Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi Nuggets

Anyone with a focus on healthy eating who also happens to have small children at home inevitably faces a bit of stiff competition from the McDonald’s and Pizza Huts of this world.  These companies are competing for our children’s palates and they really pull out all the stops.  For one thing, their advertising budget is just a smidge larger than the budget for Mom’s Kitchen, so they do have a tendency to catch our children’s attention.  Case in point, the “Fishy Fishy” jingle for the Fish McNuggets or whatever they are called.  My kids giggled hysterically the first time they saw that commercial and they go around singing the song just to crack each other up.  So naturally they think that the fish nuggets must be really delicious and they’ve asked me if we can go and try them.

My answer to this?  Um, child, have you met me?  Because your mother does NOT take you to fast food chains (and your father is only allowed to do so on the rarest of occasions).   I’ve never really liked fast food much, ever since I realized in my teens how awful I felt after I ate it.  And I like it even less now that I am a mother with kids whose health I care about deeply.  So it doesn’t matter how catchy and cute the jingles might be, we ain’t going.

I am not a parent who restricts her kids from all goodies and treats, but any time I can find or make a healthy alternative, I try to do so.  And making fish sticks or nuggets at home is far from difficult, although it can sometimes be messy.  This time around, I found a great way to coat the nuggets without getting my hands all covered in the egg and the coating.  Heretofore, I always dipped in the egg and then the coating by hand.  But I had the rather brilliant idea of mixing the coating in a tupperware container, and then just adding the fish pieces after they were dipped in egg and shaking the heck out of it.  Worked like a charm for a firm fish like mahi mahi – more delicate fish like tilapia might not stand up as well.

Coconut oil was the perfect thing to cook these nuggets, as it complemented the shredded coconut and made them really crispy.  Like any coated fish, they do get a little less crisp as they sit so serve immediately (or they can be gently warmed in the oven to re-crisp).  All in all, a good healthy and flavourful answer to fast food fish nuggets!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb Mahi Mahi

1 large egg

1 cup almond flour

2/3 cup finely shredded coconut (unsweetened)

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

4 lime wedges

Directions:

Set a wire cooling rack over a cookie sheet.

Cut mahi mahi into 1 or 2 inch pieces, as you prefer.  Pat dry with a paper towel.

Whisk egg in large shallow bowl.  In a large plastic container with a lid, combine almond flour, coconut, salt and pepper.  Put on lid and shake to combine.

Tasty Mahi Nuggets!

Heat 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add half of the fish to the egg and toss to coat, and use a fork or slotted spoon to transfer pieces to the almond flour mixture, shaking of excess egg.

Place lid on container and shake until fish pieces are well-coated.  Transfer fish pieces to skillet and cook 2 to 4 minutes per side (thinner pieces will cook faster).  Crust should be a light golden brown.

Transfer to wire rack and repeat with remaining fish.

Serve with lime wedges.

Carolyn Ketchum

Source: http://coconutoilcooking.com/coconut-oil-blog-posts/coconut-crusted-mahi-mahi-nuggets/

Mango Poppy Seed Dressing With Coconut Milk And Hemp Oil Vegan Mostly Raw And Gluten Free

This salad dressings beautiful color is enhanced by a secret ingredient!

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New Products
Todays recipe uses 2 products that I recently discovered. One is So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage (the one found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store - not in a can) and Living Harvest Organic Hemp Oil. Ive enjoyed products from both of these companies in the past so I was excited to try these.

This creamy beverage has only 80 calories per cup.
The unsweetened version has only 50 calories.
Both contain MCFAs - medium-chain fatty acids.

Hemp oil has a perfect balance of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. 
Living Harvest hemp oil is cold pressed and made with raw hemp seeds.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention
So why did I need these products just to make a salad dressing? Let me share the nutritional adventure that lead to this.


I love poppy seeds but like many nuts and seeds, they are high in omega-6 and have very little omega-3. In fact they have a 100:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 which is far from the optimal ratio of 4:1 or less. So I needed something to balance that out. Flaxseed oil would be a natural thought with its very high content of omega-3 but this cold pressed hemp oil has a fresh, nutty taste and makes a better salad dressing. Extra virgin olive oil always makes a good salad dressing but doesnt provide as much omega-3. Each tablespoon of hemp oil contains 2.3 grams of ALA omega-3 in a 3.7:1 ratio with omega-6. As an alternative, you can also mix 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. 


My next goal was to reduce the oil - the main ingredient of most salad dressings. Even though hemp oil has beneficial qualities, I wanted to limit the calories. In searching for something that would provide a creamy taste and thicken the dressing, I decided to try So Delicious Coconut Milk beverage. Ive never been a big fan of recipes that contain tropical oils and their saturated fats, but this beverage is not that high in fat. And the fats it does contain are MCFAs (medium chain fatty acids) which some claim raise your metabolism and are more likely to be burned as fuel than to be stored as fat. 
From a pure pleasure standpoint,  Ive got to say its one of the best tasting non-dairy milks Ive ever had. Besides this dressing, Ive been using it in my smoothies and over cereal. Good stuff!


The Color Brought to you by ......
Even though mangos are orange, by the time you water them down with oil and coconut milk, the color isnt very intense. So I added a grated carrot! Not only does it make the dressing a beautiful color, but it spikes the dressing with vitamin A providing over 200 IU per tablespoon.


 Mango Poppy Seed Dressing
Mostly Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 1 3/4 cups = 28 tablespoons]


1 medjool date, pitted and cut in quarters
1/2 cup So Delicious coconut milk beverage
1 cup mashed, ripe mango or mango pulp
1/3 cup shredded carrot
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt,
pinch black pepper
1/4 cup raw hemp oil (or 3T EVOO + 1T flaxseed oil)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds


Soak medjool date in coconut milk for 4 hours or overnight in refrigerator.


Place date, coconut milk, mango, carrot, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a high speed blender and process until smooth.


Running the blender on low, slowly drizzle in hemp oil until combined.


Add poppy seeds for a few seconds to combine. Store in a 1 pint container and refrigerate.


Per tablespoon: 27.9 calories, 2.2 g fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 329 mg ALA omega-3 and 1303 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 0 g cholesterol, 0.1 g protein, 1.8 g carbohydrates, 0.3 g dietary fiber and 24.5 mg sodium.

How to Diet Food Review Coconut Corn and Blackberries

If you are interested in dieting, you may have heard talk of how to diet. I can almost guarantee you havent heard everything though. In fact, if you read the rest of this how to diet review, youll discover three features almost nobody is talking about...yet...

Coconuts

It is shockingly surprising to find out that Coconuts are loaded with saturated fat. However it should always be remembered that fat from the plant kingdom is good while fat from the animal kingdom is bad. There is controversy as to weather the saturated fat in coconuts is really all that bad. Coconuts provide so much nutrition that a person can be stranded on a deserted island and rely solely on them for food, indefinitely. They have very, very hard shells; you get a how to diet workout just by cracking one open.

Corn

In comparison to other vegetables, corn is full of starches and carbohydrates. Corn is a sweet vegetable, leading some to believe that it is too sugary to be a good how to diet health food. Unlike other sugary, processed foods; corn contains various vitamins and minerals. As is always the case, trace amounts of various vitamins eventually add up, whereas processed foods contain no minerals at all. The chemicals which give corn its yellow appearance also protect you from brain degeneration in your elder years. Corn is a staple food in places around the world.

Blackberries

Every two and a half blackberries you eat is the equivalent of one calorie. Try and make this anything but a how to diet food. If you are in a blackberry vine infested area such as the pacific coast states, go out and pick and eat these things. Given the amount of work it takes to pick them and avoid the spiky vines, you can eat them forever and not gain any weight. These berries contain lots of vitamins and minerals and along with blueberries, are unequaled in the production of antioxidants.