I am fashionably super late to The Dude Diet Cookbook party and I’d like to blame  graduate school for that. Lately, I have been blaming pretty much everything on grad school but this post is not about me. Today I am celebrating Serena’s cookbook – The Dude Diet. I have been a huge fan of Serena from Domesticate Me for a very long time. I feel special (and giddy) holding the actual cookbook and reading a love note from her addressed to me. Don’t let the title fool you – The Dude Diet cookbook is more of a healthy lifestyle guide with a focus on food (duhhh) to help you feel better, look fabulous without giving up your favorite food. We all want that right??

If you follow Serena’s blog, you probably know that she refers Logan her boyfriend (now fiance) as “dude” and he is the inspiration behind “The Dude Diet”. Because of dude’s eating habits that included all things cheesy, Buffalo-flavored, and fried, she developed recipes that were nutritious & equally delicious that dude loved. Over the years, “The Dude Diet” movement has successfully taken off, which explains her cookbook. You can feel her passion and dedication throughout the book which is filled with nutritional guidance, culinary tips, and more than 125 beautifully photographed recipes!

The cookbook is divided into 12 sections covering essentials like badass breakfasts, game day eats, sexy sides, chronic cocktails, and more. I am not exaggerating when I say I want to make literally everything from the book. I blame gorgeously styled and photographed recipes, which by the way are very approachable. I enjoyed reading her stories, notes and easy to follow directions.

I have bookmarked several recipes already + made “Go To Frittata” over the weekend. Today I am sharing “Thai Chicken Meatballs” – totally appropriate as an appetizer for a large crowd or as a weeknight meal. Serve it over soba noodles, zoodles, rice, or even as lettuce wrap. It has endless possibilities and that’s the beauty of Thai Chicken Meatballs. PS. we are using chia seeds as a binder instead of eggs so it adds little omega-3s to these balls.

I highly encourage you to get yourself a copy of “The Dude Diet” cookbook available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, iBooks. It will make a thoughtful present this holiday season for your loved ones, friends, dude, and ladies in your life. It’s overall a great book to have for inspiration, learn how to cook nutritious meals at home, or entertain a crowd. Serena is not paying me to say this, I just happen to fall in love with book so much and I want to share that love with everyone. That’s what friends do right?

Thai Chicken Meatballs

Author: Serena via Domesticate Me
Serves: 18 balls

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken or turkey (90/10 or or anything leaner than that)
• 3 cloves, minced
• 1.5 teaspoon minced ginger,
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1.5 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon chia seeds

for the glaze:

• 3 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• juice from 1/2 lime or lemon
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sriracha

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients (excluding the ingredients for the glaze)
2. Leave it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or more.
3. Preheat the oven to 400F.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and keep it aside.
5. Take about a tablespoon of chicken mixture and gently roll them into balls. Arrange them on the baking sheet.
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes until they are slightly browned and cooked through.
7. In the meanwhile, heat a large skillet and mix the ingredients for the glaze.
8. Let it come to boil and cook for additional 1 minute.
9. Add the meatballs to the skillet so that glaze covers the meatballs.
10. Serve it warm.

The recipe was originally printed in The Dude Diet cookbook and is published here with Serena’s permission. 

Serena and Logan both shared their favorite recipes from The Dude Diet cookbook including Serena’s fav —> Cheeseburger Quinoa Bake!