Guest Post: Greek Turkey Zucchini Meatballs

I'm really excited to bring you all a guest recipe post from my friend Summer today. We met on Instagram and she's quickly become a big support in this chronic illness journey. She is also a food lover and creates some delicious recipes. Today she is sharing a greek meatball and tzatziki recipe!

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Hey Lemons N’ Lymie Loves! I’m Summer from Sedentary Superwoman and I’m working with the lovely Victoria today for a guest post. I’m 24 and I’ve struggled with multiple chronic illness diagnoses since I was 17, including POTS, Fibromyalgia, SMA Syndrome, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. All of these conditions have caused a lot of stress on my body, resulting in food sensitivities and a lot of digestive distress.

I don’t follow the Paleo diet or AIP like a lot of Lemons n’ Lyme readers do, but I’m a big believer in focusing on whole foods and using food as medicine. I don’t eat wheat, I minimize dairy, and fruits and veggies are central in my meals. I also don’t believe any one diet is the right diet for every person. We all have different genetics and different bodies, which means we require different types of nourishment to meet our unique physical needs [Note from Victoria- love this! We are all so individual and have to find what works for our bodies!]. My recipes often take that into account and I share a lot of modifications.

These Greek turkey meatballs are one of my favorite meals. They’re easy, healthy, grain-free, and they pack in a veggie and a protein. I make them with a non-dairy tzatziki sauce made with coconut milk (it doesn’t taste like coconut, I promise), but I like them with feta and hummus, too. I serve them with a roasted veggie and rice. If you’re die-hard paleo, they’re also great with cauli-rice or roasted sweet potatoes. I have an inkling they would be pretty bomb with Victoria’s Cilantro Celeriac Rice, too. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Another tip: these are great for meal prep. You can easily freeze half and defrost for dinner a different week.

Meatballs:

1 ½ lbs. ground turkey (beef works too)

½ C. zucchini, grated

1 ½ tsp. fresh oregano

1 tsp. fresh dill

½ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. black pepper (omit for AIP)

1 small clove garlic (omit for AIP)

¼ C. green onion (dark green tops only for low FODMAP)

1 Tbsp. dijon mustard (omit for AIP)

Olive oil for brushing tops

Paleo Tzatziki:

½ C. full-fat coconut milk, canned (sub. Greek yogurt for traditional tzatziki)

⅓ C. mayo (I like Primal Kitchen)

½ lemon, juiced

2 tsp. red wine vinegar (this is AIP compliant)

2 tsp. fresh dill

½ large cucumber, peeled, chopped

2 Tbsp. green onion

For Meatballs:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Grate zucchini (or finely chop in a food processor). Squeeze moisture out of zucchini using a kitchen towel or paper towels. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for meatballs, including turkey, zucchini, spices, chopped herbs, green onions, and mustard. Combine until the ingredients until thoroughly mixed and the zucchini is evenly dispersed.

Roll or scoop into balls, about 1.5 Tbsp., and place on lined baking sheet. This gives me about 20-22 meatballs.

Brush tops lightly with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, the temperature should register 165-170 F.

For the Tzatziki:

Add all ingredients to food processor (or blender) and give ‘er a whirl!

Enjoy with roasted veggies, rice, cauli-rice, or celeriac rice, chopped tomatoes (unless you’re on AIP), and a hefty drizzle of tzatziki. Follow up with Luna and Larry's coconut milk ice cream. Okay, that’s optional, but it’s what I do ;).