Recipe: Thanksgiving Meatballs

Everyone should be able to enjoy foods during the holiday season, even when undergoing treatment for cancer.

Certain cancers, such as pancreatic cancer, may pose more of a challenge during the holiday season as people with this disease may not be able to tolerate high fat dishes due to fat malabsorption. 

Some ways to decrease the amount of fat in a recipe is by: 

• Choosing non-fat or low-fat dairy products 
• Substituting ground chicken or turkey for ground beef 
• Using olive oil instead of butter or lard 
• Decreasing the amount of oil used 
• Choosing baking over frying 
• Substituting eggs white for eggs 

Here is a great recipe to use as an appetizer or side dish. Using ground turkey instead of ground beef, substituting an egg white for one egg, only using one tablespoon of olive oil, and by baking these meatballs instead of frying them, helps to make this recipe a low fat, high protein option that everyone can enjoy. 

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lb. lean ground turkey meat 
• 1 ¼ cup of herbed seasoned, whole grain stuffing bread cubes 
• ½ cup of dried currants
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg white 
• ¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion 
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary 
• 1 tsp. Salt 
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil and olive oil spray 
• Other add-in ideas: shredded squash or chopped mushrooms 

Preparation: 

• Preheat oven to 450°F
• Coat a 9x13 inch baking sheet with olive oil spray and set aside. 
• In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, currants, eggs, onion, rosemary, and salt. Add half of the stuffing cubes in whole form, and crush the other half in your hands to resemble bread crumbs.
• Mix everything together with your hands until it is all incorporated. 
• Coat your hands with a little bit of olive oil and roll the mixture firmly into balls about the size of golf balls. Place them in the coated baking dish.
• Roast for about 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and slightly brown on top. 
• Severe meatballs with low sodium gravy and fresh cranberry sauce, and enjoy! 

Next Steps & Resources:

• Recipe adapted by the oncology dieticians at John Theurer Cancer Center from  Recipe & Nutrition Tips for Pancreatic Cancer from the Cooking. Comfort. Care Nourishment for Pancreatic Cancer Fight Program 
• Check out our dedicated survivorship class, Moving Forward: Eat Well, Live Well.
• For more research-based information on healthy eating, including recipes, food facts, and interesting articles, go to Healthy Eating - American Institute for Cancer Research and Eat Healthy and Get Active.