Healthy Meatloaf

By making small tweaks to a classic dish, you can create a healthy and delicious meal for you and your family. This easy meatloaf features shredded carrots and zucchini, adding moisture and flavor to the dish. In addition, bell peppers, sweet onions and garlic make this a nutritionally rich meal. All of these vegetables are rich in vitamins and disease fighting antioxidants. Lean ground beef greatly reduces your saturated fat and whole wheat breadcrumbs add fiber and minerals. These swaps are heart healthy as they reduce cholesterol and help stabilize blood sugar. If you want to add a smoky flavor, you can use BBQ sauce as a glaze or mix some into your ketchup.

Makes: 4 servings
Time to cook: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

· Cooking spray

· 1 tablespoon olive oil

· 1 green or red bell pepper, diced

· ½ cup diced sweet onion

· ½ teaspoon minced garlic

· 1 pound lean (90%) ground beef

· ¾ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

· ¾ cup shredded carrot

· ¾ cup shredded zucchini

· 2 large eggs

·  salt and ground black pepper to taste

· ¼ cup ketchup

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Coat a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir bell pepper and onion in hot oil until onion is translucent and bell pepper is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2minutes. Remove the skillet from heat.

3. Combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, carrot, zucchini, eggs, salt, pepper, and bell pepper mixture in a large bowl; mix well using your hands. Press mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Spread ketchup over meatloaf and continue baking until bubbling, about 5 minutes more.

Nutrition per serving
378 calories; 20 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 157 milligrams cholesterol; 24 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugar; 26 grams protein; 457 milligrams sodium; 547 milligrams potassium

Recipe from Allrecipes (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240747/mommas-healthy-meatloaf/)