Bright Line Eats

I had a whole bunch of of different ground meat in my freezer that I decided to clean out and make meatballs!!

4oz of meatballs (1 protein), 2oz of marinara (condiment), and 8oz of Palmini noodles (8oz of veggies), with a 6oz salad & dressing this makes a complete BLE weight loss dinner.

I had about 3lbs of ground meat total, broken down into 1.5lbs ground beef, 1lbs pork Italian sausage and .5lbs ground bison. I added 2 eggs and 3oz Parmigiano Reggiano, and the following spices: 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp minced onion, and 2 tbsp Italian seasoning.

Mix together well. I use my hands!

For into meatballs, about 2 inches in diameter, and cook over medium-high heat in a pan on the stove.

Turn every 3-4 minutes, browning all sides. I batched these as I had WAY more than I needed for the sauce recipe.

I cooked about 1/3 of these on a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. After they cooked I put them in the freezer to use for a later meal.

After all the meatballs are brown, add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the pan and deglaze. Next pour in a 28oz jar of no sugar marinara sauce, I use Rao’s. I added about a tbsp of garlic powder and 2 tbsp of Italian seasoning to the sauce as well. Next plop in all of the meatballs.

Bring the meatballs and sauce to a bubble, cover and lower the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.

I used Palmini Noodles for my noodles start by draining these and rinsing them off in a colander.

Spray a little olive oil into your pan and heat the noodles. The longer you leave them in there the less crunchy texture they will have.

Plate it up! I used the entire pouch of palmini noodles, which was 8oz and counts as veggies. 3 meatballs was 4oz for my protein and I used 2oz of the sauce which counts as a condiment.

This is super flavorful and really easy to reheat! Recipe to follow.

meatballs in marinara with palmini noodles

• 3lbs ground meat (I used a combo of ground beef, pork Italian sausage and bison)
• 2 eggs
• 3oz Parmigiano Reggiano
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup of water
• 28oz jar of no sugar marinara sauce, I use Rao’s
• 1 tbsp of garlic powder
• 2 tbsp of Italian seasoning
• Palmini noodles

Mix ground meat, eggs, cheese and spices and form 2 inch meatballs.

Brown meatballs on medium-high heat in a pan on the stove. Turn every 3-4 minutes until browned on all sides.

Remove meatballs from pan and set aside. Deglaze pan with water, making sure to scrap all the brown bits from the bottom. Add marinara sauce and spices and mix together.

Place meatballs back in sauce, make sure they are covered with sauce. Allow to come to a bubble, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Drain and rinse Palmini noodles and cook in a pan on the stove over medium-high heat with a little olive oil. Cook until heated through.

Plate the noodles with meatballs and sauce on top!

About 8 servings

1 serving = 1 protein and 8oz of veggies with the sauce as your condiment

Enjoy!