Coconut Shrimp! Days 7-9 of the Whole30

9 days in! Whoo hoo!!

First thing's first: The most delicious, Whole30 compliant coconut shrimp.
Yes, yes, and yes.

We could eat this every day. I got the recipe here.



Coconut Shrimp with Piña Colada Dipping Sauce,
• 1 lb peeled & deveined shrimp, rinsed and DRY (the bigger the better)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Coconut oil, to fry
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
Mix together coconut cream and pineapple until you get a smooth sauce. Refrigerate for one hour, or while the shrimp cookSet up a dredging station with your flour, eggs and shredded coconut in separate containers. Dip the shrimp in the flour, then in the egg, and then in the shredded coconut. Set on a plate until you’ve finished all of them. Once they’re all coated, heat up a couple tablespoons of coconut oil. Add shrimp a few at a time and flip when the tails turn pink. The shrimp should be golden brown. Cook for another minute or so and serve with sauce.



not the best picture, but it smelled too good to wait. and it didn't disappoint.




In other news, yesterday was the Harry Potter 5k! Always a good time!

Bellatrix Lestrange... if she spent more time in the sun and took up running.



I also hit up the farm store for chicken bones (because bone broth is my new favorite thing), went on a bike ride with some friends up in Park City, and went to a beautiful wedding (where we couldn't eat anything haha)! A great day overall.


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So, confession, I almost quit the Whole30 today. I've been feeling super sick and puking my guts up, and I just about threw in the towel. I reallllllly wanted saltine crackers and ginger ale. Really really badly. Luckily I was too sick to get up from the couch to get some, and after several hours, I decided not to call it quits. But just barely.

Oh well, 21 days to go! :) :)

Delicious Honeyed Peaches

Ok. Want something super easy and so so delicious?

Take a peach. Cut it in half and ditch the pit.

Score the top with a knife (just random slashes are fine) and drizzle with a little honey.

Pop em in the oven, broil for a few minutes, and eat!

You can also add cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

Seriously yummmmmmmm :)

Yum.

The struggle to eat healthfully is real, y'all.

I'm not trying to lose weight or anything right now, but I am trying to eat a little more mindfully. I want to fuel my body so that during and after this recovery process, I will be able to accomplish the things I want.

And when there are doughnuts, snickers bars, and pumpkin cookies available, that is quite difficult, let me tell you.

So, a few of the little things I'm taking joy in.





Remember my little mint plant? Adding some leaves and a squeeze of lemon... delicious way to drink more water :)




Quinoa. Weird, and delicious. I just make it in water, no seasonings, and then drizzle it with some of that infused olive oil. I can make it on the weekend, divide it into containers, and take them with me for lunch. Perfect :)

Another super delicious smoothie!

Yeah, yeah, I'm obsessed. Worth it.

This one is so deliciously fruity and magical. Loving it!



Blend together:
-frozen strawberries
-frozen peaches (are you noticing that I don't measure?)
-1 banana
-1 container strawberry greek yogurt
-a few spoonfuls of coconut milk
-chia seeds
-pineapple juice and coconut water to texture

Dying of tropical happiness.

Breakfast that's easy, healthy, and delicious - overnight oats

So I love meal prep. I take my breakfast and lunch to work every day (I work early hours) and there's no way it's getting made at 4 in the morning. So usually on Sundays, I take a little time to prepare things I can throw together during the week. I'll write more about the whole process some other time, but today I'm sharing my go-to breakfast: overnight oats.



It's super simple. I take steel-cut oats, chia seeds (I get both at Trader Joe's), and mason jars of whatever size, and I prepare a few jars for the week. I use 1/4 c oats and 1 T chia seeds per jar. I pour em in, give em a shake, and throw em in the pantry.



Then, the night before I actually want to eat them, I take one of the jars and pour in some vanilla almond milk (although I'm sure you could use any variation of it that you'd like) and top it off with some fruit. I'm on a blackberry kick at the moment, but I also use fresh or frozen peaches, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, pears, bananas, raspberries, or any combination thereof. I usually use whatever fresh fruit I have on hand, and I always keep some frozen in case it sounds better that day. I let it sit overnight and throw it in my lunchbox the next morning... and then enjoy at my leisure!



Might not look glamorous but it sure is delicious!

And easy. I love easy.

Oat-Chocolate-Peanut Butter Energy Bites

I guess you could call them that. What they really are is delicious balls full of every delicious thing that combine into deliciousness in your mouth. I guess they are like a healthier version of no bake cookies?

Whatever they are, they taste fantastic (just ask the anonymous voters at my work's healthy potluck today). I got the idea here and modified it to this:

-1.5 c oats
-3/4 c coconut flakes
-1/2 c peanut butter
-1/3 c honey
-1 t vanilla
-1 T chia seeds
-dark chocolate chips

Mash em all together and roll em into balls. I refrigerate, and then enjoy!

Welp, now I'm craving these, off to stuff my face!

Wintry Drinks Full of Magic

Magic, I'm telling you. MAGIC.

For the non-coffee-drinker, it can seem like your Starbucks choices are limited to their not-delicious hot chocolate or their extremely-delicious Caramel Apple Spice. But what's a person to do when the winter rubs itself in your face and you neeeeeed something warm and drinkable?

You order this.

(note that my name is not, in fact, kylie)

It's a modified version of one of those off-the-menu Butterbeer drinks. It doesn't taste like Butterbeer, but it still tastes like magic (just not the kind they have at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter). It's a tall whole milk steamer with 2 pumps of caramel, 2 pumps of toffee nut, and 2 pumps of cinnamon dolce. Top the whole thing with whipped cream and caramel, and you've got yourself some reeeaaallllyyy delicious obesity problems. Do it.




If leaving your home in the snow just seems like too much to bear, stock up on this stuff.

Pumpkin Spice hot chocolate from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Need I say more?

Happy drinking!

Honey/Lime Fruit Salad with Quinoa

Ok, let’s talk about this to-die-for fruit salad. Think delicious summer fruit and a honey/lime/mint sauce. Yes. It’s a real thing. And it’s divine.

I got the inspiration on Pinterest and modified it a little to suit my own tastes. And now I’m sharing it with you.

I basically took some delicious fruit (mangoes, blackberries, and strawberries), threw in some (already cooked) quinoa, and tossed it in the sauce (mix equal parts honey and lime juice and throw in a couple of chopped up fresh mint leaves)… and won over everyone who ever tasted it.

If only everything so heavenly was so simple.

So in review:
-Chop up mangoes, slice strawberries, don’t do anything to blackberries
-Cook probably 1/3 cup quinoa in 2/3 cup water, let it cool
-Whisk about 3T honey and 3T lime juice, add in chopped up mint leaves
-Toss all ingredients together and die of happiness

Happy Eating!

Amazingly Delicious Bran Muffins

Ok so it's no secret that I love to bake. Every once in a while, I come across a recipe that I will keep forever and ever and ever and I want the whole world to know about it because it's so freaking delicious.

This is one of those.

These bran muffins cure cancer, make your hair long and your nails strong, and instantly make you lose 10 lbs. Not really, but they taste good enough to make you think those things are true.

They also freeze well, I've eaten them months later and they were STILL amazing.



Amazing Bran Muffins

1.5 cup wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup natural applesauce
2 egg whites
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
(opt.)
craisins
walnuts
honey

-Pre-heat your oven to 375F, and spray muffin tin liners (yes, spray the liners).
-Mix the wheat bran and buttermilk, let stand for 10 mins.
-Beat together applesauce, egg whites, b. sugar, and vanilla
-Mix with buttermilk mixture.
-Stir dry ingredients into mixture until just blended.
-Fold in craisins and walnuts.
-Bake 14-15 mins until toothpick comes out clean.
-Brush with honey immediately out of the oven.

And voilà! Delicious, amazing bran muffins!




This is a frozen muffin. Yum.