Hi everyone! Hope your day is going beautifully thus far! What I have for you today is a Paleo-friendly recipe that could be used as an appetizer or as a work-day lunch. They are so easy to make and absolutely delicious!

Asian Pork Meatballs!

Since switching to Paleo, I always found it difficult to put together weekly work lunches without the convenience of wrapping it in a tortilla or placing it between two slices of bread. It’s not that I really miss having wraps or sandwiches – I was never much of a cold sandwich/wrap kind of girl – but because of our cultural conditioning, lunch always conjures images of pb&js or ham and cheese sandwiches. So in an attempt to reproduce a Paleo-approved lunch sandwich I tried something like this:

Turkey Burger Lettuce Wrap

This is actually a really good lunch option and you can eat it with your hands if you wrap the lettuce right, but I don’t love eating lettuce wraps with my hands because it’s just weird. I don’t know what to tell you, but lettuce wraps make me feel weird. It is what it is. I just ended up eating this with a knife and fork anyway. Another option is something like this:

Stir-fried Shrimp and Bok Choy in Seaweed Wrappers

This one seemed like a fantastic idea but it was not. I pre-wrapped the stir-fry in the wrappers the night before and refrigerated them which was a terrible mistake because the liquid in the shrimp and bok choy caused the wrappers to completely disintegrate. Also it didn’t taste that good. I don’t really know what I was thinking.

Every time you eat a vending machine lunch, a pound of bacon dies. Don’t do it, save the bacon.

In any case, I tried to look outside the box for Paleo lunch ideas and discovered a ton of great recipes all over the interwebs. Some of the best, in my opinion, are on Nom Nom Paleo and, of course, Pinterest.  I’ve come to the conclusion that my Paleo lunches are functional, travel well, don’t stink up the lunch room at work (I would hate to be that person whose microwaved lunch odor lingers in the office all day long), and most importantly yummy! Here is one of those recipes.

Disclaimer: I know regular mayo and garlic-chili sauce aren’t exactly Paleo and I could make them myself (mayo recipe and garlic-chili recipe), but I give myself little allowances here and there. That being said, gather all of your ingredients and a big mixing bowl. The beauty of this recipe is the meatballs and dipping sauce use a lot of the same ingredients so you can cut/measure once and use twice! How easy is that? (Total nod to Ina Garten, who is a complete rich snob, that I also happen to love/hate for her fanciness and large amount of dinner parties with nice gay men at her giant house in the Hamptons.)

That’s about right.

Anyway, chop up and measure out all of your ingredients for both the meatballs and the sauce. In your big mixing bowl, or plastic tub in my case, combine all the ingredients with the pork and mix with either your hands or a fork until well combined. Don’t rough up the meat too much (that’s what she said) or the meatballs will be too tough. Also fresh herbs are important here. If you only have dried cilantro, believe me it won’t taste right.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and form little meatballs by hand or with a small scooper. This recipe doesn’t make many meatballs if you make them too big.

Toss these babies in the oven for about 15 minutes. While they are cooking, whip up the dipping sauce by combining the chopped and measured ingredients with mayonnaise. Because this is a mayo-based sauce, it needs to be refrigerated or else it will become horrible and scary. Don’t let it become horrible and scary.

After baking the meatballs, put the tray on the top shelf of the oven, turn on the broiler, and let them get nice and brown for about 3-5 minutes. Don’t forget about them because they will burn quickly. Don’t they look lovely?

Portioned correctly, this is good for 3-4 days worth of lunches for the week! I packed them with a little bit of the dipping sauce and some steamed broccoli with butter and it traveled well. Just make sure to pack an ice pack if you don’t have a fridge or your sauce will go bad. Another nice thing about these meatballs is that they last. I made these on Sunday night and was able to enjoy them all week!

I hope this recipe has inspired you to bring more lunches to work and maybe even try your hand at the Paleo lifestyle! Until next time, live Aloha and choose happiness!

Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

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Paleo Asian Meatballs with Dipping Sauce

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Number of servings: About 10 meatballs with dipping sauce

Per Serving 210 calories

Fat 18 g

Carbs 1 g

Protein 10 g

10

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic chili sauce
• 1 green onion
• Chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper

For the dipping sauce:

• 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic chili sauce
• 1 green onion
• Chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup mayo

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Combine pork, eggs, almond flour, jalapeno, garlic chili sauce, green onion, cilantro, salt and pepper to mixing bowl and combine using either a fork or your hands. Do not over-mix, or your meatballs will be tough.
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
4. Roll small meatballs (1-1.5 inches) using your hands or a small scoop and place on lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. While meatballs are baking, combine jalapeno, garlic chili sauce, green onion, cilantro, sesame oil, mayonnaise, salt and pepper in a resealable container. Refrigerate immediately.
7. After baking, move sheet to the top shelf of the oven and turn on the broiler. Broil meatballs for 3-5 minutes to brown the tops. Do not over-broil.
8. Serve warm with dipping sauce.
9. Recipe yields about 30 meatballs.