Healthyish Meatloaf

I like cooking, and I usually follow recipes pretty closely. Zane wings everything he cooks. If he wants to cook something new, he'll check a recipe for the general idea of how to cook the dish and then change it to how he wants. His methods have gotten me to experiment more myself with only about 50% good results.

Healthyish Meatloaf

• 1 Can Mushrooms (about 1 cup)
• 2 Stalks of Celery
• 1 28oz Can of Diced Tomatoes, well drained
• 1 large bellpepper
• 2 Cups carrots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 egg, 3 egg whites
• 1 15.5oz can of Black Beans
• 1 tbsp. oregano
• 1 tbsp. basil
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 3lb 99% fat free ground turkey
• 1 large onion, diced into squares
• 2 cups instant oatmeal
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• salt/pepper to taste

I just winged this recipe drawing from some previous veggie heavy meatloafs, so the amounts I wrote in the ingredient list might not be exactly the same as I did it - specifically the spices and the oatmeal.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pull out the food processor or get prepared for lots of mincing. Mince and combine (yay food processor) the bell pepper, carrots, garlic, strained diced tomato, black beans, celery, mushroom, eggs, and spices. The eggs will allow the processor to more thoroughly mix the semi dry ingredients. Don't puree, just mince.
3. Empty the minced veggies into a large bowl or the casserole dish you're going to cook in. Mix in the ground meat, diced onions, and instant oatmeal. If you find the meatloaf is too wet, you can add more of the oatmeal, just like you would breadcrumbs.
4. Stick it in the oven for 45 min to an hour, or until the meat thermometer temp is about 165 degrees.
5. Mix the tomato paste and Dijon mustard in a bowl. Depending how much you like tang, use more or less of the Dijon. Fill the tomato paste container with water and mix that in the bowl as well. Spread this over the top of the meatloaf and then put it back in the oven for about 15 minutes.
6. Take out the meatloaf (the thermometer should read about 175 by now) and let it sit for 15-30 minutes.
7. Divide into 8 pieces.

I usually get canned mushrooms now because they go bad so fast, and I like having things in stock. Next time I'll probably add more garlic.

When I made it on Sunday, it didn't firm up completely, but we also ate it about 5 minutes after it came out the oven. It settled like normal meatloaf when I pulled out the leftovers the next day. It still tasted the same, so I'm not too worried about the firmness of the loaf.

Zane said it reminded him of a vegetable soup, but it tasted like meatloaf to me! He wanted me to add sugar and cheese and he ended up added Parmesan to his.

Nutritional Info:

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Fiber
Instant Plain Oatmeal, 2 cup	66	0	8	0	0
Green Bell Pepper, 1 med (149g)	30	7	0	1	3
Canned Mushrooms, 1 container (240 g)	50	8	0	4	2
Celery - 2 stalk	12	2	0	0	1
Onions - Raw, 2 cup, chopped	134	32	0	3	4
Diced Peeled Tomatoes (28oz), 1 can	175	28	0	7	7
Carrots - Raw, 2 cup, chopped	105	25	1	2	7
Garlic - 4 Clove	20	4	0	0	0
Beans - Black Beans, 1 Can	385	67	4	25	25
Eggs - 3 Large Whole Egg	210	3	15	18	0
Tomato Paste, 1 container (6oz)	175	30	0	10	5
Dijon Mustard, 2 tbsp.	30	0	0	0	0
Ground Turkey - 99% Fat Free, 3lb	1,560	0	24	324	0
Total:	2986	206	56	394	54
Per Serving (8):	373	26	7	49	7