How many times have you heard, or had to say, “you need to eat your veggies!” throughout your lifetime? Why does it have to be such a source of contention? I mean I understand that a brussel sprout is never going to taste like a strawberry, but does that mean that it has to be completely despised for all time? Something that has always baffled me is a three part meal, consisting of a plate with a plain meat, a plain starch, and a plain veggie. Even when seasoned and cooked to their fullest potential, you’re painting with a pretty dull palette with that equation. Not to mention, you’re just begging for dissatisfied dinner habitués if they’re interested in anything beyond their own health. So where did the idea come from that there’s the yummy part of dinner, and then there’s the necessary add on of vegetables? Surely there must be some magical way for us to combine the yummy and the veggie, without adding enough butter and cheese to have you wondering just what the veggie is that’s buried underneath it all.
Everyone would most likely agree that soups are the easiest way to get this job done. Of course there will be plenty of veggies in a good soup! But what about the non soup days? How do we make veggies something desirable then? Well, you play to their strengths! You manipulate their flavors by different methods of cooking and by adding them to other foods that best complement, or are complemented by, their flavor. For instance, basically every meal should always start with onions and garlic. I don’t want to start any fights here, but this is just an absolute fact of life that should never even try to be disputed. Between the incredible depth of flavor that they give to any meal, and their innumerable health benefits, there’s just no down side (other than a few tears shed during the chopping… but that’s just cathartic). Another helpful way to drop the dreaded side dish, is to look at ingredients that you’re buying from the store, almost always packed with preservatives, chemicals, sugar of varying kinds, and almost no vegetables, and consider making those ingredients yourself. Tomato sauce is my most obvious example of this principle; even before any ingredients other than the tomato itself are added, there are already pitfalls. First of all, they remove the tomato skins, which are known to be the main source of lycopene, antioxidants, amino acids, and minerals within the tomato. Secondly, the process (typically) used to skin the tomatoes is lye peeling, meaning that they use lye (a potent chemical deemed poisonous if ingested), to burn the skins off of the tomato pulp. If you can get passed all of that, then you can start to examine all of the tomato sauce additives - which typically include a surprising 8 grams of sugar per half cup serving. Of course it takes some extra time and forethought, but preparing (and especially preserving), these kinds of ingredients ahead of time is a huge money and health saver in the long run.
But what did we do with all of our veggies and healthy homemade ingredients this week? We made meatloaf! And because of our ability to incorporate an ample supply of veggies right into the yummy main dish, there was not a bit of whining or complaining or badgering about finishing veggies at the table! With plenty of onions, garlic, and olive oil roasted tomatoes, this meal provides you with more than enough quercetin and lycopene - both proven to be angiogenesis inhibitors and therefore tumor metastases suppressants. The grass fed beef gives you double the omega-3 fatty acids that you would get in a conventional ground beef, as well as conjugated linoleic acid to boost the immune system and fight inflammation. Meanwhile the raw oatmeal contains plenty of fiber to give your digestive system a boost, as well as polyphenols and flavanoids, which are proven to inhibit inflammation, tumor growth, and angiogenesis.
Dinner plans almost always include a fair amount of organization and forethought, so if you’re going to go to the trouble, why not do it right by making sure that you’re giving your body what it needs to heal and thrive? And no matter what your motivation for making dinner is, everyone has a lot more fun if there’s no obligation and drudgery when it comes to eating certain parts of the meal. This moist and flavor packed meatloaf is a perfect way to ease yourself into incorporating the veggies right into the main dish, with a flavor that will have everyone coming back for seconds.
Meatloaf Recipe:
2 lbs. Organic Grass Fed Ground Beef
2 Medium/Large Onions
8-10 Cloves Garlic
1 C Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 C Bell Peppers
1/4 C Worcestire Sauce
2 Farm Fresh Eggs
1/2 C Tomato Sauce *
2 C Sweet and Sour Sauce **
1 C Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Chop half of the onions and garlic and caramelize with a drizzle of olive oil over low heat, stirring frequently, until amber colored and soft. Puree or grate the remaining onions and garlic until mostly smooth. Add the onions and garlic together with all of the other ingredients, saving out 1 cup of sweet and sour sauce for the top. Mix until just well combined, but no more, and press into the bottom of the mixing bowl before turning over into a cast iron skillet. (Alternatively, press mixture into two loaf pans). Evenly spread the remaining sweet and sour sauce over the top of the meatloaf, and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
*If using a store bought tomato sauce, be sure to use one without added sugar, and try to find one with as few chemical preservatives as possible. If making your own, we like a ratio of tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers, and hot peppers that is about 10:1:1:1:1, with added olive oil and herbs/spices to your own taste.
**Again, do the best you can in avoiding sugar and chemicals if buying from the store. But if making your own, simmer 1 C of SUGARFREE Ketchup (or pureed tomatoes), with 1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/2 C Molasses, and 3 Tbsp Worcestire Sauce.
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