Not your mother's meatloaf: salsa adds zest to flavor-filled, protein-packed tex-mex patties

Muscle & Fitness, July, 2004 by Laura Creavalle

BESIDES HAVING BEEN A professional bodybuilder for more than 15 years, I've been a full-time trainer, juggling my own workouts along with overseeing a fledgling fitness studio. One of the biggest challenges most of my clients and I face is time. Everyone has such a busy schedule that eating right (not to mention eating several times a day) can seem to swallow huge amounts of this precious commodity.

Here's an easy meatloaf you can prepare as individual servings, using muffin cups to form "loaves" rather than the traditional one-pan dish. This offers portion control and allows you to package any leftovers for later use. Though they're meant to be served with rice, you can always complement the meat with pasta, or cut each one into thin slices and serve as sandwiches, hot or cold. Best of all, they're a snap to make, and their single-serving form makes them very handy.

Now to the nutrition. Many dietitians are beginning to see some value in lowering the intake of carbohydrates in order to shed bodyfat. While total calories are paramount in determining fat loss, mildly cutting back on carbs allows a metabolic shift in which additional fat is used as fuel, provided calories remain below maintenance levels.

With a drop in calories and carbohydrates, you must increase your intake of protein. That's where these Mini Salsa Meatloaves come in: Each one yields 29 grams of first-class protein, so two "loaves" served with a cup of brown rice would provide 63 grams of protein and 63 grams of carbohydrates, a good ratio for those trying to control carbs without resorting to extreme methods. For those trying to cut carbs a bit further, serve a couple of the meatloaves with a large salad and only one-half-cup of rice.

To order Laura's low-calorie cookbook, The Lite Lifestyle, visit www.nutramedia.com or call (207) 782-3121.

RELATED ARTICLE: Mini Salsa Meatloaves

15 oz. ground extra-lean turkey
  breast or extra-lean beef
3 Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup minced onion
1 medium jalapeno pepper,
  seeded and minced
1/4 cup egg substitute
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mild or hot salsa
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray four large-size muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ground meat with cornmeal, onion, jalapeno, egg substitute and salt. Mix well. Fill each prepared muffin cup with an equal amount of meat mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes until cooked through (165 degrees F on an instant-read meat thermometer for ground turkey; 160 degrees F for ground beef). Place on plate and top with 1 tablespoon salsa each. Serve with green salad and/or rice. Makes four mini meatloaves.

Nutrition Facts: Per mini meatloaf: 170 calories, 29 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 1 g fiber.