Recipe: Turkey Meatballs {Gwyneth Paltrow}

Actress and mom of two Gwyneth Paltrow sometimes get a bad rap. She has received a lot of flak for her Goop e-mail newsletter (Exhibit A), which occasionally has an exclusive elite air to it, as opposed to being able to appeal to the everywoman.

But that being said, I’m a big fan of her recipes, and am eager to get my hands on her newest cookbook, It’s All Good. It is filled with easy to make, healthy dishes that are firmly rooted in the clean eating movement.

And that’s a movement that speaks to me. Has since 2011.

And when you look at recent pictures of her (thinking about her recent People’s Most Beautiful Woman cover story, for example), it certainly seems to be agreeing with her.

Well, that and partering up with fitness extraordinaire Tracy Anderson too.

I spied a few of Gwyneth’s recipes from her latest cookbook in a recent issue of Shape magazine, and since I had everything on hand to make her Turkey Meatballs, it was kismet.

And dinner.

The day I made them, there were five kids running around the house.

Two dogs.

Two cats.

Happy chaos.

Which means this is the perfect recipe to make when you’re being pulled in 63 directions like that.

Because it can be summed up in just a few sentences. Mix a handful of stuff in a food processor. Combine that with your meat. Form the meatballs. Cook.

So whether your house is in the throes of happy chaos, a busy end-of-school-year weeknight, or you like clean eating as much as I do, I think you’ll like these meatballs too. Easy to make, guilt-free, and, for the most part, using basic ingredients you might even have on hand.

Score one for Gwyneth.

…adding her book to my Amazon Wish List…

And with this post, I am off for the weekend. I have the biggest surprise ever for the kids, starting tomorrow morning, and I cannot wait to see their reaction. You can follow along with our weekend on Instagram or Twitter (and search hashtag #fbforl to see others who are joining in the fun as well), and I’ll have a photos in review on Monday (Sunday will be something else, because we’ll be getting back too late to sift through the photos).

Happy weekend!

xoxo

Turkey Meatballs
Recipe courtesy of It’s All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow

1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup arugula, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup Italian parsley (I used dried)
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
8 fresh sage leaves (I used dried)
8 fresh basil leaves
leaves from 4 sprigs thyme
leaved from 1 sprig rosemary
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 cups tomato sauce
3 T olive oil

In a food processor, pulse onion, arugula, parsley, garlic, sage, basil, thyme, and rosemary until finely chopped. In a bowl, combine onion-herb micture with turkey, salt, and pepper; mix with hands. Roll turkey mixture into 24 gold ball-sized meatballs (I got a few more). In a large pot over low heat, warm tomato sauce. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Cook meatballs in skillet in batches, turning over, until browned, 10 minutes. Transfer meatballs, to simmering sauce, partially cover pot (I used tomato sauce as dipping sauce instead). Cook meatballs, stirring ccacionally, 30 minutes. Serve hot with pasta or polenta or vegetable.

334 calories per 6 meatballs with sauce, 19 g fat, 17 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 26 g protein