These Whole30 Pork and Pineapple Bowls with Plantains, fluffy Coconut Cauliflower Rice and a smooth and creamy Avocado Lime Mousse is a taste of the tropics and such a delicious Whole30 dinner. Your whole family will love this healthy, easy Whole30 recipe.
It is my pleasure to introduce Michelle of Thriving on Paleo to you. On her inspiring paleo blog, she shares exciting healthy recipes to make sure you don’t get bored with the paleo diet. Following a strict Paleo diet completely turned her life around and she confesses that she actually feels better at 40 than she did at 25. I mean, no wonder – look at her delicious healthy food! If these Pork & Pineapple Bowls don’t scream rejuvenation! So stoked to have her as a guest – even though these bowls will be on my mind all day now. – Cheryl
I’ll let you in on a secret… I was bored AF with eating Paleo earlier this year.
I’d been doing it for YEARS, but if I saw another “meat and one veg on a plate” kind of meal I was going to stab myself in the eyes with my fork.
Not that there is anything wrong with a meat and one veg on the plate kind of meal. It’s just… well… boring.
I’d have given up completely on this Paleo thing except for the nagging detail that I have two autoimmune diseases and Paleo makes me feel my absolute best. And in fact, I TRIED to give up on Paleo this winter but when the worst autoimmune flare I’ve had in years got me down, I got back on the wagon.
This time though, I had found this beautiful site and the delicious-looking recipes to turn to. I was once again inspired and motivated to continue. Between Cheryl and following some creative Vegan bloggers, I also learned the art of the BOWL.
Ah, the bowl. It’s such an amazing thing. You can add 1 thing or 47 things to your bowl, and each thing changes the taste and texture so you hardly end up with the same thing over and over again. Sauces, fruits, a few different vegetables – you name it, you can put it in a bowl.
Plus it makes life so much easier – have 2 lbs of chicken already cooked? Add a different sauce and a different vegetable each time and you suddenly have a completely new dish.
I love bowls for leftovers too. I’ve made some pretty interesting leftover bowls and I still haven’t found one I don’t love.
Ok, I know some of you don’t like your food touching. A simple solution to this – put your bowl on a plate and spread everything out. Still the same concept.
Anyway, onto the bowl that I have eaten like 700 times in the last 2 months. Seriously, I don’t think that’s an exaggeration because my family is starting to roll their eyes when I tell them we’re having this. But yet they eat every single bite and go back for more, so I know they love it.
This Whole30 Pork and Pineapple Bowl recipe uses the Instant Pot Pork Carnitas here on 40 Aprons.
(She’s also got a slow cooker version you can just put on before you leave the house for the day, and then everything else whips up pretty quickly )
Whole30 Pork and Pineapple Bowls with Plantains, Coconut Cauliflower Rice, and Avocado Lime Mousse
These Whole30 Pork and Pineapple Bowls with Plantains, fluffy Coconut Cauliflower Rice and a smooth and creamy Avocado Lime Mousse is a taste of the tropics and such a delicious Whole30 dinner. Your whole family will love this healthy, easy Whole30 recipe.
Ingredients
- Mixed greens
- 2 cups carnitas
- ½ Fresh Pineapple peeled & chopped or 1 13.5 oz Can Diced Pineapple, drained
For the Plantains:
- 2 tbs Avocado Oil
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 Yellow Plantains
For the Coconut Cauliflower Rice:
- 1 medium/large head Cauliflower
- 1 tbs Coconut
- OIl
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tbs Ghee or Coconut Oil
- 6 tbs Coconut Milk
- 1 tbs Cilantro minced
For the Avocado Lime Mousse:
- 2 Avocados
- 1 tbs Lime Juice approx 1 lime
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
Toppings:
- Sliced Radishes
- Chopped Cilantro
- Lime Wedges
Instructions
For the plantains:
- Preheat your oven to 425 F. Remove the peel from the plantains and slice into ½ inch slices. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with the avocado oil and sea salt. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping the plantains once halfway through.
Coconut Cauliflower Rice
If you bought prericed cauliflower, skip this step. Cut the cauliflower into small parts and remove the leafy outside. Put the shredder blade in your food processor and then feed the cauliflower down through the top chute while the machine is on to create the cauliflower rice.
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the cooking oil and let get warm. Add the cauliflower rice and salt and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ghee/coconut oil, let melt, then mix in. Add the coconut milk and cilantro and mix in.
For the Avocado Lime Mousse:
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or a bowl with an immersion blender.
Assemble your Whole30 Pork and Pineapple Bowls:
- Place a layer of mixed greens on the bottom of the bowl. Spoon a layer of coconut cauliflower rice over the greens. Place a serving of carnitas into one corner of the bowl. Add ¼ of the plantains next to the carnitas and then the 1/4 of the pineapple pieces on the other side. Spoon a heaping serving of the avocado lime mousse next to the plantains. Garnish with the sliced radishes, cilantro, and lime wedges. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
I actually made a version of this while I was on Autoimmune Paleo (AIP diet), so if you're interested in doing that as well, just skip the cumin, chile pepper, and black pepper in the carnitas recipe. They still come out amazing.
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