First off, thanks for the wishes on my new adventure. I have received so many wonderful emails and comments in response to my last post. This week I am going to get away from taking about me and get back into some good healthy food.

This past week I helped out a client who wanted me to prepare food for his 10-day detox diet. This detox eliminates sugar, wheat, meat, dairy, alcohol, fish and caffeine. You may be wondering what is left at this point. This diet is about vegetables, beans and anything rice based. It is based on a book called the 7-Day Detox Miracle Diet by Dr William Bennett.  I am not a person who is big on “diets.” My feeling is that most times they don’t work. I do like this concept though. I feel as though this is a good way to cleanse while not completely depriving yourself of sustenance. I am giving you a shout out Dr. Bennett. Perhaps one day you will write about me on your blog. No Pressure. : )

My client Lou is eating several small meals a day that are well balanced and full of nourishment. I took care of the meals and Lou sticks to the plan. This is the second time Lou has completed this plan. The first time was about a year ago and I decided to join in to see how I felt with eliminating certain foods. Truth be told, I couldn’t let go of my coffee in the morning but I did make the rest work out. It is smart to eliminate certain foods from your diet. Sugar is something we definitely all need to cut back on. That and anything processed like white flour. Long term on this and your belly will shrink. Trust me. That’s my nutritional advice for the week, cut back those two culprits and you will find you do not want them around soon enough.

This detox was easier for me given my profession for sure. There is a lot of preparation and such but seeking out tasty vegetable, gluten-free based meals isn’t too tricky if you use different resources as well as your imagination. My book, It’s Just Personal has many vegetarian salads and entrees to choose from and the internet is always a great search tool.

Pictured above is a great vegetarian meatball made especially for Lou this morning. These veggie meatballs are a combination of quinoa, spinach and lentils. I usually use panko crumbs in the recipe but this week I substituted rice crumbs (they sell them either in the gluten free isle of your supermarket or somewhere near the regular breadcrumbs.) I also eliminated the sugar in the tomato sauce this week only, but I would usually include that. A little sugar helps to cut down the acidity in tomato sauce. The meatballs are pictured with soba noodles. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour. They are super healthy, full of nutrients and virtually half the calories and carbohydrates of regular pastas.

Enjoy, thanks again for all your support and encourage your family and friends to join up for my newsletter!

Happy Birthday to Connie and Bonnie! Two of my nearest and dearest friends. Yes, they are twins.

These are a delicious meatball to add to your favorite pasta dish or could be a meal in itself. They are also a great protein to top a green salad (minus the tomato sauce.) Tiny lentils are a nutritional powerhouse. Lentils are the base of these meatballs and provide an excellent amount of six important minerals, two B-vitamins, protein and fiber with virtually no fat. The quinoa is a grain-like seed with an impressive complete protein content. Quinoa is also a good source of dietary fiber and high in magnesium and iron. This gluten-free grain has a crunchy, nutty flavor that is easy to digest.

 

Vegetarian Meatballs

 

2 C cooked lentils or well rinsed canned lentils

16 oz. chopped spinach (If you are using frozen chopped spinach, thaw completely and    squeeze out excess water)

1 egg

1 C panko crumbs or gluten free rice crumbs

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1 C cooked quinoa

1 Teaspoon tomato-basil seasoning or Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional panko crumbs to coat meatballs

Pan spray

Sauce (optional)

1-28oz. canned petit-diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon sugar

A pinch of dried oregano and basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Pan spray large cookie sheet. In a large bowl, combine lentils through salt and pepper. Combine all ingredients well. Using hands, form meatballs about 2” a piece. Place meatballs on cookie about 2 inches apart. Spray meatballs with additional coating of pan spray and sprinkle with remaining panko crumbs to lightly coat.

Place in oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn. Cook additional 15 minutes. Meatballs should be browned and have a crunchy outside coating. Serve immediately with sauce. Feta cheese with the sauce is also a nice compliment to these meatballs.

Yield: 17- 20 meatballs

1 meatball

Calories 76g, Fat 1.2g (saturated <1g, monounsaturated <1g, polyunsaturated <1g) Carbohydrate 12.7, Fiber 2.7g, Protein 4.1g,

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