I hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far. Keeping your resolutions and what not. I definitely set a few goals for myself this new year. And I’m not afraid to share some of them:

1. For the month of January I am attempting to step away from the less virtuous food items of the holiday season. Mainly caffeine, sugar, and alcohol. So far so good. I’m drinking tea and veggie juice in the morning. Made some bone broth. Lots of soups and greens and delicious meat!

2. For the year, I am trying to stop using my phone while driving (unless I need directions or GPS for something). This has become a serious issue. I saw somewhere that you are 23 times more likely to get in a car accident if you use your phone while driving. Let’s just say, over the past year I escaped death multiple times. So far so good.

3. I’m also trying to convert a lot of my household products to homemade or more natural-based. For example, swapping out my cleaners for more alcohol and vinegar based sprays and (as of last night) switching to a homemade shampoo! I’ll return to that in a future post. Gotta test the waters first.

So there you go… a little snapshot of my yearly goals. Trust me, there’s more. I would bore you to death if I rattled them all off in one single post that, let’s be honest, should be about food.

So let’s get to the food.

Luckily, this week I stumbled upon a great deal on grass-fed ground beef at Whole Foods. So I bought 2 lbs. and decided to make meatball soup. If I haven’t told you already, the man of the house really LOVES Italian food. Unfortunately, due to my food allergies we do not eat at italian restaurants because of the wrath that is my digestive system. Occasionally, I try to make some italian-ish food at home. Sometimes it’s paleo pizza or veggie noodles for spaghetti. This time it’s good ol’ meatball soup.

Italian Meatball Soup

meatballs
2 lb. ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. fresh oregano, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. sea salt

soup
1 batch meatballs
1 large can crushed tomatoes
3 zucchini squash, chopped
1 c. mushrooms, chopped
3/4 onion, chopped
1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed and shredded
2-3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or the drippings from baking the meatballs)
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 c. water, beef broth, or the drippings from the meatballs
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients. 
3. Roll meat into 1- 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 7-10 mins until fairly done, they can finish cooking in the soup if you are worried about “done-ness”
4. In a large pot, add some oil or the drippings from the meatballs. Add in the onion and mushrooms. Saute until fragrant.
5. Add zucchini and meatballs.
6. Add crushed tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, and the remainder of the drippings (or alternative liquid).
7. Finally add kale and let simmer for 20-30 mins.
8. Serve with some raw shredded Parmesan (or without!)