Harissa Meatball Bowl with Feta Red Peppers & Lemon Tzatziki

& remaining present (which is unusual for me!!)

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

Are you ever super busy but when you look back at why, you can’t quite figure out what’s occupying your time? That’s me right now.

To be fair, we are working on building out a new office/studio for Grant so his current space can become the nursery, and we have been going out of town multiple weekends in a row. I’ve also been trying extremely hard to get back into cooking and shooting recipes at a much heavier cadence, but maybe it doesn’t feel like I’m doing much because I’ve been having so much fun while doing it. I am so relieved to be enjoying food again. I cannot tell you the joy it brings me to crave a kale salad.

I’ve also been loving being my general state of being lately. To come out of a period of hardship and feel light and happy again is one of the best feelings in the world. I mentioned this on my Instagram Q+A yesterday (which is saved in my IVF story highlight), but I have been so present during this pregnancy, which is a departure from my usual state. I am such a future-oriented person, a major planner one might say, and it is sometimes very difficult for me to stay in the moment. But I have been very focused on “the now,” and I’m leaning into this version of me while it lasts.

THINGS I’M LOVING!

Last week I shared striped pull on pants from Gap that I’ve been loving, and I’ve been wearing them so often that I bought the light wash jean version as well. I love that it has an elastic band and a tie, especially for pregnancy and my growing bod. They’re just so comfortable, and they’re easy to style to make them look like regular jeans. Plus, they’re 100% cotton (yay, natural fibers), and they’re on double sale right now! They fit true to size, but I sized up for the bump.

I think I’m obsessed with Gap right now. The Gap? Which one is it? This 100% cotton long-sleeve tee has such a cute cut — it reminds me of Reformation! It has wider sleeves and the cotton is nice and thick. And it’s 50% off right now for only $22! Jealous, because I bought it for more. But worth it.

I can’t shut up about how much I love Sumo Mandarins, so imagine my glee when I discovered they sell Sumo Juice! I found it at Sprouts, and it’s so delicious — it tastes like a fresh squeezed juice. Plus, I just saw this recipe for a Creamsicle Sumo Matcha with Vanilla Bean Cold Foam from Holistic Rendezvous, so it would be perfect for that!

ACTIVE DISCOUNT CODES!

***NEW CODE ALERT: JULIET WINE***

Supplements

• KALEMEMAYBE25 gets you 30% off your first order with Ritual!

• Use my link to get up to 45% off Grüns gummy vitamins!

• KALEMEMAYBE gets you 15% off Armra Colostrum!

Food

• KALEMEMAYBE gets you 10% off Fishwife products!

• KMM10 gets you 10% off your first purchase with Ground Up Nut Butters

• DRIZZLE gets you 20% off Little Zing Mustard

• KALEMEMAYBE gets you 15% off Kola Goodies tea lattes

• CARINA20 gets you 20% off Primal Kitchen products

• KALEMEMAYBE15 gets you 15% off Flour & Water products

• CARINA15 gets you 15% off Juliet Wine!

Other Products

• CARINA10 gets you 10% off Starter Kits from Branch Basics!

• CW15 for 15% off Bon Charge Red Light Therapy

RECIPE!

This is certainly not a 30-minute meal (but if you want some of those, I’ve got plenty). It is a meal you make when you want a restaurant-quality bowl that’s loaded with protein, fiber, healthy fat, and all of the flavors. It’s a dinner (or lunch) that will make your food feel special. And although there are a lot of components, it’s not a difficult meal to make at all!

While the meatballs and peppers are roasting, you prepare the rest of your ingredients, so it’s all about the multitasking. But I’m not responsible if eating this bowl makes you want to take a Mediterranean vacation.

If you’re not able to access harissa, a spicy North African condiment, you can use Calabrian chili peppers as a substitute. Or, you can leave it out altogether and add in 1 tsp crushed red pepper!

Harissa Meatball Bowl with Feta Red Peppers & Lemon Tzatziki

Ingredients (serves 4)

Bowl

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa

• 2 heaping cups arugula

Harissa Meatballs

• 1 lb 85/15 ground beef

• 1 tbsp harissa sauce

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 tbsp minced parsley

• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 large egg

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp salt

Feta & Peppers

• 4 red bell peppers

• 7 oz feta

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• Pinch of salt

Tzatziki

• 1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt

• 2 small Persian cucumbers, grated

• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp white vinegar

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp chopped dill

Marinated Red Onion

• 1/2 large red onion, sliced

• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Add the meatball ingredients to a large bowl, and mix together with your hands, taking care not to over mix. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and use a small cookie scoop to form meatballs into even balls (should make about 20).

2. Prepare the peppers by cutting them in half lengthwise and removing the stem and the flesh. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and add the peppers face side down.

3. Transfer the meatballs and peppers to the oven. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes, and the peppers for 25-30 minutes. Meatballs should be cooked all the way through with an internal temperature of at least 165 F. If your meatballs are larger, you may need to cook for longer. Peppers should be soft and just starting to get charred.

5. While meatballs and peppers are baking, prepare the rest of your ingredients. To make the marinated onion, add sliced onions, parsley, and red wine vinegar to a medium bowl. Mix together, and massage the onions with your hands to soften them, if desired. Set aside.

7. Prepare the quinoa according to package. To make tzatziki, add everything to a medium bowl, and mix together.

8. Once peppers are done cooking, cut them into 2-inch slices. You can peel the skin off before cutting, if you prefer, but I left the skin on. Cube your feta and break the pieces up slightly with your hands. In a medium bowl, mix together peppers, feta, olive oil, oregano, and salt.

9. Assemble your bowls by adding quinoa and arugula as the base. Top with meatballs, red pepper feta mix, marinated onions, and tzatziki. Finish off with some black and red pepper, and serve warm or room temp like a salad!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for Creamy Calabrian Chili Chickpeas and Kale over rice!

Just a reminder that anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive. You can always do a free 7-day trial as well!