Sweet Potato Turkey Cakes with Kimchi Ketchup

Yahoo Health

Yoga star Kathryn Budig is known for her ability to make yoga accessible and playful through her teaching and writings, but her skills extend beyond the mat — all the way to the kitchen with nutrient-packed recipes that energize and nourish. Below, she shares her recipe for healthy turkey meatballs.

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Sweet potatoes and turkey pair up for a comforting meatball. (All photos: Cynthia Groseclose)

I love potatoes. To quote one of my best friends, “I’ve never met a potato I haven’t liked.” I also grew up on meatballs and have a fond place in my heart for this style of protein. The idea of blending a potato with a meatball nearly made me delirious with culinary joy, and so it was born — Sweet Potato Turkey Cakes!

I originally wanted to make these into meatballs, but then got hung up on the concept of something to dip them in. This obsession led towards them turning into patties as opposed to balls, and also turned them in to the perfect vehicle for probiotic tomato sauce, a.k.a. kimchi ketchup.

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This ketchup is an easy way to satisfy your sweet tooth while getting probiotics and a fabulous assist for your digestive tract. I hope you enjoy this recipe, but please see the note on shopping for certified humane meat before you decide to give this one a go. If you choose to eat meat, it’s our duty to make a difference by supporting the humane treatment of animals—this is how we can cultivate powerful change in a world of horrible factory run farming.

Sweet Potato Turkey Cakes

1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced into one-inch medallions
1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ sweet onion, minced
½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1.5 tablespoons fish sauce
1.5 tablespoons hot sauce
½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 pound light organic, free-range ground turkey*
2 teaspoons sea salt

*Turkeys have a particularly rough go in the world of farming. If you can’t find turkey that is certified organic and free-range, and ideally American Humane Certified, please pass until you can find that grade of meat. Anything less is encouraging the inhumane treatment of these animals.

Kimchi Ketchup

7 ounces tomato paste
1 tablespoon kimchi juice
1 tablespoon kimchi
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

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Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Steam sweet potato for 45 minutes or until soft, and mash with coconut oil and roughly 2 teaspoons sea salt. Reserve 1 cup (save the rest for later snacks).

Combine 1 cup mashed sweet potato with turkey, onion, bread crumbs, egg, fish sauce, hot sauce, cilantro, and sea salt. Roll into 9 cake patties and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

While baking, blend all ketchup ingredients together. Serve cakes with generous amounts of ketchup on the side for dipping!

Kathryn Budig is a yoga teacher, author, and the founder of AIM TRUE. Find more healthy recipes on her blog.

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