Guacamole

Ingredients 

8 ripe medium avocados
1-2 limes (juiced)
1 jalapeno (roasted & diced)
½ medium red onion (diced)
2-3 medium cloves of garlic (minced or crushed)
2 roma tomatoes (diced)
2 small or 1 large bunch cilantro (chopped)
salt & pepper to taste

Preparations

1. Cut Avocados in half and remove seed. With a small knife, cut squares in flesh of avocado, making sure to not cut through skins. With a soup spoon, remove squares into a mixing bowl by scraping with edge of spoon between skin and avocado flesh.
2. Squeeze lime juice over avocado squares.
3. Roasting jalapeno is an optional step but adds a wonderful smoky taste and mellows the heat a bit. To roast, place jalapeño over open flame using tongs and turning once skin begins to darken and pop, roasting all sides. Dice and add to avocado.
4. Cut and dice remaining ingredients, add to avocado. Stir to incorporate veggies well.
5. Serve with chips or along side any Mexican meal.

Easy Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Ribs

Servings: 3–4

Ingredients:
1 (2½–3 lb) rack of short ribs, halved
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup honey
½ cup soy sauce
10 cloves garlic, minced

Preparations:

1. Season ribs evenly with salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. Rub in on all sides. 
2. Add honey, soy sauce, and garlic to a large slow cooker. 
3. Transfer the ribs to slow cooker and turn them over in sauce until coated. Position the ribs so they are standing up, with the meatier side down, and so the meat side is against the walls of the slow cooker, with the bone sides facing in. 
4. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 7 - 8 hours. Check after the allotted time, you want to make sure the meat is cooked through and tender.
5. Remove the ribs and transfer to cutting board.
6. Cut between the bones to separate into individual ribs. 
7. Serve with additional sauce from the slow cooker, as needed.

Easy Sesame Teriyaki Chicken

Yields 4 servings
Prep Time : 5 min
Cook Time : 30 min
Total Time : 35 min

Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
9 ounces white mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 cup (heaping) sugar snap peas
1 cup (heaping) carrot sticks
1 1/2 cups brocoli florets
1 Tbs olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Teriyaki Sauce
1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs Agave or Honey
1 Tbs minced garlic
3 Tbs Hoison
2 Tbs Oyster Sauce
1 tsp ginger paste
1 Tbs sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Lay chicken, and vegetables out on tray, and drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper & put in oven for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix teriyaki sauce ingredients together, and whisk in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. Remove chicken and veggies from oven, and stir to combine, then pour teriyaki sauce over the top.
5. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. **
6. Stir well.
7. Garnish with additional sesame seeds, enjoy!

Notes:
For more subtle flavor, add teriyaki sauce half way through cooking, as noted in recipe. For richer flavor, stir half way through, and add sauce at the end.

Malaysian Oxtail Soup

Ingredients

3 Tbsp grapeseed oil
600 gm oxtail (cleaned, fats cut off, chopped into bite-size pieces)
3 medium size potatoes (peeled, whole)
2 small carrots (peeled, cut into chunks)
2 stalks of celery (cut into chunks)

Spices to be grounded into paste
3 cloves garlic
3 shallots
2 stalks lemongrass
1 cm ginger
1 tsp powdered coriander
1 tsp powdered cumin
1 tsp powdered fennel

Whole spices
2 cardamoms
1 small cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 star anise
1 tsp freshly cracked black peppercorns

3 Tbsp tomato paste
1.5 litre filtered hot water
sea salt
a small bunch of coriander leaves (chopped roughly)

Method

1. Heat a pan, drizzle with oil and brown the oxtail. Drain and set aside.
2. Saute the spice paste, whole spices and spice powder until fragrant and add in tomato paste. Add a few Tbsp of water to stir the paste.
3. Transfer the paste into a soup pot, add oxtail and filtered water and bring to boil.
4. Turn down the heat and simmer for 1 hour then add in the vegetables and continue to simmer for another hour or until oxtail is tender.
5. Add sea salt to taste and garnish with coriander leaves.
6. Serve hot.

Note : For a stronger spice soup, add 2 more cardamoms, 5 more cloves and an additional star anise to the soup. Soup can also be garnished with crispy fried shallots and chopped chili padi.

Keto Cheesecake Tarts

Prep Time : 30 min

Cook Time : 30 min
Total Time : 1 hr

Ingredients

Crust
3 tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup almond flour

Filling
12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
¼ cup erythritol
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp salt

Toppings
¼ cup sugar-free strawberry jam
¼ cup blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and start off by combining your melted butter with almond flour and mixing until it’s crumbly, but combined.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper or silicone cupcake liners and press about 1-2 teaspoons of your almond flour crust mixture into each liner.
3. Let these crusts bake in the oven for about 5-8 minutes or until you see they’ve turned golden brown.
4. To make the cheesecake filling, beat 12 oz. of cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until soft and then add in 1 egg. Mix to combine.
5. Then add ¼ cup of erythritol, or your favorite low carb sweetener, and mix.
6. Next, add 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice and ¼ tsp of salt and mix one last time.
7. Spoon your cheesecake filling onto the baked crusts and bake for about 20 minutes. The cheesecakes will have risen and be set, yet slightly jiggly on top.
8. Let them cool on the counter for about 10 minutes and then top each one with a teaspoon of sugar-free jam. We used strawberry, but any flavor will work!
9. Then add some fresh fruit over that. We used 3 blueberries for each mini cheesecake.
10. Let them chill in the fridge overnight or as long as you can!

Notes
Each tart is 175 calories - 16 grams of fat - 9 grams of protein - 2.8 grams of net carbs

Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Serves: 3

Ingredients
Marinade/Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice)
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
cracked pepper, to taste
(1 lb / 500 g) 3 skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets (or chicken breasts)

Salad:
4 cups Romaine (or Cos) lettuce leaves, washed and dried
1 large cucumber, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 red onion, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives (or black olives), sliced (optional)
Lemon wedges, to serve

Preparation:

1. Whisk together all of the marinade/dressing ingredients in a large jug. Pour out half of the marinade into a large, shallow dish. Refrigerate the remaining marinade to use as the dressing later.
2. Add the chicken to the marinade in the bowl; marinade chicken for 15-30 minutes (or up to two hours in the refrigerator if time allows). While waiting for the chicken, prepare all of the salad ingredients and mix in a large salad bowl.
3. Once chicken is ready, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a grill pan or a grill plate over medium-high heat. Grill chicken on both sides until browned and completely cooked through.
4. Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes; slice and arrange over salad. Drizzle salad with the remaining dressing. Serve with lemon wedges.

Notes;
Add ½ cup crumbled feta to give the salad an even better flavour!

Fajita-Stuffed Chicken

Makes 4

Ingredients
2 Tbsp canola oil (for veggies)
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 oz cream cheese
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup diced pepper jack cheese
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp canola oil (for chicken)

Salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for serving

Preparation

1. Heat the canola oil in a pan over high heat. Cook the peppers, onion, salt, and pepper until soft and slightly caramelized. Transfer the cooked veggies to a bowl. In the same bowl, mix in the cream cheese, cheddar, and pepper jack, stirring until evenly incorporated. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the chicken with the salt, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder, evenly distributing the spices over the chicken.
3. On a cutting board, slice a pocket in the chicken horizontally and fill the pocket with a heaping spoonful of the veggie mixture. Press the edges of the chicken together to seal in the filling. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
4. Heat the canola oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook the stuffed chicken for five minutes on each side, until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through.
5. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole!