Growing up, when it came to comfort foods, meatloaf was not one of my favourites. My father, bless his soul, would cook for our large family once a week to give my mother a break. Watching sports, betting on horses, jogging, writing, driving along the west coast and belting out Dean Martin tunes was his thing—not cooking.
But in his effort to step up and help, he would go through the fridge and add all the leftovers that he could muster up and mix them together with ground beef. To finish it off, he would smother it with loads of ketchup (something he put on everything—even a lovely salmon I once made for him) and pop it in the oven. Let’s just say it took a long time for me to ever eat meatloaf again.
However, comfort foods bring families together, providing the sort of meal that inspires them to laugh, talk about their day and hopefully install a sense of belonging.
So as a foodie and nutrition guru, this fall I would like to revisit traditional comfort foods and bring them back on the table, only this time with a natural nutrition makeover—something that keeps the focus on families and real food that will not only nourish their souls, but their bodies too! And we’re not sacrificing any delectable taste in the process.
This Turkey Veggie Meatloaf Muffins with Marinara Sauce recipe will be the first of many to come, so please check back often! I have added loads of veggies, zucchinis, carrots, peppers and onions, and replaced breadcrumbs with cooked quinoa.
I’ve also substituted ketchup and BBQ sauce (which are loaded with high-fructose syrup and other additives!) with a nice homemade marinara sauce that you can make in advance and freeze. Instead of using a loaf pan, I chose a silicon muffin tray, which turned out nice individual servings with no fuss, and they look great!
Make it your own
This recipe can be adapted to your own family’s likings by swapping out any veggies, sauces or even ground turkey breast for chicken, etc. Personally, I like the mix of both dark and light meat when choosing turkey. Turkey is very high in protein. It provides 343 mg of the essential amino acid tryptophan per 3 oz of cooked turkey.
The recommend daily intake for tryptophan is 4 mg per kilo (1.8 mg per lb) of body weight. Tryptophan is needed for general growth and development, apart from its job of also producing niacin and serotonin. Serotonin is known as the “happy neurotransmitter,” which helps with feelings of well-being. It’s nature’s mood stabilizer and I’m sure we could all use some of that 🙂
Purchasing a turkey
When it comes to purchasing turkey, I recommend organic. But don’t stop there—look for pasture-raised turkey as well. There are so many confusing labels at the grocery store that can be really misleading, but don’t get sidetracked. Ask the butcher at the grocery store how the animals were raised and fed.
Even better, source out a good local farmer yourself. Don’t be shy to ask questions. Bringing more awareness to humanely raised and fed animals is a really good thing—not just from a nutrition benefit, but for the animals, farmers and our planet, which has a heartbeat all its own.
Visit www.localharvest.org and www.eatwild.com for more info.
From my family to yours, enjoy this Turkey Veggie Meatloaf Muffins with Marinara Sauce! Here’s to keeping our comfort foods real 🙂
Turkey Veggie Meatloaf Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 large Carrot roughly chopped
- 1 medium Zucchini roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cup Yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1 medium Cayenne pepper roughly chopped
- 3 medium Garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1 cup quinoa cooked, cooled
- 1 lb Turkey ground, preferably organic and pasture raised
- 1 medium Omega 3 eggs preferably organic and pasture raised
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce hot, preferably organic, Wan Ja Shan is a good brand and gluten-free
- 1 tbsp Mustard stone ground
- 1/4 cup Marinara sauce preferably homemade
- 1/4 tsp Chili pepper preferably organic
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt pink or grey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Lightly grease muffin tray with coconut oil and set aside.
- In a food processor add chopped onions and pulse until diced. Empty the onions from the processor and set aside in a small bowl.
- Add the rest of the vegetables and seasonings to the processor and pulse a few times, being careful not to make it too liquid. Leave the veggies in the processor to save on dishes and just set aside.
- Heat up a skillet to medium heat on top of the stove. Once heated, add a little coconut oil and sauté the onions until translucent. This is the first step to building flavour. Many recipes have you skip this step, but precooking your veggies in the right order before mixing them in with all the other ingredients helps to develop more flavour. Then add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds, being careful not to burn it.
- Add the rest of the veggies to the onions and cook for 5 more minutes. This is how you layer flavour. Taste to see if you need to add more seasoning and then put aside to cool down for about 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, add the ground turkey, cooled cooked quinoa, tarmari, egg and mustard and mix together.
- Add in veggies and mix all together.
- Using a large spoon, scoop the mixture and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full.
- Top with 1-2 tablespoons of marinara sauce. If using silicon muffin trays, place them onto a cooking tray for more stability. Then pop into the oven for 25 minutes. Using a thermometer, test to make sure it's ready. It should read 160 degrees Celsius.