I’ve mentioned these in the past and have now gotten around to typing up the recipe. These bad boys are packed with nutrition and are perfect for pregnant moms, postpartum moms, and female runners of all stages of life.

Runners often have low iron, and most female runners are depleted in iron due to a lot of biological factors (like menstruation) and stress. Add pregnancy or childbirth into the mix, and you have a desperate need for more iron. While there are many supplements available, I prefer to get my iron through food as it is more easily absorbed in the body. (Plus, you can often avoid the negative side effects of taking an iron supplement.)

I’ve named them “Monster Meatballs” because not only are they nutritional powerhouses, but they’re bigger than regular, puny meatballs. (Plus, funny names make kids eat them, right?).

These meatballs are packed with protein, iron, and B vitamins through a combination of ground beef, pork, molasses, spinach, and the secret ingredient: liver.

Don’t let the liver freak you out. I’ve recently been reading about the amazing amount of nutrition to be found in organ meats, and while I can’t wrap my mind around eating straight heart or liver, I’ve managed to sneak it into foods that make it much more doable. (Total confession: handling raw liver still completely freaks me out. I’m working on it.)

I used beef liver, because that’s what I found at my farmer’s market, but go ahead and use pork or even chicken livers if that’s what you can find.

These are even kid-approved. I served them with spaghetti squash and a homemade marinara and had multiple requests for seconds.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen large meatballs, because I’m pretty sure I feed an army, and I like to have extras to freeze and keep on hand. That way I can just grab what I need for a meal. But feel free to cut the recipe in half or make smaller ones if that works for your family better.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 pound beef, pork, or chicken liver finely diced, or pureed in a food processor
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and finely diced ( I measured frozen then thawed, and pureed in food processor)
• 2 tbs blackstrap molasses
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 2 tbs dried parsley
• 1/2 tbs salt
• 1/2 ground black pepper
• 2 tsp paprika

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine ingredients and mix well until evenly distributed.
3. Grease 3 muffin tins with olive oil or butter.
4. Roll portions of the mix into a ball and place into each muffin tin.
5. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Makes about 3 dozen large “Monster” meatballs.

To Freeze:

• Place cooked meatballs in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Put in freezer for a couple of hours until frozen
• Place in a gallon-sized ziploc bag and pop back into the freezer.

Let me know how these turn out for you! Are you brave enough to try liver?

Print Recipe:
Monster Meatballs

Related:

Foods to Prep for Postpartum
Almond Chocolate Cookies
Homemade Larabars
Grain-free Granola
How to Eat Healthy on a Budget