Greek Meatballs and Cauliflower "Couscous"

Hey folks!  That is, if anyone is still reading after I stopped posting over 3 years ago...  Well, for whoever is still around (Supriya and Mom): I'm back, at least for one post today!

My friend Sammie recently started on a grain free/soy free/dairy free/sugar free diet and reached out to me for some tips and support.  This is exactly the reason I started this blog in the first place: to help folks who are trying to change their lives through food.  I know it's not easy to change your diet, but I also know the immense value in becoming mindful of how you feed yourself, in every sense of the word.  So when Sammie reached out I invited them over for dinner! As we started cooking and talking, they asked me, "Hey are you ever going to start your blog up again?" I explained that since I am so busy these days, I don't really have time to cook elaborate or blog-worthy meals anymore.  I spoke these words as we began dividing up the duties to cook up a very elaborate meal together and I realized, "Oh wait- I'm making a blog-worthy meal right now! Maybe I should post about it!?" So I grabbed my phone and snapped a few good shots of us cooking up a feast of Greek style chicken meatballs, cauliflower "couscous," tahini dressing, sweet potatoes and kale.  My roommate Cat joined us in creating this delicious meal and we ate together, the three of us, with Beyonce's Lemonade album blasting on repeat as the rain poured outside.   During these challenging times in our country, we all need to make time for friends, self care, and creativity.  Thanks Sammie for inspiring me to not only take the time to cook a fabulous meal with fabulous people, but also to start up my blog again (well at least sporadically)!

Enjoy these recipes as the whole meal is grain free, soy free, as well as gluten/sugar/dairy free!

Greek Style Chicken Meatballs (adapted from Liveto110 and PaleoLeap)
Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of ground chicken (you could also use ground turkey or ground beef or lamb)
• 1 onion finely diced
• 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of parsley finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of fresh mint finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of finely ground walnuts (you could use almond meal too)
• 2 tbs of tomato paste
• 1 egg
• sprinkle of dried oregano
• sprinkle of salt and pepper
• olive oil to cook

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. In a pan, heat the oil on medium heat and cook the onions 'till they become soft and translucent.  Add the garlic in when the onions are about halfway down.
3. In a large bowl mix together the chicken, onions, garlic, and all the rest of the ingredients, using your hands!
4. Roll the meat mixture into small balls, about the size of golf balls and lay them on a greased cooking sheet.
5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  
6. Serve with tahini dressing! 

Cauliflower "Couscous"
Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes cut into small pieces
• salt and pepper
• juice of one lemon
• olive oil for cooking

Directions

1. Wash and dry the cauliflower and cut into small pieces.
2. Place pieces of cauliflower into a food processor (do a few small batches) and process until the cauliflower is the size of couscous.  Don't over process or it will become pureed cauliflower.  (You can also grate the cauliflower if you don't have a food processor.)  
3. In a pan, heat the oil and garlic on medium/high heat for about 30 seconds and then add the cauliflower to the pan (depending on how large your pan is, you may want to do two batches). Sauté the cauliflower for about 5 minutes or until it's golden and a little toasted (if you don't want a toasted taste, add a little bit of water to the pan so it steams more than fries).  
4. Mix the cooked cauliflower "couscous" with the parsley, tomatoes, lemon and salt and pepper and enjoy!

BTW: I sautéed the kale in garlic and roasted the sweet potatoes chunks in some olive oil and salt/pepper for 40 minutes at 400 F.