You may have noticed I like making easy meals from real foods as quick as possible.

I would say 90% of my meals are made in under 30 minutes. And I always make extra for easy throw together meals for the week.

This is what I consider meal prep and is why it doesn’t take me an entire Sunday to prep. I like my Sundays to be for dog walks, reading, time with my Husband (we’ve recently started shooting hoops together which is both hysterical and active), and catching up on a favorite show (newly obsessed with Hanna on Netflix).

Well, these meatballs are my BFF when it comes to meal prep. I make a big batch and freeze most, popping them out when needed and just warming them up. My favorite way to eat them is in this recipe- paired with tomato sauce and a bowl of a spiralized veggie or spaghetti squash.

I’m not kidding when I say that these meatballs go well with anything. AN-Y-THING. I have had them on salads when I need protein; in scrambled eggs when I want something different; even without a sauce and paired with roasted veggies to roundup a random meal of what was left in the fridge. They are really good, really fast, and really real food (my fave).

Brian has recently discovered spaghetti squash. Honestly, as squash goes, it’s not my very fave so it’s not one I had made much. But now that Brian has discovered that he loves it, it has become a staple in our house (though, this might change soon as we won’t be getting them from our CSA over the next couple of seasons).

His favorite way to eat spaghetti squash is outlined in this recipe- roasted and scraped out so that it is similar to spaghetti noodles, topped with meatballs, our favorite real food marinara, and fresh mozzarella.

Note, this recipe takes longer than 30 minutes because of roasting the squash. The rest is really fast. If you want a faster option, keep reading!

This recipe is awesome as it is written here with spaghetti squash, however, my favorite way of eating the meatballs is on spiralized zucchini or sweet potato. This cooks up faster, just spiralize the veggie of choice and saute it in a pan in avocado oil for a few minutes.

Whichever version of veggie noodles you like, they will work beautifully with these meatballs.

Let me know what you think by sharing a pic of your meatballs on Instagram and tagging @northwesthealthcoaching! I’m curious to see what veggie noodles are your favorite!

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Quick Homemade Meatballs + Veggie Noodles Recipe

Makes 9-12 meatballs but double and freeze for easy meal prep.

Meatball Ingredients

• 1 pound organic ground beef (can use ground turkey or chicken)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Spaghetti Ingredients

• 1-2 teaspoons avocado oil
• 1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeds scooped out
• Salt and pepper
• 1 24 oz jar of marinara sauce- my favorite. Check to be sure there are minimal ingredients and no added sugar.
• 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
• Fresh mozzarella for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush the inside and rim of spaghetti squash with avocado oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay with cut-side down on baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until you can use a fork and scrape out strands easily.
2. Add all meatball ingredients to a large bowl and mix with your hands until well incorporated.
3. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Roll meat mixture into meatball sized balls and place on parchment paper until all of it has been used.
4. Bake meatballs for 10 minutes, flip, and bake for 10 more minutes.
5. *Freezing-When the meatballs are done, you can continue with the recipe. If you are freezing some meatballs, stop here. Let them cool, place in a glass container and top with lid, placing in the freezer. When wanting to eat them, just take them out and warm them up, or continue with this recipe.*
6. While the meatballs are baking, warm the marinara sauce and diced tomatoes in a large pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs when ready and let them simmer for a few minutes.
7. With a fork, scrape the spaghetti squash onto your plates, add marinara and meatballs, and top with chunks of fresh mozzarella.

If you want to use a different veggie for your noodles, spiralize them first (I like zucchini or sweet potato here). When the meatballs are baking and the sauce is simmering, add avocado oil to a medium pan over medium-low heat. Add noodles and cook 3-10 minutes, depending on how soft you like them and hardiness of the veggie.

Naturally Gluten-Free!