Healthy Recipes: Mini Meatloaf!

I was chatting with a friend about my passion for cooking and I’ve realized that ever since I’ve decided to lose weight, I haven’t had that zeal I once had. Mike has tied his apron strings and has taken over the kitchen lately. He’s become experimental and he’s gotten a lot more comfortable in the kitchen. He’s actually made some really great dishes lately. Leave it to a man to bring simple, yet delicious foods back. I got to thinking about it and I realize that I have a lack of healthy recipes. Its easy for me to create recipes with tons of butter (i.e. flavor) and cheese (i.e. gooey goodness) and love (i.e. love). But I haven’t really given too much thought on creating great recipes in a healthier way. This brings me to my new segment- Healthy Recipes for the Caloric Impaired. I think this will help me spark that passion for cooking I once had and very much miss and the creativity of finding a healthier technique turning high fat, high calorie favorites into their much healthier-same taste, counterparts. Here’s one that I’ve been thinking about:

Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef
.5lb lean ground pork
1 large egg, beaten slightly
1/4 c Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1/4 c wheat bread crumbs (use your food processor to pulse 2 or 3 slices of wheat bread)
4 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley (just a handful-not quite 1/4c)
1 small chopped onion
1 small bell pepper
2/3 Tspn ground pepper
3 TBSP Worcestercshire sauce
1 crushed beef bullion cube (instead of salt)
1/4 Can of diced tomatoes, NOT DRAINED

Directions:
1.) Coat 8 muffin tins with cooking spray. Using a muffin tin allows you to regulate portion sizes.
2.) Mix meat, egg, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, parsley, onion, bell pepper, ground pepper, bullion, 1 1/2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, and 1/4 can of diced tomatoes in a large bowl.
3.) Form the meat into 8 balls and put them in the muffin cups. Combine 2 TBSP of ketchup and 1 1/2 TBSP of Worcestershire sauce and spread 1/2 teaspoon over each mini meatloaf.
4.) Put the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes. Pour off fat before serving.

Serve with roasted rosemary new potatoes or garlic and herb mashed potatoes and roasted or steamed veggies.

Alternatives:
Substitute the bullion cube and onion for a packet of onion dip or soup mix and avoid the tears from cutting the onion.

Add spice by adding a few dashes of Tobasco to the ketchup and Worcestershire topping.

Add spice and flavor by substituting 1/2 c of salsa instead of diced tomatoes.

Eliminate some sodium content by substituting low sodium tomato sauce instead of ketchup.

Cut fat/calories by using .5lbs of ground lean sirloin, ground lean pork, and ground lean (90/10) turkey or chicken. Make sure to really work meat together with your hands when you mix them with the other ingredients.

Freeze leftovers in individual portions and reheat in microwave for 3-5 minutes.