Cilantro-Lime Grilled Shrimp {Fiesta!}

Wouldn't these shrimp look gorgeous for a party...served on skewers with a lime at the end?!  Shrimp makes a great appetizer, but it's mostly served in "shrimp cocktail ring" form. Totally boring and overdone, in my opinion.  Here, I've spiced things up a little with garlic, lime, cilantro and sriracha and garnished with avocado.  

They can be served as a main course as well, which is how I ate them tonight.  They disappeared pretty quickly, I might add. ;) Delicious!

CILANTRO-LIME GRILLED SHRIMP

(serves two - 4 oz portions)

Ingredients:

8 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 small lime

2 tsp olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced

1.5 T chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 avocado

Sriracha chili sauce (to taste)

Directions:

Clean shrimp and toss in a bowl with cilantro, garlic, olive oil, juice of 1/2 of the lime & salt.  Let sit for 10-30 minutes.  Heat and oil your grill. Honestly, I used my trusty old George Foreman from college because it's 10 degrees outside.  It worked beautifully. 

Skewer your shrimp if you're going to (remember to soak the wooden sticks so they do not burn).  Grill shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side. When you flip, pour the rest of the marinade on the shrimp. Garnish with avocado slices, Sriracha and a bit more cilantro.  

Makin' me think summertime & margaritas!  Salted rim, please.   

Dark Chocolate Coconut Mousse {Dairy free}

A dark-chocolate lover and whole foodie's dream dessert.  I love this because I can feel good about eating; it's gluten free, dairy free and simple as hell.  I no longer announce upfront that this is made with avocados and not eggs because you can't even TELL. Serve it plain & simple, top with bananas or dress it up to be "fancy" as possible.  I have layered this pudding in a martini glass with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream for an extra special flare.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Mousse 

Ingredients:
1 c organic cocoa powder (quality makes all the difference in the world.  I use Frontier)
2 ripe avocados
1/3 c raw honey
1/2 c coconut milk
2 T coconut flakes (Let's Do Organic brand)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pinch sea salt
More coconut flakes, cacao nibs (Also Frontier) and a pinch of cocoa to top (optional)

Directions: 
Blend all, scraping down the sides a few times.  Top with toppings.

Optional:
Freeze for a couple of hours.  This makes for awesome ice cream substitute!

Asian-Inspired Massaged Kale + Carrot Super-Food Salad

Ever heard anyone asking to take home leftover...healthy salad??  This one was so delicious, attendees of Dr. Matt's grand opening were spooning it into plastic drinking cups to take home the leftovers.  The sesame & citrus flavors are bright & exciting, and the fact that the kale is massaged takes a lot of the "rawness" out of eating raw kale.  I especially love Eden Foods  Organic Sesame Gomasio sprinkles as part of the dressing to tie everything together and add even more nutrition (seaweed & sesame).  This salad is loaded with healthy fats (olive oil, sesame & avocado), rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin c, k, antioxidants, carotenoids and fiber. The texture is great as is, but some sunflower seeds or peanuts would add a great extra crunch!  


...and it's vegan/dairy/gluten free ;) !

Asian-Inspired Massaged Kale & Carrot Super-Food Salad

Salad:
1 large head of curly red or green kale, washed, thick stems removed and torn or chopped into bite sized pieces
2 large carrots, shredded (approx. 3/4 - 1 c)
1 avocado, diced
Salt
Olive oil

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1 tbsp local honey
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar OR rice wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 lemon (juiced)
1 tsp sea salt
Red pepper flakes to taste
1.5-2 tbsp Eden Organic Sesame Gomasio (see link)

Directions: 
Combine all dressing ingredients and blend with an immersion blender or in a food processor. 

Prep kale and place into large mixing bowl. Pour a bit of olive oil and sea salt onto it. Give it a good massage with your fingers for 1-3 minutes (depends on how thick/coarse the kale was to begin with), until it softens and loses about 1/3 of the volume. Add carrots. Toss with dressing. Fold in avocado right before serving! 

This salad is best served 1-4 hours after prepping to allow all the flavors to meld.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse {Dairy-Free}

Served here with frozen blueberries (what I had on hand), but fresh strawberries are AMAZING...

At a vegan dinner party this past week, one of the ladies made this, and it was literally finger-licking good.  Not only did we finish it all, but swiped the rest from the bowl with our fingers and licked the spoon clean!  This is an incredibly simple dessert with a "wow" factor: it's made from avocados, and it's dairy-free!  My version uses local honey, and I enjoyed the consistency with gooey honey....but make it completely vegan by using agave or maple syrup instead.  Seriously, your friends, kids, mom or co-workers will NEVER know it's made with avocado...until you tell them. Dr. Oz has this recipe posted...but uses egg whites and sugar (certainly not necessary). I apologize for the bad photo quality - my camera was left at my sisters house last week. :)  ENJOY! <3

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Ingredients: 



1 c cocoa powder
2 large ripe avocado
1/2 c almond milk (or coconut, or water even)
3/4 c agave syrup or honey
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 pinch sea salt

Directions: 

Whiz in a food processor, scraping the sides and bottom occasionally until nice and thick.  Serve with fresh fruit, biscotti, or just eat it plain.

Banana-Avocado Smoothie

Learned this one in an Argentinian Bakery in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.  I saw it on the menu and had to have it.  It's a perfectly tropical, nourishing breakfast.  YUM.

1 ripe avocado
1 ripe banana
1 - 1 1/2 c milk (regular, soy, rice, coconut - I'm sure they all work well)
1 tbsp honey**
1 pinch sea salt
1/2 c ice
(Optional) 1 handful of washed, prepped greens (spinach, kale, chard collards, etc.)

**NOTE:  Use real honey.  This is an old post, before I found that most of the store-bought honey (especially in cute little bears) is  NOT real honey, but a concoction based on corn syrup.  I now buy honey from a farm market or at least make sure it is a local source of real honey.

Blend & enjoy!

Nutrition:

Calories: 345
Fat: 20g
Carb: 39g
Protein: 8g