Mince of any kind is really versatile and pork mince makes the most amazing meat balls. My recipe for them is very simple indeed – it creates dense meatballs, but that’s not an issue with me.
Aldi stocks Scottish-sourced pork mince which is approved by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA), and Red Tractor-scheme approved pork in other parts of the UK. The two accreditations should mean that the pigs are subjected to higher welfare conditions than pork without them, although the charity Compassion in World Farming has challenged the claims of the Red Tractor scheme. If in doubt, buy your mince from a farmer’s market or buy organic or certified free range.
Pork Meatballs
500g pork mince
1tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Mix all the ingredients together (don’t be stingy with the black pepper). It’s easiest to mix them with your hands – and shape them into small balls, just a little bit smaller than a golf ball.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for half an hour. Serve with a tomato sauce over spiralised vegetables, or steamed cauliflower or chop in half, fry off in olive oil and use in a salad with some crispy bacon strips.
Each meatball has 1g of carbs per ball.
As an added bonus, here’s my favourite way to eat pork meatballs – for breakfast! This is not the most appealing looking dish (we’re more about substance over style here at Diabetes Diet), but it’s really quick and easy once you’ve got a stock of meatballs to hand.
Pork and Eggs
- 4 pork meat balls
- 2 large eggs
- 10ml olive oil or 10g butter
- Salt and pepper
- Chop the meatballs into quarters. Heat the oil or butter in an omelette pan and add the chopped meatballs.
- Allow to brown and then add the beaten eggs (which have been seasoned with a little salt and pepper – you won’t need much because the meatballs are seasoned).
- Move the eggs around as if you are scrambling them. It won’t take long to cook them – about 30 seconds.
- Serve with some vegetables (if you want to feel virtuous).
Allow about 1g of carbs per serving (and 5g of carbs if you serve it with 75g of green beans as I’ve done here).
Diabetes Diet 
Hey .. that is a good breakfast idea, and one that I wouldn’t have thought of … so thanks for the idea.
All the best Jan
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Thanks Jan – as I’m sure you know the secret of living with low-carb diets is eating all kinds of things for breakfast and not just foods that are heavily marketed as “breakfast” foods such as sugary cereals.
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