Paleo Swedish Meatballs

He did it!  One year without one sip of pop!  Nolan is easily inspired by anyone who is not me...but if you are a professional athlete that he thinks is cool [or Tom thinks is cool] and you write a book, Nolan will read it!  He read 'Growing Up Gronk' a book written about an NFL player that both of my guys love.  The book talks about how he grew up and how he got to the NFL.  this book makes Nolan want to work harder for football.  Another book he read was about Rich Froning who has won the Crossfit Games 3 years in a row...he is the strongest man on earth and now Nolan loves crossfit and trains with us on the weekends.  The guy that planted the idea to give up pop for a year was Tim Tebow, another NFL player.  In his book he talks about this no-pop bet he made with his parents which gave Nolan one bright idea.  

He approached Tom with the bet and neither of us thought he would be able to do it, but he did.  Obviously there is money involved to make it worth while for the boy!  Nothing carbonated, no slurpee's, no special holiday or birthday exceptions.  This guy ordered only waters every time we went out for dinner, he sipped water at birthday parties while he watched his friends chug pop, not one cheat and not a whole lot of complaining!  November 1, 2014 marked the one year date for him.  He went hard drinking 2 sprites that night!  Now I just need to find a book to encourage him to ditch the girls for a few years...

 

 

My house is a total disaster with how busy this fall got unexpectedly, but I am still making dinner like a champ!  I really enjoy cooking for the most part because the result is really yummy food...and I am making a ton of it with the result of cooking a bit less and having more left-overs!  This healthy take on Swedish Meatballs was such a roaring success.  It took more prep-time in the kitchen, but if you are a Swedish Meatball fan, then you really need to suck it up and make these!  Heck, even if you aren't a fan, just suck it up and make these, they are scrumptious!

Paleo Swedish Meatballs [makes 50 meatballs]

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 2 medium eggs
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent.
3. In a large bowl combine meats, onions and then all the other ingredients.  Mix well.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cook the gravy while the meatballs cook.  [recipe below]
5. Remove from oven and serve with gravy.

Creamy Gravy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashews, raw/soaked
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp clarified butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 cups bone broth
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder dissolved in 1/2 cup of broth or water

Directions:

1. Soak cashews for 2-6 hours in water.  Drain and place in a food processor or blender with lemon juice, salt and 1 cup of coconut milk.  Blend until creamy and set aside.
2. In a large pot melt butter.  Add shallot and caramelize.  
3. Add sage, thyme and balsamic vinegar.  Stir for 2-3 minutes.  
4. Add broth, 1 cup coconut milk, coconut cream and the cashew mixture.  Stir and simmer. 
5. Bring gravy to a boil and simmer again.  Slowly add the arrowroot mixture while whisking gravy until desired consistency is achieved.  
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over meatballs!