We saved the best for LAST! After six weeks of our nutrition challenge, I’m sure you’re craving sweets. After reducing the amount of sugar these past weeks, some of the traditional sweets may seem really really sweet to you. This recipe is a perfect amount of sweetness! You can add extra maple syrup if you want more SWEET! We borrowed this recipe from Mary’s Whole Life.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 cups coconut cream or thick part of a can of full fat coconut milk
• 3 tbsp cacao powder
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup + more if you like it really sweet!

Toppings:

• raspberries or any fruit
• coconut cream
• chocolate shavings

Directions:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and use a hand mixer to beat everything. Whip it together until stiff peaks form. Divide it between 4 ramekins and top with coconut cream, raspberries, and chocolate shavings.

Here’s a good, but complicated recipe. However, it’s worth the work! We borrowed this recipe from Mary’s Whole Life.

Ingredients:

Asian Pork Meatballs:

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Fried “Rice”:

• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 12 oz bag frozen cauliflower rice pound on it so there are no large chunks!
• 1 bag coleslaw mix (green cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots)
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1/2 tsp sea salt more or less to taste

Sticky Sauce:

• 3/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp Fish Sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp honey omit
• 2 tsp arrowroot powder
• 2 tbsp water

Garnish:

• diced green onion
• sesame seeds

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using your hands. Form into 2 inch meatballs. You should have 12 total per lb of pork. Place the balls on the baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, gather your fried “rice” ingredients. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add in the onion and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add in the frozen cauliflower rice, coleslaw mix, coconut aminos, and salt. Stir to combine. Cover and let it cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes.
• While the fried “rice” is cooking, add all of the sticky sauce ingredients (except for the arrowroot/water mixture) to a small saucepan. Mix the arrowroot powder and water together in another small bowl. Bring the sauce ingredients to a boil, then whisk in the arrowroot slurry mixture. Keep whisking for approximately 1 minute until thickened. Set aside until you’re ready to use it.
• Take the meatballs out of the oven and serve them over the fried “rice” with the sauce spooned over top. Add green onions and sesame seeds, if desired!

Lunch on the go without a place to heat it up? This recipe is perfect for a day like that! Pair with some grilled shrimp or chicken, plus a serving of fruit and there’s your perfectly balanced lunch. We borrowed this recipe from Pure Wow.

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 medium zucchini, cut into noodles
• 1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

• In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard and garlic powder to combine.
• Gradually add the olive oil and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a large bowl, toss the zucchini noodles with the radishes. Add the dressing and toss until the veggies are well coated.
• Serve immediately, garnished with fresh thyme.

You ever just wanted to go CaveWOMAN!?! Well, if you don’t want to, be thankful that GoingCavewoman has and provided us with this amazing recipe! This is a full meal in one sheet pan. I like to add frozen green beans to the mix for my veggies.

Ingredients:

• Free Range Chicken
• Vegetables for Roasting – Fingerling Potatoes, Carrots, Onion, Beet
• Oil – Coconut or Nut
• Ghee or Butter
• Sprigs Rosemary/Thyme
• 4 Whole Garlic Cloves
• Lemon
• 2 Cups Water
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Freshly Ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Directions:

• Peel vegetables and place on a baking tray.
• Clean the chicken and with a sharp knife, slice the skin away from the breast muscle from the open end of the bird and slide some butter or ghee, some rosemary sprig and garlic cloves and under the skin.
• Place the bird on the baking tray, squeeze lemon over it and put the lemon into the cavity. Season the bird and vegetables with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper. Place Rosemary sprig on top of the bird.
• Pour a little more oil over the bird. Add 2 cups water to the pan and put bay leaves in the water.
• Cover the bird with foil and cook for 50 minutes on 500F. Take off the foil and cook for another 10 minutes until golden. Let bird sit for 10 minutes. Make sure the bird is fully cooked before serving.

Kale! I love Kale! There’s so many different ways you can eat it! This one is delicious with just a touch of sweetness added in! You can thank Louisiana Girl, Fit Paleo Mom for sharing this one with us.

Ingredients:

• 1-16 oz bag of cleaned and chopped kale
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup coconut milk

Directions:

• Start by sautéeing the chopped garlic and onion in the olive oil over medium heat.
• When the onion and garlic begin to cook add the kale. ( you may have to add in groups, but it will eventually cook down to all fit)
• Season kale and let cook about 5 minutes.
• Finally, add coconut milk and turn heat to low. Let simmer about 5 minutes.

Simple, nourishing and delicious! Add a sweet potato with this and you have a perfect, balanced dinner or lunch! One of my favorite recipe blogs posted this one. Fit Paleo Mom.

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled
• Toni’s
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos

Directions:

• Start by preheating your oven to 350
• Cut squash in half and cut out seeds. Place face down on baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes
• In a skillet start by sautéing the onion, garlic, and bell peppers in olive oil.
• Once they start to cook add shrimp and season with Toni’s, salt and pepper, and coconut aminos
• Once shrimp are pink, use a fork to scrap spaghetti squash into the skillet.
• Let cook a couple of minutes and eat.

Here’s a great meal protein or snack for on the go! It’s easier than your traditional slice of meatloaf. Throw it in a ziploc bag and go! We borrowed this recipe from Nom Nom Paleo.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and extra for greasing the muffin tin if not using muffin liners
• ¾ cup finely chopped onions
• ½ cup finely diced button mushrooms
• ½ cup finely diced green bell pepper
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ pounds ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ cup carrot juice
• ¼ cup water

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the wells of a 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil or line with parchment muffin liners.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions, mushrooms and peppers for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool.
• In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, garlic and pepper.
• In a large bowl, mix together the beef, the reserved sautéed vegetables, eggs, thyme and garlic powder. Stir in half of the tomato mixture and combine well.
• Spoon the meat mixture into the greased muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes.
• While the muffins are baking, combine the remaining tomato mixture, carrot juice and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a quick boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the muffins are removed from the oven.
• Remove the muffins from the oven and spoon or brush the sauce on each muffin. Place the muffins back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 160°F. Allow the muffins to stand for about 5 minutes before eating.

Since I’m currently in the northeast, I figured I needed to share a recipe from here!! Made this soup this week and it’s delicious! It’s a Seafood version of vegetable soup! I’ve seen the recipe on multiple facebook posts around here and decided to give it a try. We headed to the fish market a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed shopping off of the boats!! I borrowed this recipe from Mary’s Whole Life. P.S. The picture is from our fish market excursion!

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh lump crab meat
• 4 cups beef broth. Make sure to check labels for sugar, colorings, additives, etc.
• 1/2 onion diced
• 2 russet potatoes peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup frozen cut green beans
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1.5 tbsp Primal Palate New Bae seasoning + more if you like heat! You can also use Old Bay (I used Ole Bay because when you’re in the northeast you do it their way! But you could try any type of cajun seasoning you want!)
• 1 tsp ground mustard this is a powder and can be found in the seasoning aisle!
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

• Add all ingredients (except crab) into a large stock pot and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the crab meat, cover, and simmer on medium low for 1 – 1.5 hours. Enjoy!

Instant Pot Instructions

• Add all of the ingredients except for crab meat into the Instant Pot. Lock the lid and cook on manual high pressure for 12 minutes. Manually release the pressure. Remove lid and turn to “saute” mode. Add the crab meat and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the crab is warmed through. Serve and enjoy!

Honey, Sriracha and Shrimp in one bowl??? Can’t go wrong with that! I often buy shrimp during the season and freeze them in ziploc bags for a year long supply. This is a simple recipe to make and if you live in Louisiana…you probably have all of the ingredients (if you have paleo staples)! We borrowed this recipe from Paleo OMG!

INGREDIENTS :

For the rice

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 bag cauliflower rice
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt, to taste

For the shrimp

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1/2 pound deveined, peeled raw shrimp
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup sriracha

For garnish

• fresh mint
• green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS :

1. Place a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee then add cauliflower rice, garlic powder and salt. Cook for about 15 minutes, tossing to keep the cauliflower rice from browning too much.
2. While the cauliflower rice cooks, place another large saute pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Pat shrimp dry then sprinkle with salt. Once pan is hot, add all shrimp and cook for 2 minutes per side. Once cooked through, remove shrimp and set aside. To the pan, add coconut aminos, honey, and sriracha. Whisk together and turn heat up to medium-high heat. Bring to a low boil. This will take about 8 minutes or less. Once the sauce has reduced and coats the back of a spoon, add shrimp back to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat the shrimp in the sauce.
3. Place rice in 2 bowls then add the shrimp and sauce to each bowl. Garnish with mint and green onions!

So I must admit that majority of the recipes that I post here, I’ve tried, but this one I have not! Mainly due to the fact that I don’t have an air fryer. I plan to buy one soon because everyone raves about them! If you have one and want to give it a go…do it!! And save me a bowl 🙂 We borrowed this recipe from Paleo OMG.

INGREDIENTS :

• 1 batch Crispy Air Fryer Pork Belly 
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1.5lbs pork shoulder blade, boneless (or other pork roast), cubed
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 6 ounces shitake mushrooms
• 32 ounces beef bone broth
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup coconut aminos
• ¼ cup sriracha
• ¼ cup coconut vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• a couple hefty pinches of salt
• 4 carrots, thinly sliced into matchsticks
• 2 bok choy, pulled away from stem
• 4 eggs
• green onions, thinly sliced
• cilantro, torn

DIRECTIONS :

1. Make Crispy Air Fryer Pork Belly. This is totally optional.
2. Place the basin in the 8 quart instant pot then press the sauté button on high. Add sesame oil then place the cubed pork in the basin to cook on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side, until browned. Remove pork from pan and set aside. Add onions and cook down for 10 minutes, until caramelized. Press cancel. Add pork back in along with mushrooms, broth, garlic, coconut aminos, sriracha, coconut vinegar, lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, red pepper flakes, and lots of salt. Mix to combined.
3. Secure lid then press manual to high pressure and press the up button until the time hits 30 minutes. Once time is up, let the pressure release on its own for 10 minutes, then release any extra pressure and remove lid.
4. Strain the mixture through a mesh sieve then place the strained liquid back in the basin. This is the perfect time to taste the broth and add any extra salt, sriracha and/or red pepper flakes. The coconut aminos along with the onions can make the broth a tad sweet so add whatever you need for your taste.
5. Add carrots, bok choy and eggs to the liquid, secure lid, then press manual to high pressure and set time at 3 minutes. While the eggs cook, make a bowl filled with ice water. Once time is up, quick release the pressure then remove the eggs and place directly into the ice water to stop the cooking.
6. Last but not least, remove the pork from the mesh sieve (discard onions and mushrooms unless you would like that in your ramen), break pork apart with forks, and place in the air fryer to cook for 10 minutes, until crispy. This can also be done in the pan or in the oven under the broiler.
7. Then all you have to do is build your ramen – ladle broth with veggies into a bowl. Top broth with crispy pork belly and shredded pork, peel the eggs and cut in half, then top it all with green onions and cilantro!