A Fungus Among Us

I don't like mushrooms.

They're just...no. 

The smell, the texture- all wrong.

So for a girl who really isn't into mushrooms, I still find myself eating them.  The secret is chopping them really tiny and adding a billion other ingredients.  Like with these meatballs.

Turkey Wild Rice Meatballs
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 can cooked wild rice
1 cup finely chopped baby portabello mushrooms
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of your ingredients.  Stir with a stiff spoon, or else just use your hands to mush it all together. 
3. Form into 1.5 inch balls and place in the baking dish.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees.

Recipe makes 24 meatballs.  Serving size = 4 meatballs.  I don't know why I was so stingy with my plate.  I definitely went back for more.

Per serving: 208 calories, 17 g carbs, 6 g fat, 18 g protein.

You could get more creative here- make them into patties to bake in the oven for a burger, make into a meatloaf, try grilling it, etc. I just like making meatballs because they're easy to freeze and portion out for future lunches. 

The mushroom acts as a filler (and some would say "flavor enhancer") to provide substance with minimal calories.  That whole cup of mushrooms is only 40 calories! 

If you got excited by this mushroom recipe, don't get your hopes up.  Unlike zucchini, which I happily turned into cookies, I will not be getting funky with fungus anytime soon.