Low Carb Vegan Meatball Recipe

Harking back to my double carb days, a meal with pasta, beans, and garlic bread would not be out of question. Now that I am playing around with my macros in the grand science experiment that is my body - I can't really do that. So pasta night is a little lack luster (check out my previous post on tempeh meat sauce) and I've been on a quest to regain it. I have tried making eggplant meatballs before - and they turned out like mush. I've tried making bean meatballs - aaaand they turned out like mush. I honestly had given up ever eating anything like a meatball that didn't have the texture of mashed potatoes on the inside until I started my love/hate relationship with TVP.

So to build a better "meat"ball we start out with a non-mush base: TVP.

If you have ever just eaten TVP on its own, you know it tastes like sawdust. Adding "chicken" stock helps with the flavor. But we need more than that to have it stand on its own as a meatball. Flashback to the fortuitous evening over at friends (@thehippiebiscuit) where I made the most fascinating discovery! Dried Ground Mushrooms. It adds that meaty umami flavor that we were lacking here. This sounds really intimidating but I promise you it is not hard. First you have to find dried mushrooms ( I used Shiitake). I got mine at an Asian Grocer, but I have seen them at most grocery stores as well, and in the bulk section at whole foods. Next you grind them to a powder! I used my coffee grinder (that I am slowly stealing from my husband to grind spices), but you could probably use any high powered blender or food processor. It doesn't have to be a super fine powder - the texture of the TVP and ground flax are both more granular than what you'll end up getting with the dried mushrooms. I haven't done a comparison test yet to see how these taste without the mushroom powder, but I am convinced that this is the secret ingredient.