Tag: keto

Air Fryer Salmon with Lemon Bok Choy

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Quick & easy, air fryer salmon is now an absolute staple in this house.

gluten-free, keto, pescatarian, paleo

Air Fryer Salmon with Lemon Bok Choy

Salmon – however many servings – frozen or fresh

1 package bok choy, chopped roughly

Avocado oil

3 cloves garlic, pressed

Juice & zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp honey

1 Tbsp coconut aminos

Big handful sliced almonds

Salt & pepper

Lemon salt or flake salt (optional but awesome)

Chili crisp (also optional but awesome)

Preheat your air fryer on 400 for 3 mins. Lightly oil one side of the salmon, lay in the tray & lightly oil the top.

If frozen or really thick, cook 8 mins. If fresh or not particularly thick, cook 6. Done.

While the salmon works, rough chop the bok choy and sautee until browned in spots in a Tablespoon or two of avocado oil. Remove to a large bowl.

Chuck the almonds in the pan and toast. Set aside.

To make the dressing, whisk together the garlic, lemon juice + zest, honey, salt & pepper and coconut aminos.

Toss the bok choy in the dressing and top with almonds.

To serve, if you’ve be got it, a sprinkle of lemon salt or flake salt goes nicely on the salmon. Top with chili crisp if you want a little spice.

Serves 2-4, depending on how much salmon you’re making and whether you have a carby other side

Pickled Dill Cucumber Salad

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A smart little salad perfect for serving with all of Summers’ goodness – or alone.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, Whole30, paleo, keto

Pickled Dill Cucumber Salad

2-3 medium cucumbers, sliced fairly thinly 

1 Tbsp capers

1 Tbsp coconut vinegar (ACV with a sprinkle of red chili flakes will do in a pinch)

2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt & pepper

3 Tbsp mayo (my current fav is Dutch Zaanse, but Japanese Kewpie is a close second) – swap for vegan if desired

2 Tbsp shallots, thinly sliced into half moons

Drizzle honey or pinch sugar 

2 tsp stone ground mustard (Maille FTW – if you’ve been around long enough for my lament against whomever stopped importing my favorite mustard, I’m happy to report that it’s back on shelves – at least for now – hold please: I need to stock up)

Thinly slice the cucumbers and let dry on paper towels.

Thinly slice the shallots, run a knife through the capers, mince the garlic, and chop the dill; adding to a large bowl as you go.

Add the vinegar, honey, salt & pepper, mustard and mayo. Stir to combine.

Add the cucumbers and toss really well to incorporate fully.

Let sit for an hour or so to marinate and serve.

Serves 2 – 4 as a side, depending on how large your cucumbers are

Instant Pot Sous Vide Steak

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I *finally* bit the bullet and after 7+ years, bought another Instant Pot. It’s not like I haven’t missed mine – I have – but it just wasn’t available here for years and I found workarounds.

I’m so happy I have an Instant Pot again – and un upgrades at that! We opted for the Duo – mainly because we already have an air fryer and this model has a Sous vide function.

This past week I hit a sale on tenderloin – under $10 a kilo! After doing a little dance, what else was there but to christen my Sous vide?

gluten-free, paleo, keto

Instant Pot Sous Vide Steak

Steaks – I used roughly an inch thick tenderloin slices but other steaks would work the same

Seasoning – I used a combo of Lowry’s Seasoning Salt and Worcestershire Sauce

Fat of choice – I happened to have bacon fat, which was amazing

Portion your steaks, season as desired, and place into baggies with the air squeezed out (or vacuum seal bags).

Fill the Instant Pot halfway full with water, place the steamer trivet in the bottom as a precaution, and lay your steaks in the bath.

Set the Instant Pot to Sous Vide and set to 2 hours. Close and let go.

When done, remove from the bath and sear with a little fat for a little extra color & taste.

Serves however many steaks you make, but I found 3 steaks to be the max amount for my pot

Crayfish & Egg Scramble

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I’ve mentioned to y’all that finding ingredients familiar to my life in the States where I live can be a bit hit-and-miss. This is an example. Substitutions given.

gluten-free, paleo, keto, whole30

Crayfish & Egg Scramble

2 Duck eggs – sub large or XL chicken eggs

3 oz crayfish, cooked & peeled – shrimp was what I originally wanted, crayfish was what they had

Hand full thinly sliced green onions

White pepper & salt

Sesame oil

Magic sarap – sub chicken broth granules

Prep your ingredients: slice the green onions, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk, gather everything else and have on hand.

Over low to medium-low heat, add a little bit of sesame oil to a pan.

After the oil warms and starts to be fragrant, add the beaten eggs. Let the bottom of the eggs firm up before running your spatula through them to create soft folds.

While the eggs are still liquidy on top, add the green onions, crayfish, salt, pepper & a sprinkle of magic sarap/bouillon granules.

Let cool until your desired doneness is reached.

Serves 1 for a decadent breakfast or light lunch

Green Bowl Of (Salmon) Power

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This is a killer low carb bowl of Summery sushi-esque goodness.

gluten-free, paleo, low-carb, keto, pescatarian

Green Bowl of (Salmon) Power

1 salmon fillet, boned and skinned

1 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp black pepper

Cucumber, chopped – measure with your heart

1/2 avocado

2 Tbsp basil, chopped

1 scallion, chopped

1 Tbsp pickled ginger, chopped

Spicy mayo

Togarishi

Sesame seeds

Preheat your air fryer to 400C.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder and black pepper.

Cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces and add to the sauce. Coat well.

Add the salmon to the preheated air fryer and set for 4 mins. Cook, shaking a couple times.

While the salmon is working, chop the cucumber, avocado, scallions and ginger. Add to a bowl. Add the salmon and top with the spicy mayo, togarishi and sesame seeds.

Serves 1

Dilled Spicy Tuna Salad

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This is a refreshing and light lunch or dinner when served with crusty bread. When served without, it’s even keto compliant.

gluten-free, pescatarian

Dilled Spicy Tuna Salad

1 can chili tuna, drained

3 small stalks celery, diced

1/2 small red onion, diced

1.5 small Persian cucumbers, diced

Juice 1/2 lemon

2-3 Tbsp fresh dill minced

Just enough Kewpie may to bind together

Togarishi seasoning to taste

Flake Salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

Crusty bread (I had a nice lemon thyme rye)

Combine all ingredients but the bread and mix to incorporate. Serve with the bread – or without. It’s great either way.

Serves 2 for lunch

Air Fryer Steak

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We’ve been eating one of these steaks most nights we have been home these last few months – DH has perfected his method to a science. I just tried it and smoked the damn house out (again) 😂🙄🤷‍♀️.

gluten-free, paleo, keto

Air Fryer Steak

A steak – preferably ribeye or strip of about 12 – 14 ounces and an inch thick

A little butter

Your favorite seasoning (we use Lowry’s Seasoning Salt)

Preheat your air fryer on 400F for 3 minutes.

Season 1 side of your steak, add to the basket of the air fryer seasoning side down and season the other.

Let cook 3 minutes.

While that’s cooking, get a pan ripping hot. When DH does this, he uses the center burner of our stove – which apparently doesn’t get as hot as my favorite burner, which smoked the house out.

Cook 1:30 per side.

Remove from the heat, pop your little bit of butter on, and let rest a few minutes.

We slice ours into bite-sized pieces because we are heathens and have been having great fun with ‘kitchen steak’. Seats are for sides. 😆

Serves 2

Air Fryer Pork Belly

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This is a decadent dinner and can stretch – we found the fattiness of the pork meant we didn’t need a huge hunk for dinner. I expect this piece we did to last 4-5 servings, depending on what else we do with it.

gluten-free, paleo, keto

The back half looks a little brown – this was after the first smoking incident, caused by the oven. With a little more smoke. Still damn good though.

Air Fryer Pork Belly

500-600g pork belly

2 Tbsp rice vinegar, divided

1 tsp Chinese 5-spice (or any 5-spice kind of situation, really – I think mine isn’t strictly Chinese, but that is what I was going for)

Salt & pepper

Score the skin of your pork belly about every half inch or so.

Add to a shallow dish (I used one of my largest Tupperware). Sprinkle with half the rice vinegar and dust with the 5-spice. Add some pepper.

Flip, pat the skin dry and let sit uncovered in the fridge 4 hours to overnight.

Preheat your air fryer to 180C.

Flip the pork belly again, sprinkle with the rest of the vinegar and add a healthy amount of chunky salt.

Put on tinfoil, and fold/tuck the sides up to make a little tray.

Add to your air fryer and cook :45 – 1 hour.

Note: This may cause life to become smoky. I smoked the house out and have no idea why; the fat didn’t leak and nothing was burned.

Either way, brush the salt off the top.

If your life is smoky, finish off in the oven at 400 until the skin cracks.

If you managed to avoid such drama, crank the air fryer up to 400 and do the same. This should take 5 – 10 mins.

Enjoy! We have eaten this as-is alongside some parsnips one night and drizzled with a little sweet soy the next. I’m scheming a jammy wine sauce for a third night.

Serves 4 – 5

Za’atar Eggplant

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This is a dead simple way to explore a sometimes under-utilized and misunderstood vegetable: the simple Italian style eggplant.

I can’t take credit for this recipe – I was treated to it at a good friend’s house after she raved about it. She wasn’t wrong.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, low carb, vegetarian, vegan

Za’atar Eggplant

1 purple eggplant
Za’atar
Your favorite cooking oil
Salt & pepper

Line a baking sheet with paper or silicone. Preheat your oven to 200C/375F.

Slice your eggplant into thick “steaks” however you like – width or lengthwise.

Lightly score each slice with a knife in a crosshatch pattern, taking care not to slice through the pieces.

Sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper.

Top very generously with za’atar (enough time form a crust).

Sprinkle lightly with your oil of choice to kind of stick the spice down. Alternately, you can mix the spice and oil together in a bowl, then smooth over the eggplant slices – depends on how much oil you want to use.

Bake 25 – 35 mins or until softened and browned – a bit crisp if they’re thin slices.

Serves 2

Easy Japanese-Style Chicken Zoodles

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This is an easy, FODMAP-friendly, low calorie and carb dinner for nights when you don’t want to be bothered and/or have macros to hit.

Gluten-free (check your labels), FODMAP, keto (especially if you increase the fat), could be Paleo if you use coconut aminos, but that will be higher FODMAPs

Easy Japanese-Style Chicken Zoodles

1 large zucchini, spiraled into zoodles

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari (coconut aminos will be higher in FODMAPs)

In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the sesame oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the zoodles and stir-fry until just beginning to soften. Add the soy sauce and continue cooking until the zoodles are to your liking. I like mine still a bit toothsome (or at least not mushy).

While that’s working, whisk together:

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Juice of 1 lime

Pinch of red pepper flakes

When the zoodles are ready, add to the sauce and top with 4 ounces shredded poached chicken and 1 tsp. sesame seeds per serving.

Serves 2 as a light dinner

Macros per serving (assuming your zoodles come out to 1 cup and you use standard soy sauce):

345 Calories

36.6g Protein

6.6g Net carbs

16.9g Fat