Garlicky Shrimp

If you're trying to cook more meals at home, here's a simple and quick one to try: Garlicky Shrimp & Rice. I ran across it in Parents Magazine and tried it that same night.

Some of you may already make something similar, but for those that need an actual recipe (like me) here it is!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup basmati rice (I had none in the house, so I used brown rice)
• 2 tsp. minced garlic, divided
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted vegetable stock (I used water and a little salt - and the amount needed to cook the rice per directions)
• 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Make it:
1. In a medium saucepan melt 1/2 Tbs. butter. Add rice and 1 tsp. garlic; cook and stir one minute. Add stock, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 tsp. salt, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Stir in peas and lemon zest.

2. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add shrimp and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook until opaque, 5 minutes. Stir in 1 Tbs. lemon juice and 1/2 Tbs. butter. Cook 1 minute more and serve with rice.

Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Makes 4 servings

I made this a day ahead, refrigerated it and reheated with a little water on our camping trip!


Action Item: Add this to your week-night meal planning. It's quick, easy and nutritious.

For Further Reading: Try other recipes from Parents Magazine. We find some of the recipes a little bland, but sometimes we find a keeper!

So Good, So Good

I've been watching a lot of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but "so good, so good" really fits this recipe. It's actually delicious and has the ability to be as spicy or mild as you'd like.

Vegetarian Korma from www.allrecipes.com

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1 small onion, diced                                          
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 4 carrots, cubed                                                
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced
• 3 tablespoons ground unsalted cashews
• 1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt                                                   
• 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until tender. Mix in ginger and garlic, and continue cooking 1 minute. Mix potatoes, carrots, jalapeno, cashews, and tomato sauce. Season with salt and curry powder. Cook and stir 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
2. Stir peas, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and cream into the skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Ground cashews? I thought that would be too much like flour, so I chopped them quite a bit. I think the dish would be good with larger cashew pieces as well. 

I felt like such a chef making this meal. Wasn't it beautiful while adding the ingredients? :)

Did I mention that this is so good? I used way less salt than called for, yellow peppers since I had those in the house, and based on some of the reviews I used coconut milk instead of heavy cream. I added the coconut milk in step 1 (another recommendation in the reviews) to help the potatoes cook. Ten minutes is not nearly long enough for that. I didn't have fresh cilantro either, but I served the meal with whole-wheat naan bread and brown rice. Yum. My son and I both really enjoyed this. The sad part is that Ron is out of town and not even here to be official taste tester! We have plenty of leftovers, so maybe he can have some tonight when he returns. The nutritional information on the allrecipes page shows tons of sodium, but mine is pretty low. Check your tomato sauce and also your frozen peas. Yes, sometimes, salt is added to frozen veggies! Good ingredients make a recipe good.

Here's the tomato sauce I use. If you don't mash your own tomatoes, this is the next best thing!

Action Item: I think I've said this before, but try allrecipes.com if you haven't already. I found this recipe using the "search by ingredient" option. I had yellow bell peppers and potatoes in the house that needed to be used, so I searched just with those two ingredients.

For Further Reading: I like to use Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder, but you can make your own if you don't have a favorite. Lots of recipes are out there, here's one to try.

(Patsy, if you've read this far... is this similar to the curry dish you made us long ago? It was one of Ron's favorites!)

Crunchy, (lightly) Salted Snacks

Sometimes I want a salty crunchy snack that's not crackers, which is usually my go-to. Here are some options that we really enjoy:

Simple Roasted Chickpeas - this is a recipe from allrecipes.com (be sure to read the reviews for helpful hints)

Bhuja Crunchy Seasoned Peas - first received these from my Mom, and now we order them online. Whole Foods and Sprouts stores carry this brand, but not the peas. (Our son adores these. He woke up one morning asking for freshly squeezed orange juice and peas for breakfast!)

Both of these snacks taste great while providing you with enough protein and fiber to satisfy your hunger and fuel your body. Here's another recipe for chickpeas that I ran across in eat well Lose Weight magazine but haven't tried yet:

Barbecue Spice Roasted Chickpeas
Prep: 5 minutes   Roast: 30 minutes
Oven: 450 degrees F

2 15-oz cans no-salt added garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon barbecue spice
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium bowl combine garbanzo beans, oil, barbecue spice, paprika, chili powder, garlic salt, celery salt, and onion powder. Spread in an even layer in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Roast about 30 minutes or until browned and crisp, stirring once halfway through roasting. Cool completely. Makes 12 servings (¼ cup each).
Nutritional info per serving: 101 calories, 5g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0mg cholesterol, 122 mg sodium, 10g carbs, 0g sugar, 3 g fiber, 4g protein.

You can substitute with different spices in order to use less salt, use a different oil, or substitute peas for chickpeas; these recipes can be a good starting point to find just the right recipe that works for you and fits your dietary needs. Or, better yet, search online for more. Your likely to find the right fit! Crunchy peas and chickpeas can also be a great addition to your salads.


Action Item: Rethink your crunchy, (lightly) salted snacks! Can you make better choices?*

For further reading: Benefits of Chickpeas and The Protein in Chickpeas


* The recommendation for sodium intake is less than 2,300 mg/day for adults. This equals about one teaspoon of table salt. Most people consume far too much sodium through processed foods and table salt, therefore, this recommendation is set at an upper limit. Special populations including those diagnosed with high blood pressure or at risk for high blood pressure should limit sodium consumption to 1,500 mg/day. The minimum requirement of sodium for normal body function is about 500 mg/day.

Shrimp Curry

I'm going to share my first recipe. I picked this one not because it's the healthiest, the easiest or our favorite, but because it's a good example of how recipes can be adjusted and still work!

4 Tbsp butter (yes, butter, but we all use it sometime... maybe coconut oil next time?? I use unsalted butter too)
4 Tbsp flour (I use whole wheat flour)
4 tsp curry powder (heaping teaspoons and our favorite is Madras)
2 cups milk (I use SKIM milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I often use Lite Salt*)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ginger, ground
1lb shrimp, cooked
5 cups cooked rice (I use brown rice)

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and flour and curry powder. Cook and stir one minute. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened (yes it will thicken even with skim milk). Add salt, pepper and ginger. Fold in shrimp and heat thoroughly. Serve on rice.

There you go. Easy and with some substitutions that make it a little better for you! I good addition or substitution is peas; they taste great with curry in my opinion. A cup of peas has less than 100 calories but lots of protein, fiber and micronutrients.

*Lite Salt... something I haven't done much research on. I guess I could just use less regular salt. It's on my list to investigate. I bought Lite Salt for popcorn since someone in our family struggles a little with keeping blood pressure low.

Action item: Go through a favorite recipe and see where you can make a change for a healthier meal.

Further reading: Wild vs Farmed Fish