Sweet 'n' Sour Meatballs

So...my biggest fan, a.k.a. my mom faithfully checked this blog when she saw that I would be posting some recipes. She was dissappointed to find a delicious looking orzo salad without a recipe! I guess I will call my previous post a "teaser".

The reality is that I am really bad at measuring and almost just as bad at writing down my recipes. Needless to say, I will try to recreate that recipe and write it down this time. Believe me...it was amazing!

Now to my sweet 'n' sour meatballs. One of our friends was just diagnosed with diabetes and I wanted to make him something that would taste delicious and not make him dread his new diet. I know that you are wondering, "How could sweet 'n' sour meatballs EVER be diabetes friendly?". Well, it did take about an hour of research, but in the end I think I created something that is quite delicious and most definitely healthy. Just as a disclaimer, I did not talk to a doctor and I don't have a vast knowledge of a diabetes diet so if you have diabetes you should check with your doctor to find out if this recipe is okay.

The secret sweetener in this recipe is Agave Nectar. This sweetener comes from the Agave plant and is a low glycemic sweetener. Because it is low glycemic it is absorbed more slowly by the body thus preventing spikes in blood sugar. It is also sweeter than sugar so you need less. I first heard about Agave Nectar on Guy's Big Bite on the Food Network.

Sweet 'n' Sour Meatballs (picture coming soon)

Meatballs:

2lb. ground turkey

3 slices whole wheat bread

3 T. onion flakes

2 egg whites

2 tsp. garlic herb seasoning (not salt)

1 tsp. black pepper

2-3 tsp. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Put the bread slices in food processor and pulse to create fine bread crumbs. Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until just combined. If you over mix your meatballs they will be tough. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form bite size meatballs. Cook for 18 minutes.

Sauce:

6 oz. tomato paste

1/2 cup agave nectar

2/3 cup white vinegar

1 T. soy sauce

3/4 tsp. black pepper

1tsp. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

2 T. raw sugar cane

1 can pineapple chunks with juice

1 yellow onion, cut into 1 inch squares

1 green pepper, cut into 1 inch squares

Combine tomato paste, agave nectar, white vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper, worcestershire sauce, salt, sugar, and pineapple juice in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

If you are using a crockpot add cooked meatballs, pineapple chunks, sauce, yellow onion, and green pepper to crockpot and cook according to your crockpot's directions.

If you are using the oven preheat to 350 degrees. Saute yellow onion and green pepper until just tender. Put the cooked meatballs, pineapple chunks, sauce, yellow onion, and green pepper in a 13x9 baking dish and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Serve meatballs as an appetizer on toothpicks or over rice as an entree.