404 calories for the whole meal—lemony garlic yogurt, quick-pickled cucumber & tomato salad, and toppings included! 221 cal/27 grams of protein for just the meatballs :) I love Persian food so I was so excited to make this and it ended up incredibly delicious!

  
I based it off [this recipe](https://www.marthastewart.com/1555154/lamb-meatballs-cucumbers-herbs) I got from my favorite cookbook—Jess Damuck’s Salad Freak (massive, massive recommendation for amazing salad recipes that are super adaptable).   


ADJUSTMENTS: I used 1 lb 14 oz of 93/7 lean ground turkey instead of lamb because that’s what I had (and to increase protein for lower cal) and subbed the breadcrumbs for 200 g of cauliflower rice. Added an extra egg because of how much more meat I had and doubled the amount of spices/herbs the recipe calls for to account for that as well. Used low fat Greek yogurt instead of labneh and mixed in some finely chopped Moroccan preserved lemon because I had it and it’s ridiculously delicious. Sprinkled the finished dish with sumac! 

  
Note: ground turkey is a softer meat than beef or lamb, so the meatballs were harder to form and ended up a little flat as a result. Also likely  because I subbed breadcrumbs for cauliflower too which gives less for the meat to “bind” to than breadcrumbs so just be prepared for the balls to be a little finicky to form! Bakes up great though and tastes delicious. Will include the full specs of my ingredients and how much below, but the process follows the linked recipe!

Persian meatballs with yogurt and cucumber salad 404 calories/42 g protein