AIP is inherently an anti-inflammatory diet, so the title of this recipe is like describing a banana to someone who has never eaten one as “banana-y”. These ‘balls are especially designed for people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s, and colitis. Just so happens they taste fantastic.
I wanted to support my anti-inflammatory claims with some hard & fast research. This kind of stuff really gets me going, and I have a feeling most of you are pretty into the magic of food too.
Ginger Benefits
- Ginger has been shown to relieve joint pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by inhibiting prostaglandin activity and leukotriene biosynthesis, which are major players in the inflammatory process
- Researches fed 33 mg of ginger oil to arthritic rats for 26 days, significantly suppressing paw and joint swelling
- 75% of RA patients in one study experienced marked pain relief and swelling reduction when ingesting ginger, and 100% of people in the study with muscular discomfort reported the same results (Al-Nahain, Jahan & Rahmatullah, 2014)
Cilantro Benefits
- Rats with carageenan*-induced paw edema had significant reductions in inflammation when fed dried coriander (cilantro) seeds via a reduction in macrophagic (inflammatory) activity
- These rats also showed a significant reduction in granulomas and tumors (Nair, Singh & Gupta, 2013)
- *Yeah that stuff in your ice cream.
Garlic Benefits
- A study exploring the effects of garlic on insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress of diabetic rats on a high fructose diet found that garlic reduced blood glucose levels and indications of oxidative stress caused by diabetes
- Garlic has been shown in other studies to lower blood lipid levels and have anti-coagulant and anti-cancer effects
- Garlic extract used in the study above was made by boiling 100g whole garlic in water for 20 minutes (Sivaraman, Senthilkumar & Bobby, 2013)
These anti-inflammatory beef meatballs feature the powers of cilantro, garlic and ginger!
Anti-Inflammatory Meatballs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Cuisine: main
Description
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, tightly packed
- 5 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Form into 12 equal size meatballs, about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Bake for 23-25 minutes until the center is light pink. Sprinkle with extra sea salt before serving.
- Store in a sealed glass container in the fridge or freezer. Serve with a green salad with sliced avocado, parsley, and cilantro.
Notes
You may also use ground pork here or 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger in place of the ground ginger.
24 Responses
These look delicious!
Going to make them for the kids brekky this week, will let you know how I get on.
Sending love and light your way
Thank you, Jacinta!
Can I use Lamb with this recipe??
What would you add to the recipe for ground lamb?
Thanks!
Certainly – you can keep the recipe as is and use lamb!
what is brekky?
What I called breakfast 🙂
Can I use ground turkey or ground chicken instead? I don’t eat beef or pork.
Yes you can!
I used ground lamb, which I thought was amazing combined with the zest of lime flavor. I also understand that lamb is less inflammatory than beef? Anyway, delicious recipe and we love the leftovers for our lunches. I served them over a bed of cauliflower rice.
Sounds delicious! Grass-fed lamb and grass-fed beef both have anti-inflammatory properties – some people may be sensitive to one or the other so that could in turn cause inflammation. Glad you enjoyed!
What herb would you recommend if you aren’t a fan of cilantro?
Parsley or tarragon!
How do you think these would taste if I omitted the garlic? I have an allergy to it. Any suggestions on things to use in place of it? Or would you increase one of the other ingredients to add more flavor that way? Would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
Totally fine!
Should I use the stems AND leaves of the cilantro? Thanks!!
It’s a great way to use up the whole plant but you can just use leaves if the texture of stems is bothersome
Do you have a recipe for the green salad you served the meatballs with? It looks delicious.
These are really delicious— I’ve made them several times and they are becoming a staple. Even my 9 year old loves them. Thanks for the great recipe!
These meatballs are amazing! I used ground beef and ground pork. I only had a half a lime so I added some orange zest. Added some lime juice and coconut aminos to the mix. Would highly recommend. Thanks for the recipe!
Very tasty! I enjoyed these because I love garlic and cilantro and lime. Different flavors than usual for meatballs. Nice change! Serving size is very generous at 8 oz each. Two meatballs was plenty for me.
★★★★★