Sloppy Joe Meatballs

We made meatballs and spaghetti squash for dinner the other night and had a lot of fun doing it. My girls love being in the kitchen, so I am always looking for recipes where they can easily help. Meatballs are super fun for them because they get their hands messy and it is not a technical dish, so they can make the meatballs as they wish.

These particular meatballs are called Sloppy Joe Meatballs and are from the Primal Cravings cookbook by Megan Mccullough Keatley and Brandon Keatley. They really taste like sloppy joes! The only modification we made to the recipe was the omission of sugar. The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup coconut sugar in the sauce. I tasted the sauce without the sugar and did not feel the addition of sugar was necessary.

The recipe calls for worcestershire sauce, which we don’t use often because it contains sugar. Some worcestershire sauces also contain gluten. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire is gluten free. Read your ingredient label. If it contains malt vinegar, it contains gluten. French’s also makes a gluten free Worcestershire Sauce, just make sure to read the label first to ensure you’re buying the right one.

Lanie Meatballs

When purchasing your tomato paste, make sure the bottle is made of glass or that the can is produced without BPA.  We use Bionaturae Organic Tomato Paste because the container is made of glass.  When we use tomato sauce, we purchase Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce, No Salt Added because the lining of their cans are produced without BPA. “The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, or BPA, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Studies show that the BPA in most people’s bodies exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. You can get 50 micrograms of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young. Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Eden Organic and Bionaturae. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, such as Trader Joe’s and Pomi.” http://www.rodale.com/food-ingredients-avoid

Here is a great reference for BPA free canned food brands: http://bpafreecannedfood.wordpress.com/bpa-free-canned-food-brands/
Here is a BPA Canned Food Pocket Guide to take with you to the store: http://bpafreecannedfood.wordpress.com/bpa-free-pocket-guide/

The Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute found that BPA levels in families who ate fresh instead of canned or plastic-packaged food for THREE days dropped by 60%!

Sloppy Joe Meatballs

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Sloppy Joe Meatballs

Whole Food. Real Food. Good Food.

Ingredients

  • FOR THE MEATBALLS
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 pounds ground beef (preferably organic)
  • 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp coconut aminos
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • FOR THE SAUCE
  • 1 28-ounce can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp coconut aminos
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, diced
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a medium pot, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until cooked through.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the rest of the meatball ingredients. Once the onions are cooked, add half of them to the meatball mixture (keeping the other half in the pot). Use your hands or a scoop to form the meat into balls. Place the balls onto a baking sheet and bake until cooked through -- depending on the size of your meatballs, about 15-20 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, add the sauce ingredients to the onions in the pot. Simmer the sauce while the meatballs bake in the oven.
  5. Place the meatballs int he sauce and let them get cozy and hang out for a few minutes before serving.
  6. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Meatballs

FOR THE MEATBALLS

  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 pounds ground beef (preferably organic)
  • 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp coconut aminos
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • Salt & pepper to taste

FOR THE SAUCE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium pot, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the rest of the meatball ingredients. Once the onions are cooked, add half of them to the meatball mixture (keeping the other half in the pot). Use your hands or a scoop to form the meat into balls. Place the balls onto a baking sheet and bake until cooked through — depending on the size of your meatballs, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add the sauce ingredients to the onions in the pot. Simmer the sauce while the meatballs bake in the oven.
5. Place the meatballs int he sauce and let them get cozy and hang out for a few minutes before serving.
6. Enjoy!

Meatballs  Sloppy Joe Meatballs

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