Jenise, help please on modifying your splendid meatloaf

Jenise, I've modified your recipe for the Batali/Jenise meatloaf to take account of Janet's inability to have much salt by mixing the V8 50/50 regular and reduced salt, and getting a local Italian deli to make us salt free sweet sausages (ten pound minimum). The result is just as good as the original version in my bake off test -- over 20 meatloafs, all wonderful except for a salt free V8 experiment.

Now I'm trying the South Beach diet with great success and would like to modify the recipe one more time to find a replacement for the bread crumbs. I've considered mushrooms, textured vegetable protein and eggplant as alternatives, but wondered what the inventor might suggest.

The ingredient list follows; many thanks for any ideas.

Best Bob

1-1.25 lb extra lean ground beef
3 sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled [salt free from Cedar Hill]
1 cup grated skim milk mozzarella (kind of packed, don't be afraid of putting in too much)
3 Tblsp dried basil (generous)
1 Tblsp dried oregano (generous)
1 medium onion, finely diced and sweated in 1 tblsp butter [3 onions sauteed for 30 minutes in olive oil]
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt [omitted]
1 tsp black pepper
1.5 cups fresh breadcrumbs [??????]
3/4 c. finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 c. V-8, divided
2 eggs
1/2 c. dry white wine [replaced with 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes for South Beach version]

Bob, I'm not Jenise, but I wonder if you could use quick oats instead of the breadcrumbs?

Celia

I'm also not Jenise, nor do I play her online, but try to find low carb flour tortillas. They are widely available (even here in Montana!) and can be used in place of breadcrumbs without much change in texture of the resulting product.

The other option might be to make a very dense fiber rich whole grain bread and use that. Adding fiber decreases the digestible carbohydrate significantly.

Thank you Celia and Cynthia. I'm also considering chickpea flour -- chickpeas are permitted in Phase 1 and I could make a simple bread and use crumbs from that bread as a substitute.

All of your suggestions sound "legal", but I'm wondering what the purpose of bread crumbs is in a recipe like this. Is it a binding agent?

Best, Bob

...but I'm wondering what the purpose of bread crumbs is in a recipe like this. Is it a binding agent?

I believe the eggs are the binding agent (glue?) and the bread crumbs are an extender or filler. I would think you could substitute All-Bran, put through a blender or food processor to make it into crumbs. This would add a high fiber and much lower carb alternative to bread crumbs.

All of your suggestions sound "legal", but I'm wondering what the purpose of bread crumbs is in a recipe like this. Is it a binding agent?

I think a good portion of the reason for the bread crumbs is to hold and distribute moisture. They would readily soak up the V-8.

[Jenise]

Bob, sorry to be answering so late, but we had a power interruption/emergency here on Friday and I haven't been able to safely turn my computer on until today.

Cynthia and Howie are both right about the bread's purpose, though I wouldn't call it a filler/extender from the budgetary point of view so much as a texture enhancer--it lightens the heavier meat, and as Cynthia says it also absorbs/retains flavor/moisture in a well-distributed fashion. And Cynthia and Celia both made what would be my first reccomendations too, providing oats are an acceptable carb on South Beach. Brown rice is another thought, as would be grated and partially dehydrated zucchini. Have you ever made my "Garden Meat Loaf"? I posted the recipe on FLDG classic, and it relies heavily on grated vegetables to lighten the ground pork.

If oats are okay on South Beach: I frequently use instant oatmeal flakes as a binder, and I'm pleased with the results. I figure the soluble fiber in the oats helps combat the cholesterol in the meat.

Thanks for all the great ideas; Jenise, I'm sorry you are having problems. Hope they resolve themselves soon and well.

I'm driving to Santa Fe over the next few days and away from the list of permitted/not permitted Phase 1 substitutes; I'll revert with an acceptable list when I get back to my list of ingredients which are in New Jersey.

In the meantime, what about eggplant?

Best, Bob

PS: To be clear, this is something of a game; all of the suggestions would work on Phases 2 and 3. Folks on SB bitch mightly about how restrictive Phase 1 is, but I've found dozens and dozens of really interesting dishes. I'd like to add this meatloaf to Phase 1 options as a personal challenge. B.

Thanks for all the great ideas; Jenise, I'm sorry you are having problems. Hope they resolve themselves soon and well.

I'm driving to Santa Fe over the next few days and away from the list of permitted/not permitted Phase 1 substitutes; I'll revert with an acceptable list when I get back to my list of ingredients which are in New Jersey.

In the meantime, what about eggplant?

Best, Bob

PS: To be clear, this is something of a game; all of the suggestions would work on Phases 2 and 3. Folks on SB bitch mightly about how restrictive Phase 1 is, but I've found dozens and dozens of really interesting dishes. I'd like to add this meatloaf to Phase 1 options as a personal challenge. B.

Eat lots of green chile while you're in Santa Fe. It'll cure whatever ails you.