Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Mmmm.... meatloaf!

I made meatloaf for dinner last night, then I got on Sparkspeople and figured up the calories!!!

HOLY COW!!!!  ;)

This is the nutrition info provided by that website:



Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 10
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 350.4
  • Total Fat: 25.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 95.7 mg
  • Sodium: 389.7 mg
  • Total Carbs: 11.2 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g
  • Protein: 18.0 g


One of my Twitter friends wanted to know if there was some way to trim the calories. So, first... how I make my meatloaf:   

2 pounds of ground beef:    I was born and raised on a cattle ranch, so my beef is FULL of fat.  But it does not look like a pile of worms on a Styrofoam tray and it tastes GOOD, so I am partial to it.   LOL..... I had a friend once who told me I am a Meat Snob, because I won't eat the stuff out of the grocery store.  But you all have different tastes, so this would be the very first place to trim calories.  


1 cup grated carrots and about 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, diced.  


3 eggs (normally I do one egg per pound of meat, but with the mushrooms and carrots, I added an egg.)


1 cup bread crumbs


Generous amount of Montreal Steak Seasoning (to taste)
Worcestershire sauce ( AKA Bug Juice in our family.  
Parsley

And, because I hate catsup with a passion, I make my meatloaf with wither BBQ sauce or, light night I used Lea & Perrin's Steak sauce, maybe about 1/3 of a cup.  


Once every thing is all mixed, I spread in the pan and spread a thin layer of the steak sauce on the top.  


Last night, I was preparing for my family of SIX, so I used a large loaf pan.  However, I have cooked my meatloaf in a MUFFIN PAN because that makes perfect single serving sizes that I can freeze.... great for lunches or those times when I dont have to cook for everyone.  


So.... how else to trim calories...... I don't always use breadcrumbs, and I could have maybe got by with 2 eggs.  


For me, 350 calories just for the meatloaf was startling, especially because we also had baked potatoes for dinner.  But really, if I omit a starch and just eat the meatloaf and a veggie, that really isn't a bad meal in terms of total calories. And it is a great source of protein. So for me, I will leave it just the way it is. 

Haha, so maybe that is the answer:  cut calories by cutting the potato....I will  leave my meatloaf just the way it is!!

4 comments:

  1. I am picky about my meat quality but I use 90% lean sirloin. Once in a while I'll by a different one but then I will mix it with a leaner one to cut down a tiny bit. Lately I have been using 1 ground turky and one ground beef and it has been lovely. I don't even add eggs anymore. Or I will do a little egg beaters.

    Mmm meatloaf. Not a catsup fan either. So I always just something else!

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  2. When I come to meet you IRL, I wanna try that real meat!! I've always bought beef at the grocery store. Never knew there was a difference.
    Thanks for the post, it sounds delish. Although, my band won't allow the potato. Meat loaf is enough for me.

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  3. Amanda... so happy to know I am not the only one who doesn't use catsup in meatloaf. What I really can't stand is when people serve their meatloaf SWIMMING in the nasty stuff!

    And JC, if you ever had "real" beef, you would never, ever go back!! Your response made my day, thank you!

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  4. Leave your meatloaf alone and pitch the potato!! (My beef is ranch raised, but grass pastured. Love my local beef!)

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