Delicious & Healthy Chicken Meatballs with Apple BBQ Sauce

One of my guilty pleasures has always been meatballs. I LOVE spaghetti and meatballs, sweet and sour appy meatballs and nearly every kind you can get. The one big problem is that when you want to eat so many, you have to be careful of what is in them. The delicious melt-in-your-mouth meatballs from the Italian restaurant are probably beef and pork with lots of fillers like bread crumbs and oil. I once looked at a box of frozen meatballs and couldn't believe all the crap that went into them.

I decided to use a bunch of different recipes and make up my own. The best part about meatballs is that you can put pretty much anything in them. All you need to ensure if that the tastes go together and that they stick together as balls. I first got this idea from a vegetarian recipe for Bean/Walnut Balls that were really good! I adapted it with some ground chicken breast and loved the result. You can really substitute anything you want into this one!

I was excited these both came from my backyard! The chickens lay 1 egg/day & new veggie patch has basil!

For the ground chicken breast, I suggest going to the butcher and asking them to mince some fresh chicken breasts for you. This is easier and better than getting the frozen stuff from the grocery store. I didn't even know they did this until recently.

The minced chicken breast is under all this!

Chicken Meatball
Ingredients:

• 500 g Ground Chicken Breast (or turkey)
• 1 cup almond flour (instead of bread crumbs)
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 can kidney beans (mashed well)
• 1/4 cup crushed walnuts
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 1 onion (diced really small, can cook ahead of time if you like)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 tsp Chia seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

ready for oven

The rest is easy! Pre-heat over to 350F. Add everything into a large bowl and hand mix. Roll into small balls and place on baking sheet in oven. Usually takes about 25-30 mins until cooked through. 

Apple BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1-2 apples, peeled and cored
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup water

Cook the apple in the oven for 30 minutes to soften. Brown the onion in the oil in a saucepan. Add in apple and cook until brown. Add in all over ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. Use a hand blender to mix if you want it to be smooth or leave with apple chunks. 

If you don't want to make your own sauce, I like the Diana Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce (in Canada).