VSGers

Join

Recipe Substitutions

garber6th
garber6th Posts: 1,890 Member
in Social Groups
I saw a recipe for mini meat loaves online, which would really fit into the high-protein and smaller quantity eating we all need to do, but the recipe called for flour. I am not at the point where I want to add carbs back into my diet, so I was thinking of trying Trader Joe's Almond Meal in place of the flour, which is much lower in carbs. Has anyone tried using almond meal or almond flour as a substitution for regular flour? Also, maybe you could share other recipe substitutions you have been making since surgery? Thanks :-)

Replies

  • teachren
    teachren Posts: 78
    I make mini meatloaves in cupcake tins and don't use any flour. I do add in a little panko crumbs now and again. I use egg white as the binder and lots of veggies. I find the trick is to cook out the veggies in a frying pan first to get rid of the excess moisture. Then add them to the ground meat (I use chicken, turkey or lean beef or pork).

    I will go and copy a couple of my recipes (well...not really a recipe but an ingredient list I plunked into MFP) and post them here if I can figure it out! :-)

    I have used almond flour. You'll need much less of it as it really absorbs liquid. So for example if you bake with it you have to make sure you add more liquid. I had a go at making a brownie with almond flour...it was disastrous. I really should attempt it again. Maybe this summer.

    Okay..I'll go try and copy from my recipes.
  • teachren
    teachren Posts: 78
    Ahh...it copied really funny. So sorry I am not techie enough to get it to work.

    Okay..the other thing I put in was Oikos plain yogurt and Guy's sugar free bbq sauce. The yogurt and egg white were the binders and upped the protein. Other than that just the meat and some finely chopped veggies and spices.

    I made some one time in a thai style and I put in lemon grass, ginger and lots of garlic and cilantro. Delish.

    With chicken they work out to around 9 g of protein for about 80 calories a piece. Slightly higher for beef or pork. I can now eat two on top of some sauteed spinach or cauliflower puree.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,890 Member
    Thanks! I was really thinking they don't necessarily need a starchy binder at all! I will do some experimenting. Wish me luck!
  • Ujj7
    Ujj7 Posts: 51
    I made yummy meatloaf this week with ground turkey and ground lamb 1lb of each, I used tomato paste and steak seasoning and marjoram and 1 onion pureed. No egg or flour/breadcrumbs needed and baked for about an hour at 375 in a silicone loaf pan
    It stuck to gether nicely, and didn't stick to the pan, and was heavenly tasting. My boys devoured 1/2 of the loaf in a sitting. served it with potato/cauliflower mash. the dripping would have made a good gravy but I was not feeling that industrious.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    My mother has made cupcake mini meat loafs for years and has never used flour. Just eggs and sautéed veggies. The silicon baking trays are wonderful and easy cleanup. We serve them with mango chutney and Dijon mustard. We pair them with Brussels sprouts or sugar snap peas or baby carrots.
    The trick is to not overwork the meat
  • relentless2121
    relentless2121 Posts: 431 Member
    Thanks everyone for sharing all of the great ideas on here. I used to make an old Weight Watcher Recipe called "Salsa Meatloaf". It just consisted of lean ground beef, veggies, low sodium salsa and rolled out. Baked in a cake pan and then you can cut it up and weight the portions before freezing.
    There must be something to substitute the rolled oats with.
    It was one of my favorite recipes when I was on program.
    So convenient to make a pan full of it and freeze several portions.
  • JxAAA
    JxAAA Posts: 87 Member
    I make those mini meatloaves too, in fact I'm making them tonight. I don't add flour, I added egg. I also found a recipe on pinterest for meatballs using ricotta cheese. Tonight I'll be mixing ricotta, egg and the meat into mini meatloaves and bake them in a muffin tin.
  • actg95
    actg95 Posts: 85 Member
    What veggies did you saute and then cook in? I am thinking I want to try this. :)
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
    This topic has given me lots of ideas to experiment with! Love meatloaf and hadn't really thought about how to make it low cal, high protein prior to reading this. Thanks everyone! You inspired me to try and improve one of my favorites that I forgot about!!
  • relentless2121
    relentless2121 Posts: 431 Member
    Onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots and tomatoes work well in the meatloaf. If you like salsa, you can add some low sodium salsa. The weight watchers recipe called for rolled oats but as people are saying, they are finding ways to make it without adding carbs. Good luck everyone trying it out. Be sure to share your success. :flowerforyou:
  • dward59
    dward59 Posts: 731 Member
    Dale, et al.

    I sometimes fear I sound a broken record with this blog, BUT have you checked out eggface's ideas?

    http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2013/07/mini-meatloaf-madness-reuben-mini.html

    Lower in the page are links to many other types of meatloaf mini's.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,890 Member
    Dale, et al.

    I sometimes fear I sound a broken record with this blog, BUT have you checked out eggface's ideas?

    http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2013/07/mini-meatloaf-madness-reuben-mini.html

    Lower in the page are links to many other types of meatloaf mini's.

    Thanks, Dan :-)
  • relentless2121
    relentless2121 Posts: 431 Member
    Dale, et al.

    I sometimes fear I sound a broken record with this blog, BUT have you checked out eggface's ideas?

    http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2013/07/mini-meatloaf-madness-reuben-mini.html

    Lower in the page are links to many other types of meatloaf mini's.

    Thanks dward59. I'm fairly new on here and having surgery in a few months. I'm really curious to learn about these recipes to make in muffin tins. I will check it out. :flowerforyou:

Categories