Jerk Shrimp with Crispy Plantain Noodles {Paleo}
After eating beautiful paleo meals for five days, I was feeling extremely good by the end of the week. My tummy was feeling happy (and flat). Then Saturday happened. I’m pretty sure the healthiest thing I ate all day was a plate of shredded lettuce topped with taco meat and a few pieces of tomato. Unless you count the fruit soaked in vodka. And our pre-race meal? Corn chips, some sort of Oreo pudding and a less than ideal amount of keg beer. Between poor life decisions and mugginess, the Capitol Hill Classic was a painful 6.2.
At least I had this guy to share in my pain, although he doesn’t remember agreeing to it. By mile 4 I felt like I had to be on mile 9, but I pushed through to finish in 50:59 (8:13 min/mile). A full 30 sec/mile slower than my last 10-miler, but not as bad as might have been expected given the circumstances.
Anyways, today it is back to beautiful paleo meals and hopefully getting my tummy happy again (it has been anything but for the past 24 hours). People swear by spiralizers for making noodles out of everything from zucchini to sweet potatoes to plantains, but honestly, this is how I felt about mine.
They don’t work like in the infomercials… at least not for me. I gave up after smooshing an entire plantain into mash instead of noodles and just cut the next one into thin strips by hand. So if you don’t have one of these devil contraptions, that’s an option. And if you do, it may still be your best bet. Other than the hell that was trying to make the noodles, this dish was delightful. I really do think that plantains are the most underutilized veggie. You just can’t beat plantains cooked in coconut oil.
Jerk Shrimp with Crispy Plantain Noodles
From Eating Bird Food
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ¼ cup light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning (you can make your own!)
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 large (or 2 medium green) plantain, spiralized or cut into thin strips
- ½ avocado, chopped into small chunks
Instructions:
- Heat coconut oil in a large skillet of medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in red pepper and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add in jerk seasoning and stir.
- Reduce heat to medium, add shrimp to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through. Add coconut milk to the pan and stir. Remove from heat.
- While shrimp are cooking, heat another skillet of medium-high heat and add 1 Tablespoon coconut oil. Gently place spiralized plantain noodles into the pan and cook, flipping with a spatula throughout the cooking process. Sprinkle on a little salt while the plantains are cooking. Remove from the pan once the plantains have reached your desired color and texture. Some pieces will be crispier than others.
- Divide plantain noodles on to serving plates, add cooked shrimp and sauce and top with avocado.
Serves 2-3
