Healthy and Savory Meatloaf Recipe

Recipe From Dr. Mercola

The combination of meat, vegetables and seasonings is probably a reason why people love meatloaf. The many recipes alone are a huge testament to its popularity. While nothing really beats home-cooked meatloaf, some people settle for store-bought varieties that are made with processed meats that lack any nutritional value.

This Meatloaf Recipe gives you a good balance of savory and healthy, as it combines the meaty goodness of organic grass-fed beef with fresh vegetables that pack a crunch.

Healthy and Savory Meatloaf Recipe

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour Total Time: 70 minutes

Ingredients

Procedure

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Grease loaf pan with coconut oil.
  3. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the ketchup and mix gently by hand.
  4. Place meatloaf mixture into the greased loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes.
  5. After 30 minutes, remove meatloaf from the oven and top with the ketchup.
  6. Place back into the oven for an additional 30 minutes or until no longer pink.
  7. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing.
Tip:
  1. You can place all your vegetables in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
  2. If you think the mixture does not bind well together, add another free-range egg until you get your desired consistency.

Add This Healthy and Savory Meatloaf Recipe to Your Repertoire

Although this Healthy and Savory Meatloaf Recipe uses basic ingredients, this mouthwatering dish is perfect for any occasion. The vegetables and coconut flour provide a healthy twist to this classic, and you’re sure that this meatloaf will have all-natural flavors, unlike some that reek of processed meats and artificial ingredients.

Grass-Fed Beef: the Best Type of Meat for Meatloaf

Grass-fed beef is the superior choice of meat for meatloaf, since you’ll get benefits that aren’t found in meat from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

For starters, grass-fed cows are allowed to eat their natural diet of grass, unlike CAFO cows that are given grains, corn and even antibiotics. Grass-fed cows also roam freely on grassland, while CAFO cows are kept in horrible conditions, putting them at a higher risk of bacterial infections. Most importantly, unlike CAFO beef that contains little to no nutrition, grass-fed beef contains higher amounts of:

Beta-carotene Omega-3s, as well as a healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) B vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
Minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium Conjugated linolenic acid (CLA)
Vaccenic acid that can be transformed into CLA  

Pack Some Crunch With Celery

What makes this meatloaf recipe special are the different vegetables that provide flavor and texture — like celery. This low-calorie vegetable (16 calories per cup) is known for its high amounts of fiber that allow the food to move more quickly into the digestive tract and help reduce your risk for colon cancer. Plus, celery is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals like:

Vitamins A, C and K B vitamins in B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid) and B6 (pyridoxine)
Manganese Copper
Phosphorus Magnesium
Calcium  

Celery is a valuable source of flavonoids like zeaxanthin, lutein, beta-carotene, quercetin and kaempferol, too. These compounds can boost the immune system, prevent the growth of abnormal cancer-causing cells and reduce inflammation and risk for heart disease.

Coconut Flour Adds Depth to Your Dishes

Don’t just pick any regular flour to bind the meatloaf mixture together. Instead, use coconut flour, which is made from fresh coconut meat. The meat is then ground into a fine powder and has a texture similar to grain flours.

Apart from adding a mildly sweet coconut flavor, coconut flour also delivers important benefits. For starters, it’s gluten-free, has low carbohydrate levels, is a good source of protein and doesn’t cause spikes in blood sugar. However, coconut flour is most known for its high dietary fiber content at a whopping 48 percent, the highest of any known flour.

If you plan on substituting coconut flour for regular flour in other recipes, especially for baked goods, remember that the high fiber content in coconut flour makes it prone to absorb more liquid.

You should only replace up to 20 percent of the needed amount of regular flour with coconut flour, and combine with an equal amount of liquid. You also need to add one egg per ounce of coconut flour, as it will take the place of gluten and help combine the mixture together. You could also use raw honey, hemp powder, chia seed or ground flax seeds (1 tablespoon in 3 tablespoons of water).

Don’t forget that this substitution process takes experimenting as well, especially if you want to get perfect proportions. The rule of thumb is that adding more or less coconut flour affects the texture of the finished product, while adding binding ingredients like eggs or flax seeds helps the dish from falling apart.

Sources and References