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Sheet Pan Meatballs with Chickpeas and Vegetables

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy. Sheet pan Mediterranean meatballs with roasted chickpeas, cauliflower, and butternut squash. High-protein, high-fiber, and great for meal prep. Mediterranean Meatballs with Chickpeas I’m obsessed with CAVA, a few weeks ago I posted these Sheet Pan Mediterranean Meatball Bowls with Roasted Vegetables and Hummus and you all loved it!! For this version I skipped the hummus, added chickpeas to the sheet pan along with butternut squash and cauliflower, and turned them into grain-free bowls topped with tzatziki. I originally tested it with lamb, but I loved how the meatballs turned out even better with ground bison—though ground beef or lamb work just as well. Why This Recipe Works This CAVA copycat meatball recipe is one of those meals that feels a little elevated but is actually so simple to pull off. Here’s why you should give it a try! Everything cooks on two sheet pans: Roasting the meatballs, vegetables, and chickpeas together saves time. High protein and high fiber: The meatballs provide a solid protein boost, while chickpeas and vegetables add fiber to help keep you full longer. Roasting brings out natural sweetness and depth: Butternut squash and cauliflower get golden and slightly crispy, balancing the savory, herby meatballs. Flexible protein options: I love this with ground bison for a richer flavor, but beef or lamb work just as well, depending on what you have. The sauces tie it all together: Creamy tzatziki adds freshness, while a little harissa provides heat and contrast, giving you that CAVA-style flavor at home. CAVA-Style Flavors at Home Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make this simple sheet pan Mediterranean meatball recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements. Vegetables: Cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash Canned Chickpeas are an affordable, vegetarian source of protein and fiber. Olive Oil coats the veggies before roasting Seasoning: Kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, coriander, black pepper Sauces: Drizzle tzatziki and harissa over your bowl. You can make homemade tzatziki (a Greek cucumber-yogurt sauce) or buy it premade. This spicy harissa (a Moroccan red pepper sauce) is my favorite. They also have a mild version. CAVA-Inspired Mediterranean Meatball Ingredients Egg and Breadcrumbs bind everything together. Cumin for smokiness Herbs: Fresh dill and parsley Water provides moisture. Lemon Zest for a bright citrus flavor Meat: I love it with lean round bison, but ground beef or lamb will also work. How to Make Sheet Pan Mediterranean Meatballs Lining the sheet pans with parchment paper makes cleanup easier. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions. Season the vegetables: Toss the broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash, and garbanzo beans in olive oil, then season with all the spices. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast vegetables at 425°F for 30 to 35 minutes until tender and browned. Make the meatballs: Mix all the meatball ingredients, slowly adding the bison until just combined. To keep them tender, avoid overworking the meat. Form the mixture into 16 meatballs and place on a small parchment- lined sheet pan. Set the pan on the top rack of the oven for the last 15 minutes, broiling for the final 2 minutes if you’d like to brown them more. How to Serve: Spoon the vegetables and meatballs into bowls, and top with tzatziki and harissa. Tips for the Best Roasted Meatballs and Vegetables Give them space. If the meatballs and vegetables are touching, they will steam rather than roast. Make it hot. A higher oven temperature–in this case, 425°F–will help them caramelize and brown better. Don’t forget about them. Set a timer to prevent overcooking dinner. To check if the meatballs are done, use a meat thermometer (it should read 160°F), or slice one in half to confirm it’s no longer pink in the center. Variations and Substitutions Swap the broccoli or cauliflower for carrots, red onions, beets, or bell peppers. Butternut squash: Use cubed sweet potatoes. Gluten-free meatballs: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs. Herbs: Substitute either herb with chives, oregano, or rosemary. Add feta cheese for a salty, creamy element. For a grain bowl, check out my Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs with Israeli couscous. For a lighter version, try my turkey meatball bowls. For another sheet pan option, try my Sheet Pan Italian Meatballs. Prep: 20 minutes mins Cook: 35 minutes mins Total: 55 minutes mins Yield: 4 servings Serving Size: 4 meatballs 1 ½ cups veggies Cook Mode Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a half sheet tray with parchment paper, and line a second, smaller sheet pan with parchment paper as well. Set both aside. To make the vegetable mixture, add the cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, and chickpeas to a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin. Stir to evenly coat the vegetables. Transfer the mixture to the larger sheet pan. Place on the middle rack in the oven to roast for 30-35 minutes, stirring halfway until the vegetables are tender and brown in places. Meanwhile add the egg, salt, cumin, dill, parsley, 2 tablespoons water and lemon zest to a mixing bowl and whisk together to combine. Add the breadcrumbs and mix then the ground meat. Mix until evenly combined. Form 16 meatballs, about 2 tablespoons each and transfer them to the smaller sheet pan. Roast on the top rack in the oven for 15 minutes, broiling for the last couple of minutes if desired. To serve, spoon veggie mixture into bowls and top with meatballs. Serve with tzatziki and harissa, if desired. Last Step: Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you. Serving: 4 meatballs 1 ½ cups veggies, Calories: 490 kcal, Carbohydrates: 41.5 g, Protein: 36 g, Fat: 22.5 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 97 mg, Sodium: 1178 mg, Fiber: 11 g, Sugar: 10.5 g How to Serve Mediterranean Meatballs This Mediterranean meatball…

5 Lessons on Vanity: An Invitation to Awareness and Letting Go

I was once considered beautiful. Perhaps, by some, I still am. At fourteen years old, I took a modeling course with two of my girlfriends. The ultimate in turning the body into an object to be adored. After three weeks of learning how to walk, sashay, and twirl, we sat down to paint our faces. The palate consisted of endless brushes and shadows—pinks, browns, golds, and glimmering sparkles. Now, I think of it as war paint. We were being trained in the art of disguise, heightening our beauty, to use sexuality as an enticing weapon, and as a means of power. But at the time, it was playing dress up, like a six-year-old getting into mum’s make up and smearing it all over her face, making garish designs that can look cute on children. I didn’t understand the implications. As part of this evolution, thin eyebrows were a necessary part of the mask: pull out all those unsightly and unwanted hairs to create a narrow arch of both surprise and slight disdain, to disarm with a slight tilt of the head, gazing upward and flirtatious. One of the instructors, Mary-Anne, was moon-faced, large lipped, and fish-eyed, with long lashes. She came at me with relish, gleeful, saying, “I’ve been waiting for weeks to get at you.” As she carefully tugged out each hair my eye muscles contracted into an excruciating spasm. The tears poured out of my tortured left eye while I endured this in the pursuit of iconic beauty. Lesson One: Vanity Is Costly and Finite This was the first indication, although I didn’t get the message, that vanity has a price. This attachment to the body, the idealizing of our skin bag, ultimately comes at great cost. Women so often are defined by, and get their power from, physical characteristics that have a built-in expiry date. But at fourteen we can’t fully know this. It is impossible to feel what will become inevitable; we understand it as happening to others but not to us. Smiling, she handed me a mirror. I looked and saw that I was a little more hidden—that what I thought of as me, was not really me. So, I sat very still, passive, while my eye cried, fascinated that this eye had a mind of its own. Finally, the teacher finished. She examined her creation and was proud. Smiling, she handed me a mirror. I looked and saw that I was a little more hidden—that what I thought of as me, was not really me. Lesson Two: Desire Leads to Suffering When I was fifteen, Judy Welch, a diva of the modelling scene, and the owner of an agency, entered me in the Miss Chin Bikini contest that took place annually on Centre Island in Toronto. We were twenty-two heads of cattle going up for the beauty auction. While uncomfortable, I was still too young to know what I was feeling. I still didn’t fully realize that we were up for scrutiny and judgment. Each of us was an object of comparison, to see who would be most valued. It was 1971, and I wore a white crocheted bikini with daisy-like nipple coverings and brown platform strappy sandals. The contestants lined up before the judges in a back room behind the stage. We were twenty-two heads of cattle going up for the beauty auction. While uncomfortable, I was still too young to know what I was feeling. I still didn’t fully realize that we were up for scrutiny and judgment. Each of us was an object of comparison, to see who would be most valued in this competition of the female form. Following this inspection, we swished along the runway in that contrived, lithe and pseudo-sexual manner to catcalls and Italian exclamations, and it was finally dawning on me that I am an object. It felt a little dangerous. I came in third place. Not the most beautiful, but still in the running. I won a bottle of Baby Duck that I was too young to drink, and my picture was in the Toronto Sun showing me walking, ash blonde hair, sharp jawed, bikini clad. I was a success. Obscene breathy phone calls followed this win, until they stopped. Some version of me was wanted. I was repulsed and afraid, but clearly also wishing to be seen. It was confusing to do what was being asked of me and then putting myself at risk. Thankfully, even then, the news was short-lived. Everything passes. This was the second lesson on vanity: As we attach, so do others, and this grasping is problematic. Lesson Three: The Need for an Inner Life The third lesson came when I went to see a photographer to create my modelling portfolio. Every model needs a book of photos to display her various looks to potential employers. These are her wares. Derek told me to go into the bathroom and ice my nipples and then put my tight black, ribbed cardigan back on. He directed me to partially undo my sweater. Dutifully, I complied. Already, I knew to do what men tell me. I was fifteen years old. The photographic image conveyed something unrecognizably coquettish in black and white: long hair, head tilted and mouth in a pouty kiss. I see now how quickly we get lost in the appearance of things, hooked by the illusion of sex for sale, reinforcing the manufactured desire of the viewer. It became important to cultivate an internal life so that when I ultimately arrived at the invisibility of middle age and beyond, there would be something more than the loss seen in the mirror. But this was a slow and painful learning. My very brief modeling career soon ended after that experience. I didn’t have what it took to pretend in this way, to completely buy into the dream. I realized early that my moment as a focus of male attention, and the power this gave, was time limited. It became important…

I Tried Exercise Snacking For 2 Weeks — Here’s How It Went

Lately, my elder millennial body’s been feeling extra . . . elderly. My back’s achy, my knees make these weird creaky sounds. I could blame my age, but it’s not just that: I had a second baby last fall, then signed up for a half marathon this spring, so the only exercise I’ve made time for recently is running. As helpful as that might be for my cardio fitness, it hasn’t done my strength or mobility any favors. Plus, it’s left me feeling like the Tin Man. So when Popsugar reached out to see if I’d be interested in experimenting with “exercise snacks” for a couple of weeks, I signed right up. The buzzy approach — sometimes referred to as a way of “microdosing” fitness — involves doing shorter mini-workouts more often. That might look like a minute of squat jumps or a 10-minute Pilates session. The strategy is trending among fitfluencers since it can break up long periods of sitting and make exercise feel way less intimidating — anyone can work out for a minute, right? A whole host of research shows that even short bursts of movement can be an effective way to boost cardiovascular health, insulin sensitivity, and muscle strength. I drew up a plan: I’d work in two to three strength or mobility–focused exercise snacks per day, anywhere from one to 10 minutes long. It could be when my 6-month-old was babbling to himself on the floor, as I was waiting for my coffee to brew, or just craving a break from my computer. Experts Featured in This Article Rachelle Reed, PhD, is an exercise physiologist and the head of scientific research and ccience communication at Therabody. Thanks to a stroke of lucky timing, I found myself on a phone call with exercise physiologist Rachelle Reed, PhD, on my first day of the experiment. I asked for her advice on how to make sure these short bursts would actually do something useful, and she told me the way to be super efficient is to go hard. Think: vigorous stair climbing rather than a leisurely stroll, or heavy weights versus a pair I could lift 30 reps with. In particular, she recommended compound exercises to get a whole bunch of muscles firing quickly. “If you’re doing a squat to an overhead press for a minute, I mean, woof, talk about being gassed,” she said. With that in mind, I came up with a list of eight strength exercises, mostly compound moves that focused on the running muscles I wanted to target (hamstrings, quads, glutes, calves, and core) but would still build well-rounded strength throughout my body. I also wrote down a handful of plyometric jumps I wanted to do regularly since I knew they could help increase my running power. With these go-tos, I could quickly dive right into a mini workout without having to waste time deciding what to do. For mobility, I kept things looser. Instead of a set list of exercises, I just aimed for a few minutes of feel-good, stretchy, gentle yoga-like movement each morning — whatever my body was craving — to take stock of how I was feeling and work out any tightness. The result? Let me start with what I loved: This strategy made it so that a lack of time was simply no excuse not to work out. Even on my busiest days, I could always find 60 seconds to pop down into a plank or do some squat jumps (albeit while holding my boobs in lieu of changing into a sports bra). And I got some real results. I was honestly shocked by just how sore I could end up from only a few minutes of movement at a time. As long as I was challenging myself just as much as I would during a normal workout, splitting up exercises throughout the week still meant I was strengthening my muscles. (Not to brag or anything, but in just two weeks, I built up enough upper body strength that I can now do more push-ups in a row than ever before!) Even better, my joints weren’t feeling quite so worn out and achy after running. While I can’t say I fixed my back pain, it stopped bothering me quite so much. That said, exercise snacking wasn’t the magic remedy for my lopsided fitness that I’d hoped it would be. For starters, I quickly realized that when I didn’t plan out a chunk of time to work out like I normally would, it was all too easy to forget to do it — even as someone who generally likes to exercise. On the second day of the experiment, I did my five minutes of stretchy mobility work since I’d made it a natural part of my morning routine while drinking my first cup of coffee and playing with my baby on the floor. But at the end of the day I realized I’d totally forgotten to do any strength exercises. The next day, it was 7:13 p.m. before I remembered to do one. I’d assumed I’d naturally work tidbits of exercise into my day when I could, but I learned that if I didn’t schedule the activity — yes, even just a minute — or pair it with another habit, it wouldn’t happen. Also, I found I was more likely to half-ass things during my snacks than I would during a longer workout. I’d sometimes get through part of a set, then get distracted by something else I needed to do. Without an outfit change, a proper warm-up, or a dedicated chunk of time, it was harder for me to lock in mentally. Then again, when I was in the right mood, snacking on movement was just like snacking on Pringles: Once I popped, I couldn’t stop. I’d get into a groove, and keep doing more and more exercises just because I enjoyed the way it made my body feel. I’d tell myself I was just going to try…

A Little-Known Truth About People-Pleasing and How to Stop (for Good)

“Being a people-pleaser may be more than a personality trait; it could be a response to serious trauma.” ~Alex Bachert Growing up in a home, school, and church that placed a lot of value on good behavior, self-discipline, and corporal punishment, I was a model child. There could have been an American Girl doll designed after me—the well-mannered church girl with a nineties hair bow edition. I was quiet and pleasant and never got sent to the principal’s office. Complaining and “ugly” emotions were simply not allowed. Though I was very rambunctious and “rebellious” as a toddler, all of that was cleansed from my personality by the time I was school-aged. I had no other choice. I felt unsafe in my body at the slightest hint that someone was upset with me. It was enough to tame my inner rebel, at least for many years. I carried this pattern into adulthood. I found myself in jobs with supervisors who would fly off the handle at every opportunity. I worked extra hard, more than anyone else, to avoid getting in trouble. When my colleagues got yelled at over their mistakes, they laughed with amusement under their breath—but when the anger was directed at me, I was ridden with anxiety. How could my coworkers brush off our manager’s anger, but I felt triggered for hours afterward? It took me many years to learn the answer—that some of us are conditioned from a young age to develop a deep-seated fear of losing our sense of belonging and safety in our relationships. To cope with this fear, we develop strategies to safeguard ourselves, which, for some, turn into a habit of people-pleasing. There’s one clear common denominator for people-pleasers—feeling beholden to others. You put your needs last and feel obligated to manage everyone else’s happiness. You’re hypersensitive to being judged, shamed, and rejected. You worry about what other people think about you. You overextend yourself to be helpful. When you dare to stand up for yourself, you suffer from anxiety and guilt. When you don’t address and change these patterns, you may eventually feel resentful, frustrated, and angry. It compromises your emotional and physical well-being and contributes to an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. And it lights a blazing fire under your ass. Because we aren’t responsible for juggling other people’s emotions. We don’t owe anyone comfort. We’re not a charity receptacle for others’ emotional venting, unhealed trauma, or misdirected anger. Our time, energy, and well-being are not up for negotiation. And we don’t deserve the guilt-tripping manipulation. Truthfully, we cannot control how other people show up in our relationships, but we can change our patterns of powerlessness and take back our lives, and it doesn’t have to compromise our genuine desire to care for others. Brain Ruts It’s not a mystery what you should be doing in lieu of carrying the burden of responsibility that comes with people-pleasing. You need to set boundaries, speak your truth, be more confrontational, use your voice to advocate for yourself, separate your feelings from others, and put your needs first. Which begs the question—what’s getting in the way of you taking these steps? Though you may feel the need to change your patterns through sheer willpower or more self-discipline, that isn’t the answer. You don’t need to read useless books about how to “grab life by the horns” or “grow some balls” (ew, gross!). You don’t need to muscle through debilitating anxiety or guilt. You don’t need to give up your generosity or empathy to take back your power in one-sided relationships. You don’t need to be “thicker-skinned” or less “sensitive.” (Your sensitivity is a gift.) Here’s the little-known truth about people-pleasing—it’s a learned pattern that gets “turned on” in your unconscious mind over and over again. Whether it’s avoiding conflict, freezing up when you need to speak your truth, or feeling guilty, people-pleasing is a survival strategy. And all survival strategies are a set of automated behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that repeatedly get turned on unconsciously. In a sense, you’re not fully in control of how your people-pleasing habits show up. Which is why just “trying harder” doesn’t work, because you can’t beat the speed at which your unconscious mind is turning on patterns. Ninety percent of how we show up in life is unconscious and based on our past. Your brain needs to save energy, so it’s automating your decisions, behaviors, and feelings for you. Think of your bad habits as brain ruts. Every time a people-pleasing habit is presenting itself, your brain is riding down the same neural pathway, deepening the grooves, much like how a dirt path naturally forms over time if you keep walking over the grass. This well-worn path appears to be safer and easier than walking through the wild, unruly grass, which feels unfamiliar, dangerous, and risky to deal with—you fear being judged, shamed, or rejected out there. Just the thought of standing up to your evil mother-in-law turns on the anxiety. But you’ve reached a point where you long to be in the wild grass. It represents the life you could be living—taking up space, effortlessly putting your needs first, being in your pleasure, and feeling amazing in your emotional well-being. So how do you take the leap into the metaphorical grassy field of your “hell yes” life? By planting new seeds in your unconscious mind and watering them on a regular basis. Planting Seeds If people-pleasing wasn’t a problem for you anymore, what would be possible in your life? Imagine a scenario where you’ve already reconfigured the pathways of your unconscious mind and you feel exactly how you want to feel, showing up exactly how you want to, and it’s just easy. You’re confident, powerful, and unapologetic. Whose rules would you stop following? What boundaries, enmeshed in barbed wire, would you put in place? Whose misdirected emotions would you feel bulletproof against? What responsibilities would you shamelessly give up? What self-indulgence would you treat yourself to? What truths…

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