Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Healthy Paleo Coconut Shrimp

Yes, it is true.  No, I didn't trick you.  It is possible to make healthy food taste like junk food.  I have no idea why I never thought of this before now.  The idea came to me while I was brainstorming ways to add more coconut to my diet (for all the numerous health benefits of course).  I have plenty of coconut oil in the cupboard and I also have a bag of unsweetened organic coconut flakes... pair them with a pound of jumbo wild caught shrimp from Trader  Joe's and, Viola!, you have yourself a gourmet meal in less than 15 minutes.  It really doesn't get better than this.  In fact, I pretty  much want to eat this meal every single day.  That is how delicious it is.  You could pair this with your favorite dipping sauce, but I just ate them hot and straight off the plate.  I couldn't resist.  Enjoy!!

My new favorite dish!

Ingredients:
1lb jumbo wild caught shrimp, thawed under cold running water or in the fridge
1/3c unsweetened coconut flakes (NOT flour!):  I used Let's Do...Organic
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
1/4tsp garlic powder
1 large egg, preferably omega-3 enriched, beaten
2-4tbs unrefined coconut oil

Directions:
1. If your cococnut flakes are course, then pulse them in a food processor to get them pretty fine.  Mine were already finely ground so I just measured them out of the bag.  Mix in your salt, cayenne, and garlic powder.  Place in a large flat bowl or pie tin (something you can easily dip the shrimp in).
2. Place your beaten egg in another shallow bowl or pie tin.  Add a pinch of salt here too.
3. Rinse and dry your shrimp so the egg sticks.  Heat a couple of tbs of coconut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  It's ready when you drop a piece of coconut in the skillet and it sizzles.
4. One by one, take your shrimp, dip each side in the beaten egg, then roll evenly in the coconut mixture.  Place them in the pan in a single layer.  After a couple of minutes, or when they turn golden brown, carefully flip them to the other side.  You may have to do these in a couple of batches depending how large your skillet is.  If the pan looks dry, add more oil!  As each one is golden and the shrimp is cooked through, place them on a plate.  Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce or eat them plain!  Enjoy!

6 comments:

  1. yum! made this substituting cayenne with turmeric. delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great idea! So glad you liked them :) It's one of my favorites!

    ReplyDelete
  3. so, why no flour? Haven't tried any of the coconut shrimp recipes, but most call for some form of flour.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This sounds amazing! Did you use pre-cooked frozen shrimp or raw frozen shrimp?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Flour is not needed... just dilutes the delicious coconut flavor in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I use RAW shrimp otherwise by the time you fry them they will be rubbery. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete