Fit Friday - Easter Dinner and a Hopping Workout

Fit Friday coming at your this Easter weekend. I don't know about you guys, but it is a busy weekend at my house. I am lucky enough to be running Boston , which happens to fall on Easter weekend this year. So today I am doing last minute Easter prep in order to make Easter morning run as smooth as possible for Uncle Matthew and Aunt Amanda, my awesome brother that is helping with kiddos this weekend. I am also cleaning house and getting ready to get on a plane tonight with my awesome husband. So from my busy house to yours, happy Fit Friday!

Lamb Meatballs with Mint Tomato Sauce and Quinoa is delicious spring time meal! 
 I'm so happy that spring time has made it's way around to us again!!  I love all the spring flowers and having warmer sunny days is always a lovely feeling after the long winter!  
 Happy Easter on Sunday. . . I thought a little Lamb Meatballs with Mint Tomato Sauce and Quinoa would be a lovely way to celebrate spring!  It's hard to believe we are going to be up to a high of 80 degrees around my neck of the woods today- it's just wonderful!! 
 This lamb dish is a fresh take on Easter dinner that I think you'll find quite festive.  I love lamb and especially enjoy it in the spring time.  I found ground lamb at the Whole Foods Market meat counter, I had to ask for it to be ground and they were happy to do it for me.  It may be more readily available in more stores with the Easter celebrations happening this weekend.  If you can't find it ground don't be afraid to ask your butcher if can prepare it that way for you. 
 It's really important that you don't over cook your lamb. . . ground lamb should be cooked up to 160 degrees F but there's a hold over cook time which means you want to stop applying heat at about 155 degrees F and the heat that is already in the pan will continue to cook the meat up to 160 degrees.  So basically, pull the pan off the heat once you hit 155 temperature in the center of the meatballs.   Then you'll have perfectly cooked lamb! Mmmmmmm hmm. :) 

Lamb Meatballs with Mint Tomato Sauce and Quinoa

Recipe Type: Main

Author: Ruthie

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Lamb Meatballs:
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 egg
• 2 slices day-old white bread torn into very small pieces
• 1 small onions, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeeze lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons mint, minced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Mint Tomato Sauce:
• 1 cup onion, medium diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons mint, thinly sliced
• 2-3 tablespoons parsley, rough chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 6 servings cooked quinoa

Instructions

1. Lamb Meatballs:
2. Combine lamb, egg, bread, onion, lemon juice, mint, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
3. Roll into 2 inch balls; set aside.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add oil, heat to oil, add lamb meatballs and brown on all sides.
5. Remove from skillet; hold to the side.
6. Mint Tomato Sauce:
7. In same skillet add onions and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, add half of white wine, and cook stirring 1 minute more.
8. Add garlic; cook 1 minute while stirring.
9. Add remaining wine; stirring and pulling up bits from the bottom of the pan.
10. Add tomatoes; reducing heat to medium low.
11. Add worcestershire, balsamic, tomato paste, 3 tablespoons mint, salt, pepper, and sugar; stir to combine.
12. Add lamb meatballs back to sauce, cover and cook 8-9 minutes or until center temperature reaches 155 degrees F. (hold over cooking will finish the temperature to 160 F for serving.)
13. Remove skillet from heat, add lemon juice, remaining mint, and parsley; gently stirring to incorporate.
14. Serve over quinoa with additional mint and parsley to garnish.
15. Enjoy!

Lamb Meatballs with Mint Tomato Sauce and Quinoa is lovely way to celebrate spring with your family! 

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  We are hopping into this Easter weekend with the workout this week. I don't know about at your house but my kids always seem to get jump ropes at Easter, the Easter bunny loves to keep our house hopping. It is a great activity we can do outside and fun for all ages. I have talked about the benefits of jump roping in the past, so we aren't going to spend a lot of time on that, but let's talk a little bit about how to get better at jump roping before we attack our jump rope workout.

First; you have to start with the right rope. You want a rope with handles that turn freely and is made of material that turns over smoothly. Cloth ropes are too light! It also needs to be a good length. While standing on your jump rope the handles should come to your arm pits.

Second; the bounce. You need to stay on the balls of your feet and and stay soft, this will protect your knees. You also need to keep your bounce lower, jumping two feet in the air and kicking your heels to your butt wastes a lot of energy.

Third; your arms. Again, we don't want to waste a bunch of energy. Keep your arms and elbows in close to your body with the wrists rotating.

Fourth; start simple. Work on a single bounce first and go from there. You don't need to worry about a bunch of fancy tricks or chaining together a bunch of double-unders until you have the single bounce mastered.

Have a wonderful Easter Weekend and Happy Fit Friday! Much Love and Peace~ Nichole and Ruthie