I got a serious hankerin’ for some lamb today (Day 10 AIP.) Though my family is full-blooded Italian, we all LOVE Greek food. I can’t say this dinner was authentic, but it satisfied my craving. I used good-quality ground lamb and sort of improvised.
My whole family enjoyed it. After one bite, my son yells “Mom! This is sooooo good!” I don’t know where he gets his passion for food. Must be my cracker husband.
PLEASE, fellow foodies, do not judge me for the tzatziki recipe below. I’m-a love me some tzatziki but simply cannot do the cow’s milk yogurt that makes it so delicious. Desperation makes you do crazy things. The base of my tzatziki is Aroy-D’s coconut cream. I told you not to judge me!! I’m hungry over here!! And Supa-Doc has taken away all of my fall-backs!!
I will simply say this: it wasn’t authentic, but my husband who DESPISES coconut in any form loved the tzatziki.
Recipes will follow at the end of this post –
Breakfast:
Protein shake from Supa-Doc; two pieces of Whole Foods Naked roast beef with leftover guacamole spread on top and rolled up (Yum-Yum)
Lunch:
Leftover cooked carrots and onion; leftover carnitas
Snack:
Protein shake from Super-Doc; two pieces of Whole Foods Naked roast beef with leftover guacamole spread on top and rolled up
Dinner:
Lamb meatballs with tzatziki sauce; steamed broccoli with e.v.o.o and lemon juice; half of a roasted sweet potato with cinnamon
RECIPE UPDATE: I have tweaked this recipe since it’s original posting. My favorite way to make the tzatziki is with coconut yogurt which I make in the Instant Pot using the Natural Value Coconut Cream below. Find my easy recipe HERE. I’ve also made the meatballs with beef when I didn’t have lamb on hand and, though it lacked the distinct lamb flavor, it was still delicious. I think mixing half lamb and half beef would also taste great.
- 2 cups coconut yogurt (or coconut cream)
- ½ cup minced cilantro
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 large cucumbers, peeled and seeded
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- salt, to taste
- Place coconut yogurt into a medium bowl.
- On a box grater, grate the peeled and seeded cucumber and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add to the coconut yogurt.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- 3 lbs. good-quality ground lamb (or half lamb and half ground beef)
- ¾ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup of prepared tzatziki (recipe above)
- coconut oil, for frying
- extra virgin olive oil, for frying
- Place all ingredients in a large bowl and combine with a large fork. (Don't use hands to mix or it will compress the meat and make it tough.)
- Heat a large saute pan to medium low. Once hot, add some coconut oil and olive oil coming up about ½ inch in the pan.
- Scoop meatballs out (I used round spring-handled ice cream scoop). Roll and shape with hands. Flatten the tops a bit.
- Fry in batches in pan until nice and brown, flip and brown the other side and cook through.
- You may keep them warm by placing cooked meatballs on a cooling rack fit inside a sheet pan with sides and keeping in an oven set on 250F.
- Serve with extra tzatziki on the side.
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