Kalua pork/pig is delicious and nutritious! It is traditionally an entire pig, roasted in an Imu (Hawaiian pit oven dug into the ground) that gained popularity as a Luau food at hotels in the Hawaiian Islands, but was historically a centerpiece dish, reserved for Hawaiian royalty at large feasts and celebrations. It is typically covered in banana and ti leaves. Today, we can enjoy the taste of this royal dish any time, with a pork shoulder/butt roast, roasted low and slow in your oven, or even easier, cooked in your Instant Pot.
There are many IP Kalua Pig recipes on the internet, however many of them have a long list of ingredients and additions. A good Kalua pork requires only pig, salt and liquid smoke to impart that smoky flavor that you lose when you don’t bury it in the ground. That’s it. The result of sticking to these simple ingredients is a virtually carb free, perfectly salted taste sensation.
While most folks still eat rice to accompany this dish, I don’t bother with rice anymore. Instead, stir fry some cabbage on the side, or better yet, mix the cooked pork right into your wok with the cabbage and make Kalua pig and cabbage. Then throw a fried egg on top. Delish!
Ingredients
4 lbs boneless pork shoulder/butt roast
Alaea Red Hawaiian Sea Salt
Liquid Smoke
Directions
Cut pork shoulder, untrimmed of fat, into 2 inch cubes and place in your Instant Pot.
Notice I don’t give a quantity of liquid smoke. Just sprinkle enough liquid smoke to moisten over the pork and rub it in.
Notice too that I don’t give a quantity of sea salt. Just grab a handful of salt and rub it all over the moistened pork. Rub it in there. Now grab a pinch or two more and rub it in for good measure.
Add a quarter cup of water to your Instant Pot and set it on high pressure for 40 minutes. After cycle has completed, allow pressure to release naturally.
Remove Kalua pig from Instant pot with a slotted spoon and shred with two forks. Serve!
Kalua pork keeps and freezes very well. To reheat, throw it (including it’s cold fat/juice) in a hot wok or sauté pan, stirring constantly, until heated through.
This recipe produces highly flavorful pork carnitas that don’t contain the sweet citrus fruit, thereby reducing the overall carb count. My favorite way to enjoy carnitas is inside “Keto Street Tacos”, which is simply all the ingredients of a good street taco, stuffed inside a big leaf of lettuce. Think hot sauce, diced onion, chopped cilantro, sliced jalapeño, sliced red radish, pickled cabbage and crumbled Cotija cheese. Yum.
The nutritional information provided is for the carnitas only. If you count carbs, any of your toppings should be calculated separately. Also, please not that I’ve calculated the serving size as a half pound of carnitas- that’s a lot! I think I can put down between a quarter to a third pound before I get super stuffed.
Ingredients
4 lbs boneless pork shoulder/butt, cut into 2 inch chunks
2 tbsp softened lard or avocado oil
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
½ tbsp ground coriander seed
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp Mexican oregano
½ tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp lime juice
1 cup chicken broth, sweetener free
Directions
Break down pork shoulder roast into 2 inch cubes
In a separate large bowl, combine all the spices and the lard or oil to create a spice rub/paste.
Add pork chunks to the spice rub/paste and toss to coat pork with the rub.
Add the spiced pork, chicken broth and lime juice to your Instant Pot.
Set your Instant Pot to high pressure for 40 minutes. After timer goes off, allow natural pressure release.
Remove pork from Instant Pot and place on a baking tray. Shred the pork with two forks, then pour small amount (just to moisten) of juices from the instant pot over the pork. Spread pork in an even layer and place for just five minutes in a 450 degree oven to crisp the pork. Serve immediately.
Carnitas can be made ahead and refrigerated for a few days or even frozen. If making ahead, don’t crisp the carnitas. Just pack the carnitas away with a little of the left over liquid and store them away, then crisp them when you’re ready to eat them. I’ve even crisped them on a griddle over a camp fire while in the wilderness!
Keto Sweet Cinnamon Chaffles will really satisfy that craving for cinnamon toast or french toast. A pat of grass fed butter (not included in nutritional information) make these decadent and satisfying.
Please note that the sugars listed in the nutritional information are for Allulose, which has little to no impact and therefor can be disregarded in your daily carbohydrate tracking.
Ingredients
1 large egg
43 g or 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp konjac flour/glucomannan powder
1 tbsp allulose (or other sweetener of choice)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
Mix all ingredients well in a bowl.
Pour half of the chaffle mixture into a preheated mini waffle iron such as a Dash.
Cook for 4 minutes and remove (during the cooking process, due to the konjac and baking powder, chaffles will rise significantly but will “deflate” upon removal).
Repeat cooking process with the other half of chaffle batter.
Spread butter over chaffles if desired and enjoy!
Cabbage Kimchi is a fermented nutritional powerhouse, especially for your gut biome. And it’s delicious, from the first bite to the funky last.
Eat kimchi straight after day 3 or as it ages, add it to recipes such as Keto Kimchi Cauliflower Fried “Rice” or Korean Sunduboo (silken tofu stew).
Rice flour isn’t Keto, it’s true. But it is necessary for the fermentation process to occur, which eats the starches and reduces carb content. The nutritional information provided is before the carb content is naturally reduced, as there is no way to judge how much is removed. But even before factoring the fermentation process, this recipe is a low-carb, gut friendly, anti-inflammatory treat.
Ingredients
6 lbs Napa (Chinese) cabbage
1 cup Sea salt (I use a course grind red Hawaiian sea salt. Use any course grind sea salt however.)
8 Scallions, cut into half inch long pieces
1 lb Mu (Korean radish) or Daikon (Japanese radish), peeled and cut into matchstick pieces
1 tbsp rice flour
½ cup Gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes) coarse ground
4 tbsp Fish sauce
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
½ cup Water
Directions
Dissolve half the salt (1/2 cup) in about 2 quarts water in a large bowl or pot.
Cut the cabbage(s) in quarters lengthwise and wash them in the salt water solution you’ve just made.
Shake the excess water from the cabbage, then cut the cabbage into 2 inch pieces. Discard the core.
Once well drained, discard the salt water and place the cut cabbage in the bowl/pot. Sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of salt and mix it through with your hands. Allow to sit, uncovered for 4 hours (over time cabbage will release all it’s water).
Once the cabbage has soaked, place in a colander and rinse very well, at least twice. Allow to drain completely.
Place Mochiko flour in a small sauce pan with 1/2 c. of water. Stir to dissolve and place under low heat. remove from heat when a thin paste has formed and allow to cool.
Add gochugaru, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and water to the rice paste and mix well.
Now put on some rubber gloves. It’s best if they’re elbow length, like kitchen gloves.
Transfer paste to a very large bowl or pot and add to it the daikon and scallions. Mix well. After those ingredients are well incorporated, also add your well drained cabbage. Mix it all together by hand. Really get in there!
Transfer everything in the bowl, including excess liquid into a gallon size jar with an airtight lid or better yet, fermenting lid.
Place your new kimchi on the counter for two to three days, then transfer to your fridge. Kimchi will keep in the fridge for several weeks.
A Keto, low carb, kid friendly, grain free, dairy free, sugar free chicken nugget you can make in your air fryer in just 10 minutes.
Although this recipe makes 2 servings, I typically eat the whole thing to meet my macros.
Ingredients
6 oz Boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Large egg
2 oz Pork Panko
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Ground black pepper
½ tsp Granulated garlic
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions
Cut 6 to 7 oz. chicken breast into 1 inch chunks.
Beat the egg in a bowl and toss in the cut chicken pieces, turning them in the egg mixture to coat.
2 oz. of Pork Panko is a cup. Put the Pork Panko in another bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and stir with a fork to incorporate well.
Remove one piece of cut chicken from the egg mixture at a time and dredge it through the Pork Panko mixture to coat. Repeat until all chicken pieces are coated.
Place in a single layer in your air fryer basket. Fry for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
