Mediterranean food is amazing and luckily I get to enjoy Greek food when visiting my in-laws. Unfortunately, it can be hard to enjoy this cuisine if you are tracking your calories and/or macros. I wanted all the goodness of beef souvlaki but without all the fat. Here is my slimmed down version that you can eat alone, with pita bread and/or sides such as tzatziki and village salad. I used lean ground beef so that I could have Greek olives with the meatballs. Give me all the olives!!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb 96% lean Ground Sirloin (I used Laura’s Lean Beef)
- 1 tsp (2g) Dried Oregano
- 5g All Purpose Greek Seasoning (Cavender’s Brand)
- 75g finely diced raw onion
- 2g Ground Black Pepper
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients together and measure out 56g per meatball. Roll into ball and place all meatballs in an oven proof dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with loose foil and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an addtional 5 minutes. The meatballs will be medium rare (pink in the middle) so if you prefer them well done, bake an addtional 5 minutes. Because the beef is lean and can dry out when cooked, the finely diced onions will help keep the meatballs moist and cooking them for less time is ideal.
Tzatziki-
Ingredients:
- 1 container Fage Total 0% yogurt (170 grams)
- 100 grams English Cucumber
- 15 grams lemon juice (optional)
- 1 gram All Purpose Greek Seasoning (Cavender’s Brand)
Instructions:
- Dice cucumber and place into a bowl. Sprinkle salt (1/4 tsp or so) and set aside. The salt will release water from the cucumber.
- Empty container of yogurt into bowl and add lemon juice and greek seasoning.
- Next, place diced cucumber onto a paper towel and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
- Add cucumber to yogurt and stir to combine. Enjoy!
Village Salad-
Ingredients:
- 4 Roma tomatoes (275 grams)
- 75 grams Red onion
- 2 0z or 56 grams Fat Free Crumbled Feta (President Brand)
- 30 grams Red Wine Vinegar (Pompeiian Brand)
- 1 gram All Purpose Greek Seasoning (Cavender’s Brand)
Instructions:
- Slice tomatoes in half and remove seeds. Dice and place into a bowl
- Dice red onion and place into bowl with tomatoes
- Add all other ingredients and stir to combine
*brands and choice of ingredients may alter calories and macros. Nutrition label facts have been rounded to the nearest calories and grams.
*Greek olives were added separately after I served out a portion of the village salad. They are not included in the list of ingredients or nutrition facts.