Personal Pizza Meatloaves

By Catherine Newman

Makes: 4 servings

Total carbohydrates: 8 grams per serving

Hands-on time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

I’ve been making this recipe since my kids were small: the combination of traditional pizza seasonings and a superfun size make it (almost) irresistible, especially to children who can feel a little strange about meatloaf. Please do note that the grated zucchini is a crucial ingredient here, as it adds moisture, but squash-shy kids (or adults) are unlikely to notice it. Leftovers make a great, easy pack-along lunch, especially since they’re good cold.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1/4 cup almond meal

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella, plus extra for topping

3/4 cup grated zucchini (you’ll only need a single zucchini)

1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder and onion powder

1/4 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano

1 teaspoons kosher salt (or half as much table salt)

1 egg

4 tablespoons tomato paste (from a 6-ounce can) (divided use)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375 and grease 8 cups of a 12-cup muffin tin.

2. In a large bowl, gently mix together the beef, almond meal, cheese, zucchini, and seasonings.

3. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a heaping tablespoon of the tomato paste, and combine this with the meat mixture, mixing gently.

4. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups, packing gently, then spread a thin layer of the remaining tomato paste over each and bake for 25 minutes.

5. Sprinkle the tops with grated mozzarella and bake another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the meat loaves are cooked through.

About Catherine

Catherine loves to write about food and feeding people. In addition to her recipe and parenting blog Ben & Birdy (which has about 15,000 weekly readers), she edits the ChopChop series of mission-driven cooking magazines. This kids’ cooking magazine won the James Beard Publication of the Year award in 2013 – the first non-profit ever to win it – and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award. She also helped develop Sprout, a WIC version of the magazine for families enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), as well as Seasoned, their senior version. They distribute over a million magazines annually, through paid subscriptions, doctor’s offices, schools, and hospitals. Their mission started with obesity as its explicit focus – and has shifted, over the years, to a more holistic one, with health, happiness, and real food at its core. That’s the same vibe Catherine brings to the diaTribe column.

[Photo Credit: Catherine Newman]