Baby Approved Meatballs

Ever since I read this book Baby-Led Weaning The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods—and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater I have felt excited to share solid foods with my son and let me tell you, it is going so well, plus there a some great side benefits!

My husband and I never eat in front of the TV anymore, every meal is a family meal at the table and our entertainment is each other. We have conversations and enjoy watching our son, or listening to him babble and talking to him. 

Clark is almost 10 months old and has become a pro at eating. He has his pincer grip down, he can pick up peas and beans off his tray easily. He rarely gags or chokes anymore, which is normal and his way of learning how to eat, but it hardly happens now that he is used to eating regularly. 

Baby-led weaning has also helped to encourage me to cook healthy whole food meals for our family as well. I only want to serve my son real food from the earth, not a package, so that means our whole family is eating well. This recipe is adapted from a fellow baby-led weaning mama, you can follow her on Instagram to see her recipes and what she is serving her baby. 

To get all the veggies in this recipe small enough for the meatballs you can chop chop chop or just toss into a food processor. 

Also! This recipe is #glutenfree, packed with iron and protein, great for breastfeeding mama, full of healthy fat and real food to nourish your and your baby's body. 

Baby Approved Meatball Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb grass-fed bison or beef
• 1 cup gluten free oats
• 1 onion chopped well
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 carrot shredded
• 2 cups of greens chopped well - spinach, kale, chard (I used beet greens instead of tossing them from my beets)
• 2-3 mushrooms chopped well - shiitake or reishi are great for all their anti-everything properties
• 1 cup of broccoli or zucchini chopped well
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup ground flaxseed 
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. In a large frying pan, melt the coconut oil over medium heat and then cook the onion until translucent. 
3. Add all the chopped veggies and minced garlic and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently, until everything is tender but not too soft. 
4. While that is cooking, combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl until well incorporated. 
5. Once the veggies are done, add them to the bowl of meat mixture and wait to cool so you can use your hands to fully combine everything. 
6. Form the mixture into about 2" balls and place on a baking sheet. 
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the balls are no longer pink in the center. 
8. Makes about 30-35 balls.

To Freeze

Once the meatballs have cooled to room temperature, transfer a few balls at a time to a small baking sheet or plate and do not let them touch. Place the plate in the freezer for 20 minutes. The balls should now be frozen and can be placed into a ziploc freezer bag for storage. Freezing them on the plate without touching prevents them from sticking together in the bag. Much easier to remove 1 or 2 later!

To Reheat & Eat

Simply remove a few meatballs from the freezer and place in a pan on low-medium heat or use a toaster-oven until warm in the center.