I have a thing against meatloaf.
Fun childhood trauma story for you today.
Once upon a time, there was a small girl. One night her mother made meatloaf for dinner. The girl wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to eat the meatloaf. Despite her complaints, her mother made the girl finish her plate.
Then tragedy struck! The girl ran for the bathroom and was sick to her stomach. That was the last time the child ate meatloaf. Until today.
It has been 26 years since I’ve eaten meatloaf, but I decided to brave it for my better half.
Vegas loves meatloaf. After proving my point about quinoa, I decided to do her a solid and make one of her favorite meals. Using quinoa. Mwahahaha!
She also loves BBQ, so I went for extra brownie points by using it in this loaf. I happen to love my BBQ sauce, so that made this meatloaf palatable to me. More than palatable. I loved it. Don’t tell my mother.
I used quinoa flakes and chia seeds to health-ify this loaf. You could use the traditional bread crumbs if that’s what you prefer. We enjoyed the ‘loaf with arugula salad and roasted baby artichokes.
[Tweet “BBQ Meatloaf Quinoa recipe – perfect #glutenfree football season dinner! #fitfluential #sweatpink”]
BBQ Quinoa Meatloaf
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 C carrots, minced
- 2 T fresh rosemary, minced
- 3/4 C BBQ sauce
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1/2 C quinoa flakes
- 1 T chia seeds (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400.
In a large pan, sauté onion in a bit of olive oil over medium high heat until just starting to turn clear. Add the garlic and cook for a ~1 min more. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine veggies, egg, ground turkey, quinoa flakes, chia seeds, and half a cup of the sauce. Using your hands mix together the ingredients.
Press mixture into a lightly-greased loaf pan. Place in the oven and bake for 30 mins. Remove from the oven and glaze the loaf with the remaining sauce. Then cook for 5-10 mins more, or until the loaf has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Makes 6 servings.
Approximate Nutritionals: 188 calories, 7.2g fat, 76.4g sodium, 11g carbohydrates, 2.4g fiber, 2.9g sugar, 17.1g protein
***
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week… that makes me marvelously happy.
Are you a meatloaf fan?
What’s your favorite BBQ sauce?
Oh wow this looks & sounds so hearty- definitely bookmarking to try and make! I don’t think I’ve ever really had a decent meatloaf since I was a kid. And if memory serves right, the only reason I enjoyed meatloaf night was because it entailed mashed potatoes ;)!
Thank you! I’m still not a fan of mashed potatoes… *shudder*
I’ve never had meatloaf in my life, but I have a few foods I still cannot eat today because I was sick immediately afterwards: quiche, anything involving chicken and mayo, and anything involving coconut and chocolate (I can, thankfully, handle one or the other but not combined… blech).
I didn’t think about it, but I guess meatloaf is an American thing. I think you’d like it though.
As long as chocolate it ok, you’re good. And wine, obv.
Ive never eaten meatloaf either (although Ive been served it often. shhhh) but with quinoa and CHIA!?
I think Id love it.
Im game to try anything once if it has chia in it.
Meatloaf traumatized me as a child too. My mom made it all the time and I couldn’t choke it down. Maybe if she made it like this I wouldn’t have meatloaf scars!
Meatloaf was a total staple (and a disgusting one!) at my house growing up. I have to confess that I have stayed away from all things “loaf” related for many years. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try this… 🙂
LOL! I hear you. I did a walnut lentil loaf a while ago when I was trying to brave the full-on meat one again.
Not a huge meatloaf person either! But I do like ones made with turkey or lentils! So this is right up my alley. Love the use of quinoa flakes as a binder! 🙂
LOL on the meatloaf story! Using quinoa is a great idea. My kids would like this one too.
Thanks! I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!
I’m actually not a big meatloaf fan myself but your version sounds really good- my significant other would like it as well!
Thank you! It’s definitely not the one from school lunch. 🙂
I freaking LOVE meatloaf. Like I was obsessed with it as a child. Nothing would make me happier than walking in the house after school and smelling a meatloaf cooking in the oven. Your recipe sounds delicious…I make mine with almond meal in place of bread crumbs.
Haha! Not even chocolate chip cookies???
I’ve never had meatloaf before, it sounds…bizarre. But I know many people are fans so there’s got to be something to it 😉 Quinoa and chia sounds like a great addition.
Wait. Never?! How did you get through childhood? 😉
I’m so impressed you figured out how to use quinoa and chia seeds – two of my favorite nutritional powerhouses! This sounds delicious. Coincidentally, I bought some ground turkey last night 🙂
Omg, haha! I obviously haven’t had meatloaf in a long time, but when I have had it years ago, it was not bad! Tons of ketchup though 😉
That may have been another problem for me – I’ve never liked ketchup. Weird kid, I know…
Quinoa flakes instead of bread crumbs is the bomb. I am not a meatloaf person either, but I could get on board with this!
I’ve never put quinoa in meatloaf but now I’m totally trying it!! This looks yuuuummy 🙂
Thanks Liz! I’d love to hear how you like it!
Looks delicious! I think we all have the foods from our childhood. My dad used to force me to eat baked beans, which I never liked. To this day, I wont eat them even though I am sure they are delicious.
Ewwww… I can’t eat baked beans either.
i adore meatloaf! but it’s gotta be flavorful. not boring. so yes, sign me up for this. will vegas share?
I’m sure Vegas will share with you. She can always be plied with red wine. 😉
i haven’t had meatloaf in so long! I love this addition of quinoa! yum!
This sounds delicious – I was just saying I wanted to make meatloaf soon!!
glad you overcame this meatloaf fear! sometimes i make a batch of quinoa but can’t figure out what to do with the rest of it. this one looks worth making! my favorite version currently is here: (http://www.confessionsofafoodie.me/2011/02/recipe-throwing-dinner-party-serve-up.html)
That looks like a great one too! I wanted to try it without the loaf pan, but I got too nervous. Next round!
Get in my belly!
LOL! I say that all the time.
Girl, you need to try some of the Wild Boar I have in my fridge, I have a FEELING you would drooool for it!
I LOVE WILD BOAR! Bring that to me now.