stress-busting meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1 cup finely chopped baby spinach
1 small carrot, peeled and finely shredded
1 shallot, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flax meal
2 teaspoons salt-free Italian seasoning
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 ½ teaspoons dried (not ground) eleuthero
½ teaspoon ashwagandha
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups Fresh Tomato Sauce or good-quality store-bought marinara sauce

Cooked brown rice noodles or other organic, gluten-free noodles, for serving

Method

In a large bowl, combine turkey, spinach, carrot, shallot, garlic, salt, pepper, flax meal, Italian seasoning, parsley, eleuthero, and ashwagandha and mix well. Form into walnut sized-balls.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meatballs until golden, turning occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes total.

In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the tomato sauce until simmering, then gently lower the meatballs into the sauce. Simmer until the meatballs absorb some of the sauce and soften, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve over the noodles.