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.
FOLLOW 30 PLUS DAYS OF MY AIP JOURNEY.
Hi Jen!
I’ve been reading all of your posts and I think you’re doing absolutely great on the diet! I’m sure it will help. Even with all the ingredients you can’t use your recipes look delicious!
Hang in there!
Cassidy
Thanks so much Cass! It’s honestly not been as bad as I thought.
Thanks for reading!
XO
Jen
Looks yummy! I’ve been using a lot of lamb on AIP and was trying the think of Greek adaptations. Also appreciate the movie reference. 🙂
Hello, I hope you’re on you way to getting well! I just made this recipe with coconut yogurt and it’s wonderful! Also, I chose to fry the meatballs in avocado oil as I don’t cook with olive oil. Thought this might be helpful to others who make these delicious meatballs!
So glad you enjoyed it! I love it with coconut yogurt best, too. Thanks for the tips!
XOXO
Jen
I am wondering if you intend for the “1 cup of prepared tzatziki” in the meatball recipe to go into the meatball mixture. I’d assume not, but it says “Place all ingredients in….”
This time around I’m gonna go with my gut and only have the tzatziki on the side, to be safe. Looks delicious and I’m excited to eat it all up in a lil bit 🙂
Thanks,
Holly
Hey Holly!
That’s a great question and I’m so sorry for the confusion! I have to admit that I haven’t made this recipe in so long (but it would be awesome with some plantain tortillas) and I can’t remember what I did. I’m soooooo sorry! I thought at first that maybe I did put it in the meat mixture for moisture, but when I see the tzatziki recipe state “one cup of coconut cream” it makes me wonder if it was just to serve on the side. When I make it again I will repost and let you know.
I hope yours turned out well! Again – so sorry for the confusion!
Jen
To answer my own question, yes, the tzatziki clearly only goes on the side. I didn’t try putting some in the meatballs, but trying it the other way, it was so freaking perfect and delicious there is no way anyone would want to do it differently. Sorry for asking a kinda silly question–I’m a rule-follower and I got squirrelly not knowing what I was SUPPOSED TO do.
I’m JUST NOW making this recipe again, only with beef as I didn’t have any lamb on hand and I’m tired of my usual ground beef recipes. I know it’s terrible because the lamb imparts the wonderful flavor. BUT – to FINALLY answer your question. YES – I am adding in the 1 cup of prepared tzatziki into the meat to bring it some moisture as I couldn’t use eggs to bind it on AIP and the meat seemed a little dry to me. I’m making some tweaks to the recipe and will update here on the blog once I’m finished. I’m glad you liked it the way you tried it though!!!
Jen
I make this recipe probably once a month. I’ll try it that way next time!!!
By the way, I always triple the tzaziki recipe because it is SO DELICIOUS.