Since Rob and I adopted a more ketogenic diet, this has become one of my favorite recipes. I love it because I always have most of the ingredients in my pantry already (soy sauce or coconut aminos, sesame oil, and some chili garlic sauce), so all I have to do is grab a pound of ground pork and some slaw mix at the grocery store.

This "egg roll in a bowl" has all my favorite Asian flavors and satisfies that Chinese takeout craving, but you can stick to a Paleo and/or keto diet (and save some money!) by making it yourself. I've also heard it referred to as "crack slaw" in the keto community, but I think egg roll in a bowl is a bit more fun to say.

The first few times I made this, I tried it with ground beef and regular shredded cabbage, and it just wasn't as good. I like it better with red cabbage, some carrots, and ground pork instead of beef--the pork gets nice and crispy and adds a nice flavor to the dish. But if you like beef, you can stick with that; and you could even do ground chicken if you'd prefer.

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound of ground pork

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

• About 10 ounces of shredded cabbage and carrots (I use a bag of the shredded red and green cabbage with carrots from Trader Joe's)

• 1-2 tablespoons sesame oil

• About 1/4 cup of soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (optional, plus more or less depending on your heat preference)

• 1-2 teaspoons of chili garlic sauce

• About 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Sliced green onions for garnish and some Sriracha for topping

Instructions: 

1. In a large pan, heat the sesame oil and add ground pork, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium-high heat until the pork begins to brown and get crispy around the edges. Add the garlic and give it a stir.

2. Add about half of the soy sauce and the crushed red pepper. Season with salt (be conservative with the salt since you're using soy sauce) and pepper and stir well to combine. Continue to cook until the pork is completely browned.

3. Add the cabbage and carrot mixture to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Toss to combine and add the remaining soy sauce. Add the chili garlic sauce and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the cabbage begins to wilt.

4. Add the rice vinegar and give everything a good stir. Serve hot, topped with green onions and a drizzle of Sriracha, if desired.

Well guys, it's a new year, and I'm doing some experimenting with my diet and giving keto a try. I really love Paleo a lot, and I would say what I'm doing right now is just a Paleo-friendly version of keto (but at the same time I'm eating quite a bit more dairy than I usually do, so we'll see how that goes). Over the past few months I've been all over the place with my eating habits, so I'm looking forward to reigning it in and really cutting out grains and sugar again.

I came up with this Paleo recipe before the holiday break, and yesterday I made it again for lunch with some cheddar cheese. If you don't do dairy or simply want to keep this Paleo, you can just skip the cheese. Or, you can do half and half--I put cheese on Rob's and left mine dairy-free. Do whatever works for you! I think this would be awesome with a squeeze of lime juice and some sliced avocado, but it's really delicious on its own.

Low Carb Chicken Enchilada Bake

Ingredients: 

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Half of a yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts (you could also use thighs)
• About a tablespoon of taco seasoning (or a mixture of cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper)
• About 1/2 pound of Brussels sprouts, chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Enchilada sauce (use one with little to no added sugar)
• 1-2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• About 2 tablespoons of chopped lettuce and 1/8 of a diced red onion, for garnish

Instructions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. In an oven-safe skillet, sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently and add the garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until onions are caramelized.
3. Move onions to the side of the pan and add chicken (season first with taco seasoning, salt, and pepper) to the pan. Move the onions so that they're surrounding the chicken. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes on one side and then flip. Add the chopped Brussels sprouts and mushrooms, then drizzle more olive oil over the vegetables and chicken. Season with salt and pepper, stirring to combine everything. Pour enchilada sauce over the whole thing.
4. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are crispy and the chicken is cooked through. (Add cheese a few minutes before serving if desired.) Garnish with chopped lettuce, raw Brussels sprouts, and diced red onion.