My best friend, Chad, was dealt an unexpected blow this year. Out of the blue, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroendocrine Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes. To say we were shocked by this news is the understatement of the year! Chad and I have been singing partners for over 12 years, and he is like a brother to me.

Chad is handling this turn of events like a champion. It SUCKS, and there is no question about that. But, Chad has dedicated himself to trying to inspire others not to give up the fight. Touching others keeps his fight alive! As part of being a service to others, Chad asked if he could join me in some of my cooking videos to make some diabetic friendly recipes. He is hoping he can help inspire others to heal themselves with healthy eating as he does the same for himself.

Since he used to work on a Thai food truck, Chad and I decided to whip together an easy and flavorful Instant Pot Thai Soup! Check out our video here, and the recipe below!

By the way, if you are interested in helping Chad with his medical expenses, all of the proceeds of our band, The Desert Okies’ new CD go to support him. Check it out at www.desertokies.com!

This post may contain affiliate links for products I use and love. When you use these links to make purchases, you help keep Modern Day Fox alive! Thank you!

We ate dinner tonight by candle light! Thankfully for me, I zipped through dinner prep in less than 15 minutes using my Power XL Air Fryer and had everything done just as the power went out for the next 30 minutes. My kids thought it was pretty cool to have dinner in the dark. I was just thankful that my meatballs were not interrupted halfway through cooking. It would have been a real shame if those bad boys would have been ruined.

Since my husband went grain-free, I have found making meatballs without a binding ingredient such as bread crumbs or oats is pretty tricky. Too many times my meatballs ended up dissolving into mush and it was very frustrating. While surfing the web, I stumbled upon an idea for an unusual grain-free ingredient in meatballs and knew I had to give a shot. The magic ingredient? Potato chips! That’s right. Finely crushed potato chips is the perfect substitute for bread crumbs. It created a perfect texture and held the meatballs together extremely well. Now, I admit, I used Lay’s Potato Chips. Maybe not the healthiest choice. You can get organic potato chips, and I’ve seen recipes that use Sweet Potato chips or even beet chips.

The other key to making perfect meatballs is using a “meatballer!” A what?? I know, I know. I’d never heard of such a thing either, but a friend told me about hers and I had to buy one. Take a look at the one I got here. I was able to portion out my meatballs evenly because of this neat little tool.

I can already think of three questions that are going to come up, so I’ll just address them now.

#1 I don’t have an air fryer. Can I bake these? Well, hello! Of course you can. I would try baking them at 375 degrees for 20-25 min until they reach 165 internal temperature.

#2 Can I leave out the parmesan cheese? Sure! It won’t be exactly the same texture and taste, but it will still work.

#3 Can I use flavored chips? I haven’t tried this yet, but I think it would totally work. I want to try using barbecue chips and simmering them in BBQ sauce. My only thought about using flavored chips is to make sure the other seasonings will work with the flavor of your chips. The Italian season, for example, might need to be swapped for a seasoning that compliments your chips.

#4 Can I freeze these meatballs? You sure can. I have not tried cooking them from frozen in the air fryer, but I saw in some other meatball recipes that you would keep the cooking time the same as if they were fresh. Again, I haven’t tried it yet.

Happy meat-ballin’!

xo Jaime

This post contains affiliate links which help support the life of this blog. All opinions are my own and these are products I’ve actually purchase and recommend. When you use my links to purchase, you directly support Modern Day Fox!

Print Recipe

Modern Day Fox Grain-Free Air Fryer Meatballs

A surprising ingredient helps bind these meatballs perfectly, and creates a great texture! You won't even miss the grains usually used in meatball recipes. Try them served over zoodles!

Course

Main Dish

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

12 min

Servings

meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Turkey
• 1/2 cup finely crushed potato chips
• 1/2 cup Parmesan shredded
• 1 Egg
• 2 TBSP Parsley finely chopped
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Course Main Dish Prep Time 5 min Cook Time 12 min Servings meatballs Ingredients 1 lb Ground Turkey 1/2 cup finely crushed potato chips 1/2 cup Parmesan shredded 1 Egg 2 TBSP Parsley finely chopped 1 tsp Garlic Powder 1 tsp Onion Powder 1 tsp Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.

   
2. Lightly grease air fryer basket with oil to help prevent sticking.
3. Use 1.25 inch meatballer or scoop to form 12 equally portioned meatballs.

   
4. Place meatballs into air fryer basket.

   
5. Push in basket and set fryer to 390 degrees for 12 min. Use spatula to gently lift and roll meatballs halfway through cooking. (Cooking times may vary depending on your air fryer. I’m using a Power XL Air Fryer and 12 minutes cooked my meatballs thoroughly.)

   
6. Remove from basket and serve!

   

Share this Recipe

I have been obsessively watching cooking YouTube videos lately. It’s amazing how engaging some of these people are and you can easily see why they have so many followers. Chef Buck is one that I really enjoyed. This guy is no-frills, sounds like he comes from NOLA, and used to be overweight and unkempt in his videos. That last detail made the videos even more engaging because it just seemed so backwards that this guy would be making cooking videos. The recipes he was dishing out, however, were top notch and his following grew over time. More recently, Chef Buck found a razor and found a new interest in cleaner cooking.  He clearly got healthier, lost weight and worked on his image, but he kept his same down-home charm.

One of his most popular recipes is his Best Brussel Sprouts. I just happened to have a bag in my fridge that I needed to use. He wasn’t lying when he said these would be these best Brussel Sprouts I’d ever put in my mouth. They were! I’ll be making them again and again.

Check out this video here and subscribe to his channel:

And here is how mine turned out!

This has nothing to do with stir fry, but don’t you agree that Trolls is the cutest movie ever? I’ve watched it at least 20 times with my boys and I’m still not sick of it. I love the cloud character that makes a cameo! “Little slappy, make Daddy happy?” Laughter across the household ensues every time we see that part. That movie just makes me feel good, and we have the best dance parties every time we watch it.

This post isn’t about the Trolls. This post is about stir-fry. Not the kind with loads of rice though! In fact, there are no grains in this recipe at all. Just tasty vegetables and chicken, and one unexpected ingredient that takes the flavor over the top! This is a perfect meal to prep on Sunday and portion out between four containers for lunches all week long!

PALEO STIR-FRY

(Serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

1 Riced Cauliflower Head or (2) bags Steamed Riced Cauliflower bags

1 TBSP Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of your choice)

2 cups cooked and chopped chicken (great use for your rotisserie chicken)

1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

1 Red Bell Pepper, julienned

1 Green Bell Pepper, julienned

2 cups Frozen Broccoli

1 8oz can of Water Chestnuts

1/2 cup Sliced Mild Pepperoncinis

1-2 TBSP Modern Day Fox Kitchen Sink Seasoning, or the seasonings of your choice (salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder are a great start!), season to your own taste preferences

DIRECTIONS:

If you are using the frozen steam bags of cauliflower, follow the directions to steam in the microwave. Open the bag and drain the water. If you are using raw cauliflower, here is a great link from the Minimalist Baker with concise instructions. Prepare and set to the side. NOTE: It’s important to try to get all the water out of the cooked cauliflower rice before adding to your stir-fry.

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok.

Add julienned peppers and carrots to hot oil and saute until softened.

Add frozen broccoli and saute until defrosted and warmed. You may need to put a lid of your pan to help the frozen broccoli cook. (NOTE: When I am preparing this dish for a weekly food prep, I don’t worry about cooking the broccoli all the way through. When I reheat later in the week, it will cook in the microwave.)

Add water chestnuts and saute until warmed.

Add in cooked chicken and seasoning. Mix well until chicken is hot.

The steamed cauliflower only needs a minute or two of saute since it is already cooked. Add the steamed cauliflower after the other vegetables are cooked as shown in my photos below. The raw riced cauliflower will need a bit more time to saute and cook.

Finally, add in the pepperoncinis. This ingredient adds a lot of flavor and zest to this dish.

Serve immediately, or portion out in four meal prep containers to reheat and enjoy throughout the week.

OPTIONAL – Add Soy Sauce (not Paleo) or Coconut Aminos if you wish. If you do not have allergies to nuts, this stir fry is off the hook topped with roasted cashew pieces on top.

Enjoy!

xo Jaime

My neighbor, Sharon, is back and this time with a recipe that is perfect for those of you watching your carbs this New Year!

(Post and Photography contributed by Sharon Harrod)

While visiting my family for the holidays I was learning about the next step to the Wheat Belly diet, which is called “wheat belly total health.”  One of my brother-in-law’s go to lunches is a bread free Reuben.  I decided to make several at a time and I refer to them as “Lunch Pods.” You can store them in the refrigerator pop one out at a time, heat it up and you’re good to go. The bonus is that they are very filling and delicious. You don’t even miss the bread!

 

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.

Another post from my lovely neighbor, Sharon!

(Post and photography contributed by Sharon Harrod)

A Tennessee snow day means a cooking day for me! This recipe is my take on BAKED EGGS from “The Chew.” It starts with a delicious tomato basil garlic sauce in the bottom of a ramekin, an egg in the middle, and topped with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. The tomatoes in these baked eggs add many vitamins and beta carotene which act as antioxidants, so this recipe could also be a nice addition to your morning menu. This breakfast offers a yummy change from your tired scrambled eggs!

Baked Eggs (Adapted from The Chew)

Ingredients
1 28 ounce can of organic crushed, diced, or whole tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons roasted garlic

2 tablespoons fresh or dried basil

6 eggs

1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions:
First, pour a 28 ounce can of crushed, diced or whole tomatoes into your Vitamix or whatever pureeing device you own. I use organic tomatoes.

Next, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of fresh or dried basil. The Chew recipe called for fresh basil and raw garlic however I believe that the roasted garlic adds another level of flavor. I always roast a couple of heads of garlic and then squeeze the garlic out. I keep them in a container in my refrigerator to use as needed. I also had a massive amount of Basil in my garden this year so I dried it and then crumble it into my recipes throughout the winter. Blend thoroughly.

Pour the sauce into medium sized ramekins or small baking dishes. Crack an egg over the sauce. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese over the egg and salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until the egg center is to your liking.

Top with fresh basil and serve.

Enjoy every cheesy bite!