One of our kitties (Luna, aka. “Foof”) is sick and I’m taking her to the vet first thing this morning. She’s never had health problems before but she is having trouble urinating and I think it could be a Feline UTI.
I’m hoping it’s not more serious than that, and I’m trying not to panic until I know more. She is 8 years old and Siamese, and that’s the age we lost our first Siamese cat “Bean” to kidney failure so we’re really worried about her.
With that in mind, I hope you’ll excuse me if I keep this post short and sweet as it’s hard for me to focus on anything but her right now.
Last week I posted the low carb Green Tomato Chutney recipe that goes with these meatballs. If you don’t have green tomatoes you can make it with red tomatoes with good results. It will alter the flavor and texture of the chutney slightly, but will still deliver the perfect sweet and tangy component to complete these wraps!
The meatballs themselves are tasty and can be served alongside cauliflower fried rice or with my Spicy Sriracha Broccoli as a side. Honestly though, the chutney is what really makes them awesome so do yourself a favor and MAKE SOME! You won’t be sorry!
[pinterest text=”Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps – a low carb and gluten free meatball recipe from ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/thaiballs2-479×700.jpg”]
I made these meatballs with ground turkey, but you could just as easily substitute ground pork. A good lettuce choice for the wrap is butter or green leaf lettuce. You want something soft and pliable for best results – iceburg or romaine will also work in a pinch, but they won’t feel as authentic. 
[pinterest text=”Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps – a low carb and gluten free meatball recipe from ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/thaiballs3-500×333.jpg”]
Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps – Low Carb and Gluten Free
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A Thai-inspired low carb and gluten free meatball recipe.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground turkey or pork
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 1 Tbsp red chili pepper, chopped (can sub jalapeno)
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp minced ginger
To serve:
- 1 head of butter or green leaf lettuce, washed and separated
- 1 cup Green Tomato Chutney
Instructions
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl and mix gently, but thoroughly. Form into 16 meatballs and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees (F) for about 16 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool slightly and serve with lettuce leaves (for wrapping) and green tomato chutney.
Notes
Approximate nutrition information per serving:
Per naked meatball: 55 calories, 2g fat, .4g carbs, 8g protein
Per four naked meatballs: 219 calories, 8g fat, 1.75g net carbs, 33g protein
Per serving w/ lettuce & sauce: 261 calories, 8g fat, 6.75 net carbs, 35g protein
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs
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Lisa says
Please re-post your green tomato chutney recipe. I failed to print it when I printed the main recipe, and now I just get an error message.
Jane Witt says
Hi Mellissa, is there any way you can post the green tomato chutney recipe again, please, as the link doesn’t exist anymore. Thanks for all you do. Love your site/recipes. Happy New Year!
Karen Schmautz says
For some reason, my comment got posted before I finished. The meatballs were tasty, tender and filling. The sauce was an a wonderful blend of sweet and sour and paired beautifully with the meatballs. Thank you so much for your hard work on your recipes.
Mellissa Sevigny says
You’re so welcome Karen – love your idea of substituting the tomatillos! Can’t wait to try that one myself since they are readily available year round! I’m with you, low carb is the only thing that works for me – and in my opinion it also offers the most delicious food choices. I can live without bread and pasta – as long as I can eat all of these other delicious things! :)
Karen Schmautz says
We started back on the Low Carb Diet after many years of trying all the “conventional” diets. Doesn’t work for us. I came across your website and fell in love with so many recipes. We made this recipe a couple of nights ago, but since I couldn’t find green tomatoes, I substituted tomatillos.
barb says
So sorry about kitty. My mom was going to get a cat and so I did a TON of research about what to feed cats. I was amazed to read that they are full on carnivores….even more than dogs are. Cats need to eat 99.9 % protein. No rice, no fruit, no carbs of any kind. Dried cat food is the absolute worst thing to feed cats they all say. Actually, our vet back in the day told us that too. Dried cat food will clog your cat’s UI system in no time flat. JUst thought I’d share.
Mellissa Sevigny says
My cats are on mostly dry food Barb and I think it’s time to make the switch. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share!
shannon says
So sorry to hear about Luna; hope she’s doing okay. It’s always okay to keep posts short and sweet when life things come up: there are lots of times i’ve considered just posting a recipe and saying “HERE: it’s good, or it wouldn’t be in front of you” and leaving it at that. :) I like these meatballs! They remind me of one of my favorite recipes so far from the Gwyneth P “It’s All Good” book – thai chicken burgers. SO good.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Shannon! I did post a recipe for jerk ribs once and said almost that very thing! It’s like oops gotta post but no time for chit chat! The meatballs are SO delicious and the pictures don’t do them justice AT ALL! Don’t you hate that as a blogger?! I know a lot of people will be like “Meh” and they are totally missing out because the flavors are amazing. If so then I failed at my job to make them enticing – but hopefully some people will recognize the flavor profile and give them a try! I didn’t know Gwyneth had a cookbook out – she is so multi-talented!
movita beaucoup says
Best wishes to Luna from our cat-filled home… xox
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Movita! She’s doing OK so far, but as you can imagine trying to give her the antibiotics orally twice a day is an adventure! Oh the things we do for our pets!