Lamb & Pine Nut Meatballs with Moroccan Salad
It’s been a good day today, the Diabetes nurse confirmed that I’ve lost 10 lb since my diagnosis of being a Diabetic in February and my blood pressure has come back down to a normal range – 2 very positive results! So, I came home from the Doctors inspired to continue with my healthy eating regime and here’s what I made for tonight’s tea:
LAMB MEATBALLS & MOROCCAN SALAD served with 3 varieties of humus from good old M&S
Lamb Meatballs & Moroccan Salad
It got a big thumbs up from me and from my hubby who is enjoying the fact that I’m cooking for him – a rare treat!
The recipe came from the 8-week blood sugar diet book – author: Dr Michael Mosley. I can strongly recommend this book for anyone who has been diagnosed with Diabetes – it goes into lots of detail about the science behind the diagnosis and the new trials that have shown that it is possible to reverse the condition by making significant changes to your diet.
For me it’s so far so good – I haven’t quite achieved the 800 calorie per day level of diet but am following the key principle i.e. Massively reducing my carbohydrate intake and the scales are definitely moving in the right (downward) direction!
Recipe (serves 2)
200 g minced lamb
Small onion – finely grated or chopped (I did mine in the blender)
2 garlic cloves – crushed to a paste
50g pine nuts – lightly toasted (I only had almond flakes so used these and they were fine – be careful when toasting them – I burnt the first batch as they literally take less than a minute to brown)
1/2 teaspoon paprika; 1/2 teaspoon cumin (the recipe says to add 1/4 teaspoon of All Spice but I didn’t have any so missed this out)
1 egg white lightly whisked; Small bunch parsley and small bunch mint – finely chopped (I didn’t have much fresh mint so added a bunch of corriander too)
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Method:
Simply mix all the ingredients together and divide into 6 – roll into balls and chill in the fridge. The recipe suggests frying them but when I tried to do this they started to crumble so I popped them into the oven on a baking tray and this worked really well.
Moroccan Salad:
Ingredients:
I changed the recipe slightly to match the contents of my fridge so used as follows:
Mixed baby leaf salad leaves
Small chopped cooked beetroot
2 spring onions – chopped finely
1/2 red pepper & 1/2 yellow pepper – de-seeded and chopped
approximately 2 tablespoons of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
small portion (about the size of a matchbox) of feta cheese
1 tablespoon of sliced almonds (or pine nuts)
Method: Simply mix all salad ingredients together into a bowl and top with the dressing as follows:
Dressing: 1 tsp of olive oil; 1/2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar; juice of half lemon – mix together and toss into the salad
Result – Mmmm – Tasty!
Hi Wendy I froze the meatball mixture and want to eat them today, hoe do I cook the meatballs from frozen
I made two servings and froze half the mixture. What’s the best way to cook the frozen meatballs, any ideas.?
Hi Niki Sorry about delay and I hope it’s not too late. I would pop them into the oven in a heat proof casserole or on a baking tray with a drop of olive oil to stop them sticking.. Put them on a low-medium heat initially to allow them and then once they look like they’ve softened, turn up the heat to finish cooking. Enjoy! x
Hi Wendy I am having problems with my WiFi at the moment and having to use my Phone !! However I nominated you on Sunday on my blog for a súper award. Please take a look and let me know have a good evening
Brooke
Thanks Wendy. Looks great and I may check out that book too. I go in for blood work tomorrow. Hopefully it’s not diabetes that’s making me feel the way I do, just low iron from donating blood….Great post…Dave 🙂
Author
Thanks Dave – much appreciated. This book is seriously worth reading even if you haven’t been diagnosed with Diabetes as it may help prevent you receiving a future diagnosis. It explains the ‘science’ really clearly and it all makes sense.. I hope you go on ok with your tests – let me know…
Author
Hi Dave – just a thought – check out the website for the 8 week blood sugar diet: http://www.thebloodsugardiet.com – I’ve just had a look myself and it’s worth checking…
I’ll check it out, Wendy. Thanks
Author
Hope the blood work went ok?
Wendy, I got a call back the next day from my nurse practitioner’s office. I have to go in Thursday. No details on the phone..uh oh! Wait and see… :
Author
Oh gosh – hope you’re ok today! x
Hi Wendy! Just got in from my consult about my blood work. I am enemic, pre-diabetic and my hemoglobin is lower than it was when I donated blood two weeks ago. I have been walking regularly, eating leaf greens every day, more red meat and now I have to watch my sugar intake and go on iron supplements right away. She said my iron was 11 should be in the 200’s, my iron levels were that of a menstruating woman! No wonder I’m so tired all the time and can’t seem to concentrate as well. Dave. :
Author
Crikey Dave – what a good job you’ve had the tests done and you can now start the diet and treatment you need to start getting your energy back. I felt exhausted before I started on the blood sugar diet but within the last week I’ve started to feel my energy level rise so hopefully this will be the case for you too very soon! Take care and thanks for letting me know. Wendy x
Thanks Wendy…on the road to recovery. 🙂 I hope!
Author
You’ll be running along that road very soon! x
I’ll settle for a very brisk walk, Wendy but you never know. Stranger things have happened! LOL
Author
Hillarious – at least we can keep our sense of humour! Fab x
Yep, that still works, I hope!
Author
Brilliant – it sees us through..
That looks really good!
Author
Thanks – it was really tasty and wasn’t like ‘diet’ food..