Island-inspired 21 DSD-friendly recipes

For our holiday vacation, we traveled to the Bahamas and Florida to visit family (tough life, right?). We're very thankful that our families choose warm places to live. At each location, we had about 10 guests. For anyone who has hosted that amount of people for a week at a time, I'm sure you can understand why each couple was assigned a night to cook meals. 

With family in Florida

Skiing in the Bahamas

With Family in Bahamas

I was so excited for our night to cook. I planned it so that it would be relatively native to the Caribbean: Garlic Tostones, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, and Chili-Lime Slaw. On one of the following days, I made a breakfast of plantain pancakes. So many family members requested to have the recipes so I said, why not just post them on my blog so everyone can benefit?

These are all 21-Day Sugar Detox-friendly recipes. Enjoy them while on your 21DSD or off! They are equally tasty either way. Never heard of the 21DSD? Check out my coaching page to check it out and sign up to join my next group!

Garlic Tostones

Tostones are a beautiful part of Cuban cuisine. They can be eaten as an appetizer or with a meal. It is quite a process to make them so beware of that when starting. Using coconut oil for frying is much healthier than using easily-oxidized oils like canola, soy "vegetable", or corn oil. Once you try these, you'll want to make them over and over again. They are great for entertaining; your guests will love you.

Equipment:

• Large saucepan, at least 3 inches deep

• Parchment paper

• Something heavy (cast iron skillet works best, but I used a wooden board this time), for smashing

• Tongs

• Paper towels

Ingredients

• 4 Green Plantains

• 15 oz. Coconut Oil or about 4 cups (for frying)

• 1 head garlic, crushed

• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 tablespoon lime juice (optional)

• Sea salt to taste

Directions

1. In your saucepan, heat coconut oil on medium-high heat.

2. While your oil is heating, with a sharp knife, cut lengthwise down each plantain- skin deep. Cut plantains into 1-2 inch segments and peel.

3. Once the oil is bubbling, place as many plantain segments into the hot oil with tongs. You may need to do so in batches. Fry for 3-5 minutes or until yellowish-gold in color and crispy.

4. Remove once-fried plantains and place on a paper-towel covered plate.

5. With two pieces of parchment paper, sandwich a single segment of plantain and smash it with your cast iron skillet. It should be about 2 cm thick, not too thin otherwise they will fall apart. Repeat with all segments.

6. Increase heat to high and return your smashed plantains to the hot oil. Allow to fry for about 5 minutes, until desirably crispy.

7. Remove from oil and place on a grill rack or paper towel to cool.

For Garlic olive oil drizzle:

1. In a small pan, heat olive oil on low and sauté garlic until golden brown. If desired you may add a tablespoon of lime juice.

2. Pour Garlic olive oil atop the tostones and sprinkle liberally with sea salt.

Jerk Chicken

This was a big hit. The coconut rum and lime added a sweet and tangy flavor which went so well with the kick from the jerk seasoning. Be sure to get rid of the marinade before cooking to make sure all the alcohol is cooked out. Prepare to be amazed.

Ingredients

• 4 lb Chicken thighs

• 1 cup lime juice

• 1/2 cup coconut aminos

• 1 cup dark rum (I used coconut rum)

• Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (I used this recipe, but for 21DSD omit sugar)

Directions

1. Marinade the meat 6-24 hours beforehand, that way all the flavors can adequately infuse. Place chicken thighs into a large baking dish and cover with all the ingredients.

2. After marinating, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Pour out the marinade and bake for 30 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 deg. F.

Chili-Lime Slaw

This slaw is so versatile! You can have it with your Jerk Chicken or you can have it in a seaweed wrap with sardines and avocado. The tangy/spicy flavor broadens the cuisine pairing options. It goes well with Asian, Mexican, AND Caribbean cuisines! Make this large batch and switch up your meals throughout the week with the same dish!

Ingredients

• 2 heads fresh cabbage, shredded

• 6 carrots, sliced with julienne peeler

• 1 bunch cilantro

• 5 cloves garlic

• 1/2 inch ginger

• 2 birds-eyes, serrano, or other fresh spicy pepper

• 1/4 cup coconut aminos

• 1/2 cup lime juice

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons sea salt

Directions

1. `In a large bowl combine cabbage, carrots and 2 tablespoons salt. Massage for a few minutes, until cabbage softens a little.

2. In a food processor, blend cilantro, ginger, garlic and peppers until finely chopped.

3. Add coconut amigos, lime juice and EVOO to the food processor and blend until emulsified.

4. Pour dressing over vegetables in the large bowl and massage until well-coated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Plantain pancakes

These plantain pancakes are awesome for athletes doing the 21-Day Sugar Detox. I honestly made them on a whim since I noticed we had extra plantains laying around and we were leaving the next day. These are quick and easy to make. They are best eaten after some exercise, such as diving for lobster, waterskiing all day, or a personal zumba class taught by my sister-in-law :).

Ingredients

• 4 plantains

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 2 tablespoons psyllium husks (optional)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

• Pinch sea salt

• Coconut oil for cooking

Directions

1. In a blender, add all the ingredients (except the coconut oil). Blend until thick like batter.

2. Heat a large skillet on medium-low heat then add coconut oil and spread across the skillet.

3. Once the oil is hot, pour the batter in 4-inch circles. Flip when the pancakes bubble, after about 3 minutes.

4. Cook for another 2 minutes or so on the other side.

5. Enjoy with some butter (dairy, coconut or almond).

I hope you enjoy these Island-inspired recipes! Be sure to share and tag your photos so I can see them! #21DSDwithCoachAnisa