This is the first time in like 3 months that I’ve had the time to post twice in one week!  It’s been a crazy summer and it’s winding down so quickly I feel like I missed all the summertime stuff!

I saw two pumpkin recipe pins on Pinterest this week and almost had a breakdown until I followed them to their websites and saw that they were from fall months past. THANK GOODNESS!!!

I added blueberry to this recipe to keep it semi-summery!

I had a really hard time coming up with a name for this recipe.  I don’t like the term meatless meatballs cause it sounds silly.  But veggie balls sounds like something an eleven year old boy might hyperventilate over laughing about. Now that I think about it “Julie’s Veggie Balls” might afflict every human owning a pair to contract a permanent side ache!

I should have scrunched them down a little and call them Blueberry Balsamic Mushroom Mini Veggie Patties.

I’m not a vegetarian but I for the last few months I’ve really been conscious of what I’ve been eating. I’ve experimented numerous times with veggie (meatless) meatballs. But they always turned out dry and flavorless.

Bites, Balls, Whatever, these were delicious!

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Blueberry Balsamic Mushroom Veggie Bites

Ingredients

• 16 oz. fresh Baby Bella mushrooms
• 8 oz. total fresh spinach and/or kale
• 4 Tbsp. water warmed in the microwave for 1 minute
• 1 tsp. better than bullion beef
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• kosher salt & black pepper 1tsp. each
• 1 tsp. Beau Monde seasoning
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 4 oz. refried or smashed black beans
• 34 g quinoa flakes
• 30 g almond meal
• 1 egg white
• Sauce
• 5 Tbsp. 100 g blueberry preserves (I used Natures Hollow Sugar Free)
• 2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. ginger
• Kosher salt & black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
3. In a food processor (working in batches) roughly chop the mushrooms.
4. Transfer the mushrooms to a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
5. Add your spinach and/or kale (in batches) to the same food processor and chop it.
6. Transfer chopped spinach and/or kale to the same pan with the mushrooms.
7. Add the bullion to the water and stir it until it’s dissolved. Pour the bullion and water mixture over the sautéing mushrooms and spinach and/or kale. Add the garlic and sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated (5 to 10 minutes).
8. Transfer the mushrooms and spinach and/or kale to a large mixing bowl.
9. Add the salt and pepper, Beau Monde seasoning, basil, oregano, paprika, black beans, quinoa flakes, almond meal, and egg white to the mushroom mixture.
10. Mix well and then form into golf ball sized veggie balls (I used a cookie dough scoop to keep them uniform).
11. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
12. While the veggie balls are cooking combine the blueberry preserves, Balsamic vinegar, ginger, and kosher salt & black pepper to a small sauce pan.
13. Heat over medium high heat until the mixture is warmed through and just begins to boil. Remove from heat.
14. When the veggie balls are done remove them from the oven and place them in a large mixing bowl.
15. Pour the blueberry sauce over the veggie balls and toss them carefully (the veggie balls will be relatively soft) until well coated.
16. Transfer the veggie balls to a serving dish and EAT!!!
17. Makes ~ 26 balls.

NUTRITION INFORMATION