Post contributed by Elaine Lowry

Raising a house full of athletes, I spent a significant amount of time trying to get the most nutritional “bang” for my buck with every recipe I prepared. It worked!

Did you know that long distance runners benefit from consuming food high in iron? Adding bison to your menu is an excellent way to add iron to your diet. One serving of bison contains 50% of the suggested daily amount. Bison is high in omega-3 fatty acids which help to reduce risk of heart attack, stroke and heart disease. Bison has a much higher amount of omega-3s than it’s beef “cousin”.

Interesting facts regarding bison’s nutrient composition:

All values based on 100 grams of lean meat

Bison: 143 calories
Beef:   211 calories

Bison: 2.42 grams FAT
Beef:  9.28 grams FAT

Bison: 3.42 mg Iron
Beef:  2.00 mg Iron

Bison: 2.86 mcg B12
Beef: 2.50 mcg B12

Food for thought – eating a leaner, faster protein could make you a leaner, faster athlete!

Bison Meatball Ingredients:

1lb lean ground bison meat
1/4 C finely chopped fresh parsley (I use scissors to cut)
1/3 C oats ground in a food processor or magic bullet
1/4 C finely chopped shallot
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP Oyster sauce
1/2 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp Ground black pepper
1 TBSP Minced garlic
1 TBSP Olive oil
1 Egg

As a rule I double this recipe as they do not last long in our house!

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees, line cookie sheet with parchment paper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl;  use hands to combine well and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.

Place on lined baking sheet

Cook for 15 minutes, remove from oven, rotate the bison balls and return to oven for 15 additional minutes.

Check on the meatballs intermittently. Bison cooks more quickly than beef due to it being a much leaner meat.

Enjoy right out of the oven, store for a quick snack, or freeze for a later date and add to your favourite sauce. The athletes in your household will make sure these do a disappearing act! Enjoy!

Coach note: I’ve never cooked bison before and am looking forward to giving it a try. Love that it’s a higher source of iron than beef and leaner too. Thank you Elaine for sharing your recipe! If you don’t eat red meat but like the idea of “snackable” meatballs these turkey meatballs are a crowdpleaser as well.  ~Coach Mary