Feta cheese meatballs – the simplicity of Keto Carnivore diet
Think of Greek Feta cheese… Now, allow me to be a real Greek and preach a little bit about the meaning of t true Feta cheese… Notice how I write it with a capital F? Well, forgive me, but its royalty deserves this tribute!
- Original Feta is made of goat and sheep milk (cow’s milk is a poor excuse)
- Traditional method calls for unpasteurised milk (This is very difficult to find these days, even though the process of fermentation and contemporary hygiene abilities should make the production easier. However, if you find it, buy it, it’s a treasure among the anti-inflammatory foods)
- Yeah, it’s extremely salty. It’s also loaded with potassium which balances it perfectly
- It’s a cheese with a protected designated origin and can be labelled as such only if it was produced in Greece
- It is being exported to numerous countries, yours might be one of them!
Feta cheese – the best of them all
Feta cheese is one of the most incomparable cheeses you can find today. It’s moderately nutty in the aftertaste, has a smooth but thick composition. It supplements the comprehensive savoury and pleasurable note to any monotonous dish. If you’ve ever had Greek, Mediterranean, or even Middle Eastern food, then you know how feta can upgrade a meal.
Greek goes Keto is all about healthy and natural food
I wanted to point out the outstanding health benefits of the real, unpasteurised Feta cheese. Feta, in fact, can be as beneficial for your health as it is delightful. Additionally, Feta’s specific nutritional character makes it one of the healthiest cheeses on our planet! Let’s see some great macros and micros! Say you are consuming 30g of feta per portion (we consume much more in Greece). Here’s what you’ll get:
- 75 calories
- 7 g fat
- 260 mg sodium
- 1 g carbohydrates (In the case of pure goat feta you’ll most probably have 0 carbs)
- 4 g protein
- 0.3 mg riboflavin/vitamin B2 (14 % DV)
- 140 mg calcium (14 % DV)
- 312 mg sodium (13 % DV)
- 33 mg Potassium
- 94 mg phosphorus (9 % DV)
- 0.5 microgram vitamin B12 (8 % DV)
- 0.1 mg vitamin B6 (6 % DV)
- 4.2 microgram selenium (6 % DV)
For an amazing article about health benefits, including some anti-cancerous properties of Feta cheese, written by dr Axe, click on this LINK
Good quality Feta cheese
Nota bene, Feta cheese is originally made from sheep and goat milk. As we know, goat milk is on the throne of Keto dairy and you should always go for it! In fact, you should absolutely never buy Feta that’s made with cow’s milk! It’s not the authentic Feta, and the flavour outline is entirely inconsistent. You’ll hardly have any health benefits from cow’s feta. In the photos below, you can see the basic difference between real and fake feta. Please, treat yourself with the real thing, don’t go for cheap copies. Both your taste buds and your organism will be disappointed.
Using it as an ultimate spice for meatballs
Mixing Feta with meat is something that is present in Greek cuisine for ages. Feta is simply adored and used in almost every dish. In this specific recipe, I created a version that will serve both as Keto and Carnivore diet treat. Yes, it’s a true tread because the taste of it will most probably take you to another level of understanding the universe. You might end up talking to goddess Hestia! Without any exaggeration, this recipe impressed me as much as it impressed my guests who aren’t even on Keto. Let’s face it, everybody loves meatballs, even some vegans report they miss them the most! When these meatballs end up on your plate, you’ll most probably make them very often. Due to a good meat mixture, they will keep you full for hours. You can accompany them with some good Avgolemono sauce or have them “sketo” -without anything added!
Let’s get to work and make the best Feta cheese meatballs you’ll ever try!
Feta cheese meatballs - Keto&Carnivore
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) ground lamb Fatty part
- 200 g (7 oz) ground pork
- 200 g (7 oz) ground beef Grass-fed
- 100 g (3,5 oz) Feta cheese Goat or sheep
- 2 medium eggs Free-range
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) Garlic infused water See the link for preparation in the description
- 2 tbsp goat ghee
- 1 tsp black pepper optional
- 1 tsp chilly paprika flakes optional
Instructions
- First, prepare your garlic infused water by following this recipe:
- mix all three kinds of meat with your hands. add the eggs and garlic infused water and mix some more.
- Crumble Feta cheese and add it to the mixture. Work it with your hands so that Feta gets equally distributed in the mixture.
- At this point, you can add the spices, but this is optional.
- In a deep frying pan melt the goat ghee or butter and have the temperature high at the beginning. Place the meatballs in the pan and fry them from all sides by gently rolling them. When the meatballs get a nice golden - brown crust, reduce the heat and cook for another 10 minutes. Keep turning them every 3 minutes.
Notes
- It's crucial to have a higher temperature in the beginning. This will create the crust and prevent feta from melting. Then reduce the heat to prevent burning.
- If you cannot find goat butter or ghee, a regular ghee or grass-fed butter will serve. Alternatively, you can use lard.
- You can prepare the Avgolemono sauce (still carnivore friendly) in the end or, alternatively, if you're on Keto, you can have these meatballs with a big bowl of salad
The nutritional label is per 1 meatball. Now, You can eat as many as your appetite allows. However, if you are strict with your macros, you can keep them under control by multiplying the nutritional data with the number of meatballs you’ll eat. Approximately 5 of them will provide satiety. you can have your macros under control.
Served these up at a dinner party yesterday and they were a real hit. I prepared them in advance and re-fried in just a little ghee just before serving.\r\nDelicious and thoroughly recommended.
Hello Sammy, I am really glad you enjoyed these meatballs. Thank you for your wonderful comment, I really appreciate it!