I was looking for something light, healthy and easy to cook for dinner last night, and I found it in this delicious coconut shrimp dish. Modified slightly from the Badass Body Diet, this paleo meal has quickly made its way on the keeper list in our home. After a day of multiple workouts (Yes, I lost my mind yesterday and oh, by the way, this heat in NC is absolutely ridiculous!), I was in serious need of some well balanced fuel, and this gem did the trick. I hope you give it a try.

While setting up my prep station for the shrimp, the recipe called for unsweetened shredded coconut, but a bag full of limes sitting nearby prompted the thought that a bit of zest might brighten this dish up. Besides, lime and coconut are meant for each other, right?

Lime zest and coconut – perfection!

The simple shrimp station required almond flour, egg whites and the shredded coconut. I added some pepper and a bit of salt to the almond flour, and while I used superfine flour in this case, heavier almond meal might work even better here.

The only item that I might have done differently is my choice of shrimp. I picked this up at our local grocery store and while it was peeled and deveined, it was definitely previously frozen. The texture wasn’t exactly what I prefer. My husband thinks it might have even been precooked given the pink color, and I think he might be right, but the label at the fish counter didn’t say anything about that. Either way, it ended up tasting quite good, but next time I’ll make sure to get fresh shrimp, even if I have to peel and devein them myself. (I’ll never admit to saying that I’d take this task on.)

Cooked or not cooked? That was the question.

The original recipe called for spraying cooking spray on the pan and then also on top of the shrimp once they’ve been properly battered up, but to my surprise we were out of cooking spray. Although my dear husband offered to run to the store to grab some, I was hungry and couldn’t stand the thought of waiting, so I opted for coconut oil. After smearing it on the baking pan, I melted a bit and we drizzled it carefully over the prepared shrimp before popping it into the oven. While I can’t account for how the cooking spray might have turned out, the coconut oil worked just fine.

A quick 15 minutes in the oven on 400 degrees, right next to my roasting cauliflower, and voila! Well, before the “voila” I spiked up the heat and ran the broiler for less than a minute just to brown them up a bit more. Not only do they look great, there is nothing quite like the aroma of toasted coconut. My house smelled like a tropical dream last night.

I’d say that this turned out to be the perfectly balanced fuel for what my body and belly needed yesterday. Not to mention my nose!

Coconut Lime Shrimp

• 1 Pnd. shrimp – peeled and deveined
• 1/4 Cup Almond Flour
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
• Zest of 1/2 lime – or more, depending on your preference
• 2 egg whites
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Coconut oil or cooking spray to grease the pan
• 1 Tsp melted coconut oil OR you can use cooking spray to coat the shrimp

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil up a baking sheet either with cooking spray or coconut oil, your choice. Next, set up a shrimp dipping station by placing the almond flour, egg whites and coconut/lime in three separate dishes. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste in the almond flour. Dip each shrimp individually, first in the almond flour, then the egg whites, finally the coconut, and then place them on the baking sheet. Either lightly drizzle the melted coconut over the tops of the shrimp or spray them generously with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes, turning each one over carefully about halfway through.