This is an addictive little hit of Summer sun in a bowl; perfect for those mid-Winter blues.
gluten-free, paleo, pescatarian
Sunshine Shrimp Chopped Salad
Protein
1 – 1.5 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
Juice of 2 oranges
3 Tbsp salt
1/2 yellow onion, chopped rough
2 cloves garlic, chopped rough
Hand full cilantro
3 c water
First, poach your shrimp in the mix above a couple minutes or until cooked through. Remove. If your shrimp were frozen and pre-cooked like mine, heat till warmed through. You’ll still get a bit of that delicious poaching liquid taste. It’s fine.
Dressing
4 Tbsp cashew butter
1 tsp your favorite sweetener (I used date molasses)
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tsp sambal olek
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Sprinkle salt & pepper
Salad Base
Couple hand fulls green beans per serving, cut in thirds and poached in the shrimp liquid until crisp-tender
1/2 avocado per serving
1/2 – whole segmented and chopped orange per serving
6-10 cherry tomatoes, halved, per serving
Sprinkle soy
Sprinkle sesame seeds
Sprinkle flaky salt
How many this serves depends on how starving you are – this *could* serve 2 for lunch as written, or just a really hungry me. You do you
Although it is not, regrettably, high mango season where I live – I just couldn’t resist some particularly tantalizing ruby red beauties in the grocery last week. Here, we are starting to dread the summer heat – while hanging on to every last shred of cool weather (and the winds they bring). I thought a nice, refreshing salad was just the thing to combat those spring ‘I’m not ready for surface of the sun temps’ blues.
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan
Mango Chive Salad
1 large mango (if you’ve got a big boy, or 2 smaller), skinned and chopped
3 small Persian cucumbers or 1 large English variety
1/4 c chives, snipped
1 jalapeño, seeded
1/4 c pepitas
2 Tbsp lemon juice (or more to taste)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp your favorite mustard (I used Dijon, but my love – grainy Maille – would also be great here)
2 tsp honey, agave or date molasses
2 Tbsp your favorite neutral oil (or neutral-ish; I used olive)
2 tsp any fruit vinegar (I used ume plum)
1 red bell pepper
Optional add-ins for bulk: Hand full simply stir-fried snow peas, 1/4 – 1/2 avocado per serving
Optional add-ins for protein: rotisserie chicken, shrimp or sesame tofu
Chop the cucumber into bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl.
Chop and add the red pepper & half the jalapeño and add to the bowl.
Snip the chives into small bits and add.
Add half the mango (I had a big boy so I added about a cup and a half, reserving about half a cup of mango for the dressing).
Toss all and set aside.
In the carafe of your blender, add: the other 1/2 cup or so of mango, the second half of the jalapeño, garlic, pepitas, lemon juice, mustard, sweetener, oil, and vinegar. Whiz to combine. Salt to taste.
Toss the salad with the dressing and any add-ins. Whack with a sprinkle flaky salt & black pepper to finish.
Serves 2 as a big meal-sized salad; 4 if you’re adding in the proteins & bulk items
Ooh man, the air fryer can make some delicious nuggets. I let this batch marinate longer than anticipated (afternoon + over night instead of for like an hour) and the ginger garlic was definitely noticeable in every bite.
gluten-free
Air Fryer Honey Garlic Chicken Nibbles
1 pound chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Marinade:
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
2 tsp your fav vinegar (I used ume plum)
1/2 inch grated ginger
2 cloves grated garlic
Sauce:
2 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
1.5 Tbsp honey
2 tsp sambal olek
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp grated horseradish
Cornstarch
Black pepper
Spritz oil (I have flaxseed, but any kind will do)
Add your marinade ingredients and chicken to a large bag or bowl. Shake well to coat and marinate for at least an hour, but I would suggest over night. Mine went for almost a full day because my chicken was still a bit too frozen and it was magnificent.
Preheat your air fryer to 200C/400F for 3 minutes.
While the air fryer is warming, add your chicken to a large bowl (trying to get as little of the marinade as possible). Generously sprinkle with cornstarch and black pepper. Toss. Hit again with cornstarch and pepper – you’re looking for most if not all of the pieces to be coated.
Add to the basket of your air fryer and blast with a few spritzes oil.
Turn the timer to 10 minutes and fry, shaking vigorously to break up any clumping and spritzing with oil 3-4 times while the chicken cooks.
While the chicken is going, whisk together all the sauce ingredients.
This is great served with some veggies (I did peppers, onions & portobello mushrooms) simply air fried with salt, pepper and a blast of spritz oil until a touch browned (takes about 12 minutes).
Yaaaaaaas. I love fried eggplant cubes but hate actually frying things. The air fryer makes quick work of eggplant, turning it into crisp little nuggets in 10 minutes. Delicious!
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan
Air Fryer Eggplant with Vegan Yogurt Sauce
1 large purple eggplant
Salt
Curry powder
Spritz or spray oil
2 Tbsp Skyr-style soy yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
1 Tbsp tahini
Generous sprinkle salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Cube your eggplant into 1/4-inch pieces. Add to a large bowl and toss with a generous sprinkle salt. Let sit 5-10 minutes.
Preheat your air fryer to 200C/400F for 3 minutes.
Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, tahini and garlic powder in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning and add salt as necessary.
Toss your salted eggplant with a generous amount of curry powder, add to the basket of your air fryer, and hit with a spritz or two of oil. Fry, shaking occasionally, 10 minutes or until your desired level of crispness is achieved.
Serve with the yogurt sauce and your protein of choice.
I don’t know what else to call this dish that’s flattering. Potato mush? Delicious potato hug on a cold Winters’ night?
Name aside, it’s good.
gluten-free
Kielbasa and Potatoes
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
3-5 small yellow potatoes, cut into 1/3 inch chunks
Scant teaspoon oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 c. vegetable stock (I used a mushroom onion variety)
2 Tbsp. mushroom powder
1 Tbsp. gravy granules (I used onion flavor)
1 Tbsp. grainy mustard (Maille FTW)
1 Tbsp. butter
Salt & pepper
Kielbasa (I air fried kielbasa links for 7 minutes in the air fryer and sliced on the bias to serve)
Slice the onions thinly and cut the potatoes into 1/3 inch chunks.
Preheat a large pan over medium-high. Add a scant teaspoon oil.
Add the onion and sauté until translucent.
Chop the garlic while the onions are going.
Add the potatoes and garlic with 1 cup stock.
Knock the heat back to medium and simmer 20 minutes or so until the potatoes are almost done and the liquid has mostly evaporated.
If your potatoes get too dry before they cook, add a little more stock or water.
Add the mushroom powder, gravy granules, grainy mustard, butter and a generous hit of salt & pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until potatoes are fully done. I bashed some of my potatoes so the sauce would thicken a bit and they ended up kinda mashing. Delicious.
Taste and add a little more seasoning if necessary.
I am a sucker for a good alternative fry, and this simple side fits that bill perfectly. Every time I’ve made this, I’ve eaten an embarrassing number of zucchini.
Note: Mine are a little pale in the picture because in this batch I forgot to spritz with oil. They were still yummy, though.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan (check your labels)
Zucchini Ranch Air Fryer Fries
3-4 small zucchini
2 Tbsp. ranch seasoning (check your labels if you need this to fit into your specific dietary requirements)
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
Generous sprinkle salt
Fry Sauce
2 Tbsp. mayo
1 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. pickle relish
Oil for brushing
Preheat your air fryer for 3 minutes (200C/400F).
While your air fryer is preheating, slice the zucchini into fry shapes. Salt generously and let sit in a bowl while you make the fry sauce.
Whisk the fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
When the air fryer is heated, add the Ranch seasoning and cornstarch to the bowl and toss well to coat.
Add to the bowl of the fryer in a single layer. Spritz lightly with a little oil or brush a little on top.
Fry 8 minutes, shaking a couple times and hitting with a little more oil if needed.
This is a satisfying sweet and spicy bowl that makes great use of a pantry staple – the humble chickpea. While it’s not as high protein as a dish including meat, 100g of tofu gives you 8-10g and the chickpeas give another 5. Not too bad, and if you know of a good vegan protein powder to add you can bulk it even more.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Vegan General Tso-Style Protein Bowl
1 can chickpeas
1 block extra firm tofu
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch broccolini, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 thumb ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. tamari, soy sauce or coconut aminos, divided
4 Tbsp. rice vinegar, divided
1/3 c. broth (I used mushroom onion; faux-chicken or any other stock would work just as well, you just want something with a little extra flavor to layer)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. nut butter (I used peanut, but any nut butter would do)
2 Tbsp. sweetener (I had date molasses on hand but your favorite sweetener will do – if you go for something sweeter than molasses, consider halving to 2/3-ing the amount
2 tsp. heat (don’t be like me and use ghost pepper garlic sauce unless you want a punch in the mouth – go for something saner like a nice sambal olek for the same spicy garlic without the shock)
1 tsp. + sesame oil
1 tsp. grainy mustard (y’all know I love my Maille)
2 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder +
Generous grinds pepper
Toppers: thinly sliced scallions, sesame seeds
Drain the chickpeas, add to a bowl and marinate in 1 Tbsp. soy + 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar for half an hour – a couple hours.
Press the tofu, chop into half-inch cubes, and add to a large bowl. Add 2 Tbsp. soy & 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar. Let marinate alongside the chickpeas.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining Tbsp. soy & Tbsp. vinegar, broth, tomato paste, nut butter, sweetener, heat, 1 tsp. of the sesame oil, grainy mustard, 2 tsp. cornstarch and a few grinds pepper.
Chop the veggies and get everything ready.
Add a couple Tablespoons cornstarch to the tofu mix and toss vigorously to coat. Air fry 7-8 minutes, tossing often to ensure even crispiness.
While the tofu is crisping, sauté the onion over medium heat in a couple teaspoons sesame oil until translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and broccolini and continue sautéing 2-3 minutes or until the broccolini looks like it’s beginning to soften a touch.
Add the peppers and let go another 2-3 minutes until those begin to soften, stirring often to avoid burning.
Add the bowl of sauce and the chickpeas. Stir well and sauté until the sauce is nice and thick and everything is well incorporated.
Add the tofu to each bowl individually (100g gives you 8g; 1c. of the chickpeas gives you 5), top with scallions and sesame seeds and serve.
This spin on a bulgogi bowl was my favorite dish of the week, and with a 150g of chicken serving, it helped meet my protein goal for the day with 33g.
gluten-free
Bulgogi-Style Chicken Bowl
500g boneless, skinless chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Marinade
1 crisp apple, grated
1 pear, grated
2 inches ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
1/4 onion, grated
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. gochujiang
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. date molasses, honey or sugar
Combine all ingredients and marinate chicken for a few hours. To cook, I air fried the chicken for 10 minutes, shaking every few. Note: this marinade is a bit wet for the air fryer and it kind of made a mess, but it was workable; I just had a bit of cleaning to do afterward.
Bowl Base
1 package broccolini, chopped
Optional: shiritaki noodles, rice, etc.
Prep your bowl base. I air fried broccolini tossed in a scant teaspoon oil, salt and pepper for 7 minutes. I meant to bulk the dish up some with shiritaki, but ended up being not so starving for dinner. Broccolini worked great.
Toppers
1 scallion, minced
Nice amount of kimchi
1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 fried egg
Optional: sesame seeds, teriyaki sauce, sriracha mayo, sliced nori
The chicken makes 3 servings, the toppings as written 2
Gastography 