Meatloaf, Meatloaf Double Beatloaf!

If you don’t know where the title of the blog post is from, STOP everything you are doing and watch this!

Ok. Got it now? :)

Seriously. Meatloaf can be one of those things that is the dreaded family meal if not prepared correctly. In our house, it’s always been a welcome meal. I had a wonderful recipe that included oatmeal and lots of ketchup, among other things. Then I couldn’t eat those things anymore. So I found a new loaf with cheese and bacon. Soon that one was no longer a viable option for me. The journey continued.

I was NOT going to give up the star bacon ingredient. I mean after all, if you have a well raised healthy pig, the fat from the bacon is actually a healthy food for you (‘tis true – look it up). Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest using just any brand of bacon in this incredible meatloaf. Find a brand that has no added hormones or antibiotics, as well as nitrate free and virtually no sugar. Better yet, go visit your local farmer and purchase a crap load so you can eat all the bacon whenever you want to!

Back to the journey of finding the perfect meatloaf recipe. Creating a moist (yes, I used that word), well tasting meatloaf can be difficult without eggs and ketchup and all that jazz. The secret….dundundundun….VEGGIES! And LOTS of them!

Now, you can see them somewhat, but you can’t taste them and even my teenagers didn’t say A SINGLE WORD about the veg in this meatloaf. And TASTY! I can’t even tell you! I crave this meatloaf and that is bizarre.

This will pack a healthful punch with a ton of veg, is autoimmune protocol diet (AIP) compliant, but you don’t have to eat AIP to love it. One killer tip is when making this, MAKE 2! The second one do not cook. Freeze it uncooked so you can just pop it in the oven at a later date. Total time saver and you just have to turn the oven on!

Veggie Loaded Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup cauliflower, processed into “rice” with a food processor, or bought pre-shredded
1 zucchini, peeled and grated, I used a food processer
1 carrot, peeled and grated, I used a food processer
½ onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup curly parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons fresh thyme and/or marjoram or 3/4 tsp dried of each
2 egg yolks (omit if on the elimination diet)
2 lbs ground beef, lamb, or pork mixture (I used beef and pork), room temperature
5-6 slices pastured bacon

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, heat the coconut oil and saute the onion, zucchini, carrot and cauliflower rice for about 5 minutes, adding the garlic at the very end. Let cool.
In a large bowl mix the egg yolks with the herbs and spices including the fresh parsley. Add the meat and vegetables to the bowl. Mix gently with your hands until just incorporated.
Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 5 loaf pan or my favorite way is to spray a broiler pan and shape your own loaf right on the pan. Lay the bacon strips across the top, tucking them in to the ends if they are too long, you will use less bacon if you are using a loaf pan. Cook for 45-50 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Remove from oven and carefully pour off liquid if using the loaf pan, reserving it to cook veggies in later.
Put the loaf back in the oven for 10 minutes under the broiler to crisp up the bacon. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serves 6-8 large servings

#healthifiedu #naturalhealing #autoimmune #foodprep #aip #healthyfood #paleo #primal