Greek 'Meat"ball Salad

Hallelujah!! I have a computer again.

I've been without my computer for almost 2 weeks and, let me tell you, not fun.

Not fun at all.

But, things will hopefully be getting back to normal again around here as I adjust to the newness of my awesome new machine. We've only posted twice in the past 2 weeks which is just plain weird for us. Let's see if we can't get back up to our usual amount of deliciousness sharing.

I'm going to start with this tasty (and healthy) salad recipe.

Strange choice from me to celebrate with, I know, BUT it really is a celebratory kind of salad. 

I took our Greek "meat"balls from our Greek Veggie "Meatball Pita post and turned it into a hearty, vegetarian, gluten free, ready in under 30 minutes salad. 

According to Myfitnesspal, the huge serving you see in the photo above is:

280 calories, 26 carbs, 12 fat, and 18 protein.

What are you waiting for?

Greek "Meat"ball Salad

Ingredients

"Meat"balls

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups)

3/4 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped

1/3 cup light feta, crumbled

1 egg

1/4 cup quinoa flour

2 tsp lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

salt & pepper

Salad

12 cups torn Romaine lettuce

1 cucumber, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

1 small onion, finely diced

1/4 cup light feta, crumbled

1/2 cup tzatziki 

Directions

Prepare "Meat"balls - In a medium bowl, mash chickpeas with a fork. It's okay if there is a few chunks left - it doesn't have to be completely smooth.

Stir in chopped spinach, feta, egg, quinoa flour, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and salt & pepper until well combined. 

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out small meatballs onto a plastic wrap lined tray. (You can also use your hands to shape about 1 Tbsp into a ball.) (You should end up with 32 balls)

Spray a large, non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Place over medium heat.

Place veggie balls into frying pan so they are not touching. Cook approximately 5 minutes on one side, then carefully flip over and continue cooking another 5 minutes or so, until both sides are browned and ball is heated through.

Remove from heat, cover and keep warm while you prepare salad.

Prepare salad - Equally divide the torn Romaine lettuce among 4 serving plates plates (about 3 cups each) Top each with approximately 1/4 cup diced cucumber, 2 Tbsp diced tomato, 2 Tbsp diced onion, 1 Tbsp crumbled feta, and 8 "meat"balls.

Drizzle each salad evenly with about 2 Tbsp tzatziki. 

(FYI - You can, of course, put more toppings on if you want to. I used the above measurements to determine the nutritional values!)

Serve immediately.

Note - if you want to prepare this ahead of time simply store the cooked  "meat"balls covered, in a separate container in the fridge until just before serving. Reheat them for a minute or two in the microwave and then assemble salad as per above instructions. 

I always bring a serving to work the following day and reheating the "meat"balls works like a hot darn. You certainly don't have to have them hot though, I just like them that way. You could toss it altogether and then just dress it with the tzatziki before serving if you prefer.

Enjoy these healthy meatballs in this lovely salad OR enjoy them in a sandwich following our Greek Veggie "Meat"ball Pita recipe by clicking HERE.

 

Be sure to stop by these fun linky parties - The Chicken Chick, Carole's Chatter