Deseptively Delicious she even has ways of putting veggies is desserts!! It is the most wonderful cookbook I have seen in a long time. Also, it is all just regular meals that normal everyday people eat!! I hope this helps get needed nutrients to your little guy!!

Good Luck,
C.

I add something that is not a veggie, but is full of nutrition, fiber and antioxidants. I puree prunes and add them to meatballs. Everyone always compliments me on the "moistness" of the meatballs and the great taste. They always say "I just can't put my finger on the taste". I tell them it is my secret ingredient and let it go at that. It is amazing how good they taste and believe me, they are not sweet and don't taste like prunes. So healthy for all.

My kids love these! I make them in balls in a muffin tin (and usually freeze some). Perhaps you could pass these off as meatballs??? Good luck!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/turkey_mini_meatloaves....

Back to the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook idea...I have that cookbook and there is actually a recipe in there for Meatball Soup where she hides pureed veggies in the meatballs and also in the actual soup base. I've made it and it's really quite good. It's called Deceptively Delicious and the recipe is on page 72. She uses 1/2lb of ground turkey, 3 slices of bread, 1/4c sweet potato puree, milk, parm cheese, 1 egg, salt, pepper and paprika. I'm sure you could also use another veggie or a combo. She then uses carrot puree in the tomato based soup.

Hi B. Try puree his veggies in the meat and that should do the treat.

Instead of using an egg as a binder, I use pureed squash or pureed carrot. Add some breadcrumbs and a bit of oregano, salt, pepper and your done.

All you need to do is steam up some carrots or califlower then puree them and add it to the meat mixer. I do this with most my meals. Such as spaggetti sauce (either works because of the red sauce you can't see the orange color of the carrots, pancakes (califlower or if i make pumpkin pancakes you can use the carrots), muffins, etc. I usually add about 1/2 of the puree and usually i pick a day and just steam and puree food and freeze in 1/2 cup sizes to use when needed. Good luck!

Actually you can 'hide' a lot of veggies IN the meatballs too. Try dicing zucchini up really small and mixing it in. Also, if you are making pasta with meatballs, either add some shredded carrots to the sauce or just dice them up into the pasta. If you mix it in, he won't even notice it. But you can also make a point of eating a lot of veggies in front of him and making a big deal about how good they are. Little kids' palates are much more sensitive than adult palates ( ours have often been dulled by years of smoking, drinking coffee, etc) and so things will taste much more intensely to a child- more sour or sweet or salty, etc. than they would to us. Give him sweet veggies like carrots or try some broccoli and cauliflower steamed with cheese sauce to dip them in. It's ok to hide the veggies, but if you just keep on offering them to him in creative ways, eventually he will start eating them and liking them on their own.

shredded zucchini, carrot or chopped spinach can be added to any meatball recipe. red and green peppers will work, too.