Paleo Asian Lettuce Wraps

Another Instagram post, another recipe. I love scrolling through all of the delicious dinner posts I see on Instagram and I've been posting our dinners on my stories more. I seriously get so many questions when I post pictures of our dinners so why not post them here with the recipes included!

These Asian Lettuce Wraps are from 2011 and were a favorite staple dinner in our Illinois kitchen. I loved the PF Changs version so much that I found a copycat recipe online years ago and always found myself wanting to make them. They are easy, fairly healthy and full of flavor. The addition of Hoisin sauce adds wonderful flavor but unfortunately, lots of added sugar and sodium. 

Several years ago, I cleaned up my lettuce wrap recipe for what I'm posting here. Lean turkey, lots of veggies and coconut aminos make this a wonderful Paleo and Whole30 alternative! Ground chicken and lean beef work equally as well with this recipe- I used good quality ground turkey this week and it was delicious. You can also add whatever veggies you have on hand! We love the combo of onions, carrots, mushrooms and water chestnuts. Iceburg lettuce used to be my go-to for the wraps but lately I've been buying Boston bibb and it works so much better! If you want that slightly nutty flavor that you miss without the Hoisin sauce, a Tablespoon or two of almond butter in here gives it just that! 

These are delicious on their own, or served with an asian cucumber salad on the side! Just toss the cukes with some coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds (another PF Changs recipe replica!)

Enjoy!

Paleo Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 can chopped water chestnuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup coconut aminos 
Olive Oil
Bibb lettuce, for serving

Coat the bottom of a large skillet/saute pan with a few swirls of olive oil and place on medium heat.

Add garlic, onions, carrots and ground ginger and saute until the vegetables start to get soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Adding the ground ginger early on allows for the flavor to get nice and toasted and really amplifies it! Add mushrooms and cook for an addition 5 minutes. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper and transfer cooked vegetables to another bowl. 

Keep heat at medium and add ground turkey. Break up the turkey as it cooks. Once meat is cooked through, add the vegetables back in and add the can of water chestnuts. Add coconut aminos and toss it all together. 

Remove from burner and serve in lettuce cups! 

Cajun Shrimp and Guac Lettuce Wraps

Shrimp gets neglected in our dinner rotation but when it does make its way onto our menu, I fall in love all over again. It's both chic and easy and really one of those things you can whip up as a main course with just about anything you have on hand. I like to grab the frozen bags of peel and eat shrimp when they are on sale at my grocery store so that I always have a bag of little shrimpies on hand. Just run them under warmish water in a colander and they are thawed and ready for peeling, cooking and eating.

Y'all know we love wrapping things in lettuce around here. Add this recipe to your under an hour list! It's fresh, light and super healthy, too.

Cajun Shrimp and Guac Lettuce Wraps

For the shrimp:

1 lb. shrimp, peeled

3 cloves garlic, minced

Emeril's Essence for sprinkling (or any other Creole seasoning)

Cumin

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a small bowl, add the shrimp and a quick pour of olive oil. Add a few shakes of Emeril's and cumin and stir to combine and coat the shrimp. In a saute pan over medium heat, drizzle two turns of the pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Heat garlic and oil until the garlic is cooked and fragrant. Add the seasoned shrimp, and cook until pink.

Guacamole: (I learned this one by watching my Dad!)

2 large avocados

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Handful fresh cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, chopped

1 tsp. olive oil

Juice from 1 fresh lime

Salt, pepper & cumin to season

Mash avocados with a fork and place in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients, mix and enjoy.

A good tip for green guac: To keep the guacamole a nice green color, save an avocado pit and place in the bowl with the guacamole.

Bibb lettuce works best for lettuce wraps, but Romaine works well, too. We wrapped our lettuce with the shrimp, guacamole, yellow bell peppers, roasted red peppers and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This might be the most simple recipe I have made to date! We love to wrap things in lettuce around here and I have no clue why I didn't think of Buffalo chicken sooner. It was a perfect mid-week dinner that took hardly any time to whip up and is bikini season friendly. Who doesn't love a healthy alternative to a bar menu favorite? The leftover chicken was the perfect protein addition to my lunch salad the following day. I loaded up some mixed baby greens with lots of fresh veggies, buffalo chicken and a quick vinaigrette.

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. chicken tenderloins

Grill seasoning

Olive oil

Boston bibb lettuce

3-4 green onions, chopped

Crumbled blue cheese

Frank's Red Hot

Splash of Worcesterschire sauce

Mix chicken tenderloins in a bowl with some olive oil and grill seasoning. Cook in a grill pan. Cut up cooked chicken and mix together with hot sauce and a splash of Worcesterschire. Serve the buffalo chicken in lettuce cups and top with scallions and blue cheese crumbles.