Dinner-A-Day: Guilt-Free Meatball Sandwich

My husband and I are trying to eat healthy but we still want delicious food. So, although I've never done it before, I've decided to try to take some favorites and make them low calorie/low fat.
I was craving a meatball sandwich and figured that I could make it healthier without sacrificing taste. These turned out lovely and are around 400 calories per sandwich (including all optional ingredients listed). They were so filling that even my husband could only eat one.
You can make a ton of the meatballs and freeze them for up to six months!

What you'll need:

Boneless, skinless chicken breast or ground chicken. I used 6 lbs which made 60 two-ounce meatballs. (those are some big meatballs. If you want to make less, just figure 3 (two oz) meatballs per sandwich.)

2 eggs + 2 egg whites

3 slices multi grain bread - shredded, preferably low cal

3/4 - 1 cup breadcrumbs (use only if meatballs are too sticky when rolling)

fresh parsley - chopped

mushrooms, peppers, onions - sliced, fresh basil (all optional)

tbsp olive oil

pat of light margarine

1/4 cup parmesan (optional)

whole wheat rolls

low cal or thinly sliced cheese

light spaghetti sauce

Here are the ones I used:

If you have a meat grinder or food processor I suggest grinding your own meat. You can trim off all fat and it's cheaper. If not, you can buy pre-ground chicken, just make sure it's only breast and no dark meat.

Cover a cookie sheet with foil, coat foil with a small amount of olive oil so the balls won't stick.
Add chicken, eggs/egg whites, minced onions, parsley, and bread to a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. If meatballs are too sticky to roll, add breadcrumbs, if not, roll into about 2 inch balls and place on sheet. You can put them close together, but not touching.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until mid temp of meatball reaches 165F. I admit, I let mine get to 175 because I'm always afraid to undercook chicken. You don't want to overcook too much or they will be dry.

Pour your sauce into a large pan or pot. I used two jars but I only added half of the meatballs. The rest went into the freezer after they cooled.
Add meatballs to sauce and heat on medium, turn down to almost low when the sauce starts to simmer. Cover but leave lid partially open to vent.
You can simmer them like this for as long as you want. The longer you simmer, the more sauce and flavor is infused into the meat.
I only left mine for about twenty minutes because we were STARVING! :)

If your sauce seems too thin, add the 1/4 cup parmesan and continue simmering with lid partially open until it's thickened.

In the meantime, add the olive oil and pat of margarine to a pan over medium heat. Add onions, peppers, and mushrooms and saute until cooked.

Add fresh basil to your sauce. My leaves are small so I just pulled them off of the stem and added them whole. If you are lucky enough to have large leaves, you'll need to cut them up.