Coconut Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle- Phase 3

These are super fast and easy to make. It is also a small batch, I made mine in my small Ninja chopper. You can have cookies for your snacks all through phase 3- just add a veggie on the side. They are soft and coconutty and delicious.

You will have extra Drizzle left over. This is nothing to be sad about- make another batch of cookies or just eat it with a spoon from the jar. Just count it as a healthy fat. 

Coconut Cookies
Phase 3
Makes 8 servings healthy fat

(there are no substitutions for these ingredients. If you make a swap, they may not turn out)

1 ¼ cups unsweetened coconut shreds
2 T coconut flour
3 T unrefined coconut oil, solid or slightly softened but still solid
¼ cup xylitol or stevia/pure monk fruit equivalent

tiny pinch of sea salt

3 T cold water

1 whole egg




Chocolate Drizzle (Hot Fudge)

3T Hershey’s regular cocoa powder or raw cacao
3T Vegan Butter (recipe here on my blog) 
3T xylitol or stevia/pure monk fruit equivalent

5T unsweetened almond milk or boxed coconut milk or cashew milk


Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


If your coconut is larger flakes, add it to a food processor and pulse a few times to chop it into tiny pieces- but do not whiz up to a flour type consistency. Add the remaining ingredients and blend just until it comes together. It will be thick and sticky. If the dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of cold water and pulse, adding as much as you need to get a sticky dough

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop firmly packed balls of coconut mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to space balls evenly apart. Using the palm of your hand, flatten cookies to 1/3” thickness, or you can leave in the ball shape. 

Bake for 15 mins, until a darker golden around the edges and very golden on top, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes. 

Add the Chocolate Drizzle ingredients to a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir and warm just until xylitol is melted and mixture is smooth. Taste and add more sweetener if you like. The Drizzle should be thin enough to drizzle, but it will thicken once cooled. This is also a hot fudge that you can put on coconut milk ice cream, or dip cherries in, or pour over pancakes. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. 

Allow the Drizzle to cool before drizzling. 

Place the cooled cookies on a plate and drizzle The Drizzle as you see fit (fo shizzle). 

Sweet Chipotle Vinaigrette- Phase 3

This is an FMD friendly version of Chipotle's famous Vinaigrette.

Chipotle peppers are jalapenos that are allowed to turn red on the plant. Chipotles in Adobo is used in a lot of Mexican style dishes- they are simply smoked red jalapenos in a sauce. But this sauce always has sugar in it.

In Maintenance, use these canned chipotle peppers and a little of the sauce in this recipe- about 1 pepper and a tsp of the adobo sauce. But when you are actively working on weight loss- just use chipotle powder. This is not chili powder- that is a whole different pepper.  

Sweet Chipotle Vinaigrette
Phase 3

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2.5T xylitol or stevia equivalent
1 T chipotle powder
2 tsp sea salt
2 T water
1/2 tsp pepper

Blend everything in a blender, then slowly add 1/2 cup grapeseed oil while the blender is running. This will emulsify the dressing. Taste and add more chipotle powder if you want, or sweetener. Pour into a jar, add 1/2 tsp dried oregano and shake to mix. Allow the dressing to sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving. 

Seven Layer Dip- Phase 3 (can be made vegan)

7 Layer Dip
Phase 3
Makes 8 standard servings of healthy fat and protein


Meat layer:
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 tsp chili powder
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp each sea salt and black pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp cayenne (optional)
½ small onion, diced
½ jalapeno, diced

Bean layer:
2 cups cooked pinto beans (use 4 cups to make vegan)
2 T olive oil
¼ tsp salt and pepper
¼ cup chicken broth or veggie broth
¼ tsp garlic powder


Cheese layer:
½ cup vegan cream cheese
Juice of half a lime
¼ tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder


Guacamole layer:
2 ripe avocados
1-2 Roma tomatoes
1 lime
¼ cup cilantro, washed and chopped
Pinch of sea salt
¼ purple onion



Salsa layer:
3 Roma tomatoes
½ purple onion
½ jalapeno
1 lime
¼ cup cilantro
¼ tsp salt

½ cup black olives, chopped

½ cup green onions, thinly sliced

3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tsp olive oil

Thinly slice the sweet potatoes, using a mandolin if you have one. Place into a large bowl and drizzle the 2 tsp olive oil. Toss or stir to coat the slices. Place in a single layer on rack for an air fryer or toaster oven, or on parchment lined baking sheet for oven. Cook at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes until crisp. Cool and set aside.

In a skillet heated to medium high, brown the ground beef and onion. Add the spices for the Meat layer and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In another skillet, heat the oil from the Bean layer and add the cooked beans, warm through and mash to the consistency you like. Add spices and if they are too thick, use the broth to thin. Set aside to cool.

For the cheese layer- add the spices to the vegan cream cheese in a bowl and stir. If your vegan cream cheese is too thick, add a bit of almond milk.

For the Guacamole layer, either chop everything and mix, or put it all in a food processor and pulse to get the consistency you like. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

For the Salsa layer- chuck it all into a food processor and pulse. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To assemble: In an oblong baking dish- add the meat layer to the bottom, spread evenly. Add beans on top and spread. Then add the Cheese – you may need to scrape the cheese mixture into a zip top bag, squeeze it all to one corner. Cut the corner of the bag with scissors and pipe the mixture over the beans.

Add the guacamole, then the salsa. Top with olives then green onions. Serve with sweet potato chips to scoop.

Citrus Punch Smoothie- Phase 2

Citrus Punch Smoothie
Phase 2
Makes 1 serving

Add egg whites if you wish, or eat your favorite Phase 2 protein on the side.

Zest of 1/2 lemon and zest of 1/2 lime
1/8 tsp orange zest
1 Peeled lemon
1 Peeled lime
1-2 T xylitol or to taste
2 cups spinach or baby kale
½ cup water or enough to blend
1-2 cups ice- or your preference

Blend everything together

Tomato Free Pasta Sauce- Phase 1 (Vegan)

Tomato Free Pasta Sauce

Phase 1 (Vegan)

3 medium celery stalks
3 medium carrots, peeled
2 medium zucchinis
1 small beet
1 small-medium turnip, peeled
2 cups of bone or vegetable broth (or more as needed)
7–10 fresh basil leaves
1 tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder (omit if unable to tolerate)
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, or more to your taste
1 tsp of salt to add to sauce, plus a little more to season vegetables while cooking
pepper to taste



Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prep vegetables: Peel the carrots and turnip. Cut the leafy tops close to the top of the beet, and trim the ends off of the zucchini, celery, carrots and turnip. Cut vegetables (except beet) into two-inch chunks.  Do not peel the beet before roasting, we will peel it later. 

Spread the cut up zucchini, carrots, celery, turnip and out onto a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper, then cover using foil.

Wash the beet using a vegetable brush, then pat dry. Place on a square of foil, and pull sides up together at the top, pinching right above the beet. 

Place vegetables in preheated oven and cook until they are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork. Stir the carrots, zucchini, celery, and turnip occasionally while cooking.

Once the beet is done cooking, let it cool slightly. Submerge it in a bowl of cold water and peel off the outer layer. Cut it in quarters and place into a blender or food processor.

Add the remaining cooked vegetables, broth, and fresh basil to the blender. Process until you have a smooth consistency. Add the blended liquid to a saucepan along with the oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cook on medium-low for 4-5 minutes while stirring. Add more broth as needed for a thinner consistency.

Remove from heat and serve with pasta or use as tomato/marinara sauce replacement.

You can freeze leftovers.