Recipe: Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Zoodles: Instant Pot Clean Eating Edition

When making healthy lifestyle changes what is one of the first things we cut out? Soda? The junk food aisle? Eating out? 

Ah yes eating out was a big one for me. I love take out Chinese food. Sweet and Sour anything makes my taste buds jump for joy.

Not only does cutting eating out several times a week help your waist line, it also will help your wallet! 

This recipe I came up with last week in the instant pot sure hit the spot for my Chinese food craving.  Pair it with my Healthy Combination Fried Rice and you'll (hopefully) be a happy camper!

Ingredients:

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

3/4 cup organic coconut sugar OR sucanat

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 

1/4 cup organic ketchup

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tbsp braggs liquid aminos

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp water

Meatballs:

1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/4 cup 2 % milk or unsweetened almond milk

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 lbs organic grass fed beef or organic lean ground turkey (note: we prefer this recipe with beef)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/2 tsp sea salt or Himalayan Salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Zoodles: 

1 Zucchini

a little sliced onion optional

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Zoodler/veggie spiralizer

Directions:

Step #1: Make meatball mixture, cover and let chill in fridge for 30-60 minutes. Get your Instant Pot ready to go. Have the stainless steel pot clean/inside and place the rack inside as well. Add 1 cup of organic beef broth. Roll out meatballs and fill place them inside the pot. I start out by lining them up on the outside rim of the rack circle and make my way in. Cover the lid and set it to manual, high pressure for 5 minutes. Make sure the pressure valve is sealed. Once the pot has pressurized and cooked for 5 minutes put it in "natural release mode" ( set to warm for 10 minutes, then release the valve and remove the lid). 

*Note: I tend to prep my zucchini at this time as well.

Step #2: While the meatballs are cooking let's start making the sauce! Take a bowl and add all the dry ingredients BUT the cornstarch. Mix well then add water. Mix well again. Once the meatballs are done remove lid, take the rack out with meatballs on them. They make be a little stuck to the rack. If so, turn the rack upside down and dump the meatballs on to a plate. Drain any extra liquid left in the IP and then place pot back inside IP. Set IP to keep warm and add sauce mixture. Let warm up for a few minutes while stirring occasionally. Add cornstarch, stir well/frequently for about 2 mins. Once sauce begins to thicken add meatballs back into pot. Let meatballs sit for a minute, then turn them over and repeat the process another minute. By now you should have nice, flavorful sweet and sour meatballs! Turn pot off.

Step #3: Heat up a cast iron or skillet, add evoo and garlic/onion is optional. Then add zucchini and toss around for a few minutes. Take off heat.

Serve! 

Make these comfort food recipes into healthier versions at home as really helped me stick to my clean eating. Especially while I've been doing this round of Country Heat!

Want more recipes like this? Want more recipes like this, meal prep tips and/or to get started with a fitness routine? I would LOVE to be your coach! You can reach out to me by going to my Facebook page by clicking the picture below....

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