Healthy Homemade Meatloaf

Meatloaf is not usually served or eaten in Malaysia. Locally, we have our own version of cutlets (made from fish) or meat patties mixed with potatoes. As me and wifey often believes in eating what we know is inside (our food), we decided to make our own meatloaf. I heard and was told that meatloaf out there are made mostly of offal (spare parts) and parts unwanted from butchery. Simply said, the same stuff that goes into your hotdogs/frankfurters. Here is the simple recipe, for a 100% beef meatloaf (in the sense no spare parts).
What You Need (serve four)
600grams of minced beef - as usual, ours are lean and fat (almost) free
1 cup of breadcrumbs - we got them ready made. Otherwise, you can easily make this by toasting/baking bread and crunch it to smaller pieces. Breadcrumbs are more as a bulking for the meatloaf.
1 egg
1 onion
1 or two cloves of garlic
Salt and Pepper
How to prepare it
Simple, dice the onion and garlic and add everything into a large mixing bowl. You then mash everything up with your (clean) hands and ensure all ingredients are properly mixed. You then oil (we did with olive oil) a baking tray that is rectangular in shape (or the tray you use to bake a loaf of bread) press and compact it down and place it in the oven at 180degree C for about 45minutes. You can use a pan or whatever container you have (that can be "baked") but you would have to call this a Meatpan (as it's not a Loaf). OK, I know, bad joke.
After 45minutes, poke with a toothpick to ensure that the meat are cooked. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's ready. Otherwise, leave it in there for 5minutes more (until it's cooked). What we did was we killed the oven after 45minutes and let the meatloaf sits in the oven for another 15minutes on residual heat. This is to "dry" up the meatloaf.

cut to reveal a juicy meatloaf

Suggested serving
You can serve this on freshly cut lettuce and carrot as salad or if you are like us that ran out of any vegetables decided to make some sauteed mushrooms with mustard seeds, HP sauce and some ketchup. Just slice up some button mushrooms, smash some mustard seeds, a dash of HP sauce, a spoon of kethcup and some water and cook them on low heat. To thicken the sauce, just add in some cornflour (Wok With Yan, the cook show in the 1990's call this the "wonder powder") and stir until the sauce thicken. Pour over the meatloaf and you now, have a meal.

Yummeh.

Alternatively, you can make other sauces too, but keep the ingredient to minimal as the sauce is to complement the meatloaf, not to overpower it and we are a firm believer if you need a lot of sauce on your food, chances are the meal are below standard (goes out to all of you that love your sandwiches with tonnes of dressings ;-))
Nutritional Content
The estimated calories count from one serving (or about 150grams of meatloaf) works out to be circa 300kcal. With the added sauce and mushroom, an easy 80kcal extra will be added. For about 380kcal, you get a meal that is predominatly protein (55grams) with about 10grams of fat (yes, even if this is a blardy lean meat!) and with negligible carbs (from the sugar in the sauces).
Enjoy!