Coo Coo for Coconut Shrimp

One of my most favorite cheat meals are Red Lobster’s Coconut Shrimp. I allow myself to eat these deliciously sweet, fried goodies once a year; my husband’s birthday. Well, the other day I was baking some coconut protein bars and started to intensely crave the crunchy, sweet shrimp so badly that I decided to save some of my shredded coconut and concoct a healthy version of the shrimp for dinner that evening. The end result made both my husband’s and my tummy very happy!

Oven-Baked Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients

• 20-30 Shrimp (depending on size…peeled & deveined) Leave tails
• 1/3 Cup of corn starch or coconut flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (ground red pepper)
• 3 Egg Whites
• 1 1/2 Cups of unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut (If you use sweetened coconut then omit the honey)
• 1 tbs Honey or Agave Nectar

Directions

• First Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a shallow dish mix cornstarch with cayenne pepper and sea salt.
• Place egg whites and honey in a medium dish and beat for about 2 minutes.
• Place flaked coconut in a seperate shallow dish.
• One shrimp at a time, dredge first in cornstarch mix, then dip in egg white mix and last but not least the shredded coconut.
• Place shrimp on a foil lined baking sheet. Make sure baking sheet is generously coatedwith cooking spray.
• After all of the shrimp is dredged lightly spray shrimp with cooking spray OR melt some Brummel & Brown Butter and brush shrimp with it before you place in the oven.
• Bake 20 minutes, turning shrimp at 10 minutes.
• Serve with a baked sweet potato and your favorite veggie. Enjoy!

Homemade Pineapple Greek Yogurt Dipping Sauce

• 1 8oz container Greek Yogurt (plain or vanilla)
• 1 8oz can crushed pineapple (or fresh and crushed)
• 1/2 cup of honey or agave nectar
• 1 tbsp shredded coconut
• 1 tsp cornstarch (optional)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix everything together, well, and place in fridge. It might be better if you blended everything together in a blender or food processor.

NOTE: Keep in mind that I literally threw this dip together with what I had on hand. This made A LOT of dipping sauce so if you don’t want to have any left over then I suggest cutting the recipe in half. Taste it as you go to see if you’d like more honey or pineapple, etc.

Egg Muffins

These addictive little crustless quiche have made their way to the top of my favorite breakfast & snack items. I started making these a little over a year ago after one of my Paleo-loving friends posted her recipe. Over time I have “eggspirmented” with these scrumptious little muffins and have come up with so many different variations being that eggs are simply so versatile.

I highly suggest making a big batch and freezing them for future quick snacks an easy go-to breakfasts. You can pop one in the microwave for about 90 seconds and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 10-12 Omega-3 eggs or half whole eggs and half egg whites
• 3 hand fulls of fresh spinach (chopped if you prefer)
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-2 Tb Italian Spice Blend (or your own blend of oregano, basil, etc.)
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp sea salt and black pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes to taste (if you like to spice things up a bit)
• 1 green onion chopped

Optional Add-ins:

• Crumbled Turkey Bacon or nitrate free all-natural bacon (already cooked)
• Shredded Chicken
• Sliced or Diced Ham
• Diced Tomatoes
• Bell Pepper
• Shredded Zucchini
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Chopped Broccoli
• Broccoli Slaw
• Your favorite veggies
• Parmesan, Feta or Mozzarella Cheese (reduced fat)

Note– Remember, creativity never hurts. I also like to serve mine with avocado and fresh salsa…yummmy!

Recently I started using turkey bacon strips or sliced all natural turkey as the base “cup” for my muffins as you’ll notice in my photo. You can do this, also. You may use the recipe above and just sub the crumbled bacon for the bacon strips OR you can first put the turkey bacon or turkey in the muffin pan and crack and egg in each cup. Veggies optional!

Directions

• Whisk all your eggs in a big bowl and pre-heat oven to 350.
• Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• Dump chopped spinach in a bowl and stir in green onion, minced garlic & spices/seasonings to taste then add veggies to muffin pan holes and pack down.
• Add Beaten Eggs on top of veggies and pack down a bit.
• Bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. Do the fork test to make sure muffins are cooked through.
• Pull out of oven and allow muffins to “cool” for a few minutes.
• Enjoy!
• Makes 18-20 muffins! Cut recipe in half for smaller serving.

These are each around 6-13 grams of protein (depending on add-ins), around 65 calories each 2 grams of fat (0.5 being saturated) with about 4 grams of carbs and 0 sugar!

Note-For a smaller batch I usually add an egg or half an egg per muffin hole. Keep in mind you do want the egg mixture to cover the veggies completely.

Asparagus & Turkey Bacon Scramble

You can never go wrong with scrambled eggs. The possibilities are endless when it comes to adding healthy ingredients!

You’ll Need:

•  2 or 3 organic, cage-free eggs
•  2 or 3 Asparagus Speers, trimmed & chopped.
•  Fresh Organic Baby Spinach
•  Optional- 1 tbs water for each egg
•  1or 2 slices of turkey bacon cooked and chopped or crumbled (or nitrate free, uncured, all natural bacon)
•  2 tbs Grass Fed Butter (or Smart Balance Omega Butter) or Coconut Oil
•  A sprinkle of Sea Salt
•  A sprinkle of Ground Black Pepper
• Optional- A pinch of Nutmeg after whisking.

Next:

1.  Add 1 tbs of your fat of choice (butter, coconut oil, low cal cooking spray, etc.) to pan.
2.  Add veggies and cook over medium heat, until soft and then remove from pan and set aside.
3. In the meantime, roughly whisk the egg mixture with a mixer or fork. Make sure not to whisk too much, leaving some texture to the eggs.
4. Turn pan to low and add the remaining tbs of fat to pan. You may then add your whisked egg mixture.
5.  Once the mixture is in the hot pan, let the eggs set for about 10 seconds. After that, gently stir the eggs on low heat with a wooden spoon or spatula.
6. When the eggs are still slightly wet, add veggies and herbs of your choice and cook for another minute or two, fluffing them together.
7. Toss in cooked crumbled turkey bacon or add to the side for an extra punch of protein.
8. Top with your favorite hot sauce.

Keep in mind- You can use any veggie combo you like. I love adding avocado, peppers and fresh salsa. You just got to get creative!

Open-Faced Protein Packed Breakfast Sandwich

I’m the kind of girl who needs variety when it comes to eating breakfast. Luckily, Since I’m back to running & cycling more I’ve been adding more carbs to my diet as well! These open-faced, healthy protein packed breakfast sandwiches have become quite addicting. They give me the extra energy I need to get through intense workouts not to mention they are delicious and very easy to make!

You’ll need:
– Ezekiel Sprouted bread or Schars Gluten Free and Wheat free bread. I also occasionally enjoy Dave’s Killer Organic Power Seed bread.
– 1or 2 Organic Eggs (Pan fried, baked or scrambled with coconut oil, grassfed butter, olive oil or zero calorie cooking spray)
– Your favorite breakfast veggies: fresh baby spinach, tomatoes, avocado, peppers, onion, etc.
– Turkey bacon, sliced turkey breast.
– Optional- Feta (reduced fat)
– Top with your favorite hot sauce! #sriracha #jalapenotabasco

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Quick & Easy Healthy Snack Ideas

Clean eating means you should be eating 5-6 small, balanced meals a day. Eating every 2-3 hours helps keep your blood sugar levels from going on a roller coaster ride, keeps you feeling satisfied and full, and provides a steady stream of vital nutrients to your body. I know it seems like a lot of work and planning…but once you get in the groove and start feeling and seeing the benefits, you won’t want it any other way.

I don’t know about you, but I get tired of the usual fruit or veggie as a snack. Sometimes you just want something more.

Here are a few of my favorite clean, quick and easy on the go snacks:

• 1 hand full of almond, cashews, walnuts, pecans or pistachios and blueberries or grapes.
• Whole wheat toast (I use Ezekial sprouted wheat…make sure your whole wheat is 100% or use paleo friendly gluten free bread) topped with 1tbs of PB2 or another all natural nut butter with low sugar and calories)
• Cottage cheese with fresh berries or spice it up with jalapeños and olives and a sprinkle of no salt added Ms. Dash seasoning of your choice.
• Hard boiled egg whites and old fashioned oats.
• 1 Hard boiled egg including yolk.
• 1 Egg muffin (mini crust-less quiche) Here’s My Recipe.
• Apple slices with all natural peanut or almond butter.
• Low-fat Greek yogurt (watch the sugar).
• All natural/organic/high protein bar.
• A cup of miso soup.
• You can never go wrong with a Protein Shake or fruit (& veggie) smoothie.
• Natural turkey jerky with a side of fruit.
• Tuna or all natural turkey on whole wheat or paleo friendly gluten free crackers.
• PB2 peanut butter or almond butter spread onto whole wheat crackers with sliced banana.
• Kale chips baked in the oven topped with your fav. Salt free seasoning or nutritional yeast.
• Hummus and baby carrots, jicama or whole wheat pita chips.
• Pretzel thins with fresh guacamole (no mayo or sourcream) or avocado slices.
• Edamame.
• Low sodium pickles.
• Tomato, cucumber and feta salad drizzled with balsamic vinigarette.
• Celery sticks topped with hummus and olives.
• Lara Bar, Chia Bar, Protein Power Crunch Bar.
• Smart Balance, light butter popcorn. (portion control).
• “Food Should Taste Good” Multi-grain tortilla chips with fresh salsa.

The main thing you want to remember besides feeding your body frequently, is to combine a quality protein with a complex carbohydrate at each meal.

Get creative! I would love to hear about your favorite clean snacks!