Prep and cook time: 2 hours Serves 6-8
2 pounds of high-quality, grass-fed ground beef (or other ground red meat or turkey)
1 yellow onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, small dice
1 stalk celery, small dice
4 tablespoons avocado oil
1 teaspoon fresh or organic dried thyme
1 teaspoon organic dried chili flakes
1½ cups gluten-free bread crumbs or almond meal
2 eggs
1 tablespoon fish sauce, optional
4 tablespoons organic, sugar-free ketchup, if desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté onions, carrots, and celery in oil for five minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking until veggies are soft. Mix in chili flakes, thyme, and salt. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and combine bread crumbs. If using almond meal, there is no need to soak with eggs, merely add to meat when mixing. Using your hands, mix ground meat, sautéed vegetables, soaked bread crumbs (or eggs and almond meal), and optional fish sauce. Place mixture into an oiled, glass loaf pan. Bake for about 1½ hours. If desired, cover the top of the meatloaf with organic ketchup for the last 15 minutes of baking.
