Fish Friday - Chili Lime Shrimp

Happy Fish Friday everyone! Todays recipe is an awesome shrimp with chili lime sauce (serves 4).

Ingredients:

2 Serrano chilis, seeded & chopped
1 chopped garlic clove
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp coconut sugar
1 tsp salt
1lb shrimp
8 oz arugula
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Add chills & garlic to blender with lime juice, coconut sugar & salt.  Blend until smooth.
2. Preheat grill pan.
3. Rub chili mixture onto shrimp and place on heated grill pan.  Cook until pink (about 3 minutes per side.)
4. Place arugula on plates & put cooked shrimp on top.  Drizzle with extra chili mixture and top with Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Fish Friday - Baked Trout

Just a few more Fridays and Fish Friday recipes left in Lent.  Today I am featuring Baked Trout.

Ingredients:

12 oz. raw, cleaned, cut open lengthwise trout

sea salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1 chopped medium tomato

1/2 chopped medium onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

6 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp. olive oil

1 sliced medium onion

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Season inside of trout with salt & pepper & set aside.

3. Combine tomato, onion, garlic & basil in a bowl & mix well.

4. Place trout on a large piece of foil & fill the inside of the trout with the tomato mixture.

5. Drizzle with oil & top with lemon slices.  Seal foil tightly & place on baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through.  Increase temperature to broil.

7. Open foil & expose fish & broil for 2-3 minutes until skin is crisp.

8. Discard lemon slices & enjoy.

Fish Friday - Sicilian Swordfish

Happy Fish Friday everyone!  Here is another recipe for you to try during Lent.

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

1/3 cup dark or golden raisins
5 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups ripe roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup black olives, chopped or whole (I prefer whole)
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
2 Tbsp. capers, rinsed
6 (1" thick) swordfish steaks with skin (2 lbs.)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Put raisins in a bowl and cover with lukewarm water.  Soak 30 minutes.  Drain.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Grease a 9X13 glass baking dish.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook onion & garlic, stirring until tender (5 minutes.) Stir in raisins, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts & capers and simmer.  Cook, covered, until slightly thickened (10 minutes.)
5. Sprinkle fish with salt & pepper and arrange in baking dish.  Cover with sauce and bake until a paring knife pierces fish with no resistance and fish is cooked through (20-25 minutes.)
6. Remove skin if desired and serve 1 steak on each plate with a spoon of sauce.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Information:

346 Calories
19.7g Fat (3.3g Sat.)
31g Protein
10.5g Carbohydrates

Fish Friday - Sesame-Glazed Salmon

Salmon is one of my favorite meals to eat!  Here is a simple yet delicious meal.

Ingredients: (makes 4 servings)

Salmon:

Olive oil spray
2 (6-oz) salmon fillets
1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. dried chili flakes
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh Thai basil


Green beans:

1 lb. trimmed green beans
4 tsp. fresh dill chopped
1 Tbsp. shallot minced
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. whole grain mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Directions Salmon:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a tray with foil and spray with olive oil.  Put salmon skin side down on tray.
2. In a bowl, mix mustard, agave, vinegar, chili flakes, sesame oil and basil.  Pour on salmon.  Bake for 10 minutes or until salmon reaches 160 degrees internally.

Directions Green Beans:

1. In a saute pan, bring 1" of water to a boil.  Add green beans and cover. Cook until crisp (2-3 minutes.) Remove from heat and keep warm.
2. In a bowl, whisk together dill, shallots, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper.  Add the green beans and toss to coat.  Cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Serve with salmon.


Calories:  599
Protein:  63g
Carbs: 27g
Fat: 27g

Giving up Sweets for Lent??

Sugar detox - real or imagined?  I can tell you from personal experience it is very real.  And quite painful.  Sugar detox and the severity of withdrawal symptoms are influenced by several things:  sensitivity to sugar, quantity consumed, how long you have been consuming sugar and how you stop (tapering off versus cold turkey.)

If you chose sugary treats as what you gave up for lent, you will be giving this up cold turkey and may experience more severe symptoms.  If however you simply want to cut sugar from your diet, it may be best to gradually lower sugar intake, which should lessen your withdrawal symptoms.

Common symptoms include fatigue, anxiety & irritability, depression, rapid heart rate, dizziness, headaches and poor sleep.  You may also experience flu-like symptoms.  The length of symptoms varies from a few days to a few weeks.  The most common symptom seems to be increased cravings for sugar or carbohydrates in general.

There are a few nutrients that help reduce the symptoms of withdrawal and sugar cravings.  These include B-vitamins, vitamin C, zinc, chromium and L-glutamine.  Chromium helps insulin work more efficiently by removing sugar from the blood and L-glutamine can be used as a fuel source and also helps reduce cravings.

When I cut sugar from  my diet, I personally experienced intense cravings, headache and flu-like symptoms for about a week.  The third day was the peak and then it decreased after that.  On the third day my headache was so extreme I could barely function.  Sincerely.  Now take into account that I was a 6+ a day Dr. Pepper drinker among other things.

Since eliminating refined sugar from my diet I do find I have a sensitivity to it now.  When I eat it, as in dessert for instance, if I eat more than half the serving I become physically sick at my stomach.  Therefore when I do have a treat meal that involves sugar, I make sure it is a very small amount.

I have had nothing but positive results since eliminating refined sugar.  My energy level is higher, my mood is happier, my skin and hair is shinier and healthier.  I also do not have swelling in my face as I did before.

In my opinion, if your goal is to begin a clean eating plan, elimination of sugar is the place to start.  And if you gave this up for Lent, you are well on your way!

Cheers!

Fish Friday - Shrimp Tacos With Chipotle

In honor of Lent and fish Fridays, I will be featuring a fish recipe each week!  This week it will be Shrimp Tacos With Chipotle.


Ingredients (Serves 6):

12 corn tortillas
6 oz turkey bacon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 lbs. raw large shrimp, peeled & deveined & cut in half lengthwise
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
2 Tbsp. adobo sauce
2 limes cut into wedges
Lettuce, Onion, Cilantro for garnish as desired

1. Cook bacon until brown and remove from pan.
2. Add olive oil to pan, let warm up.
3. Add onion and cook until translucent (4-5 minutes.)
4. Add shrimp and cook until pink (about 3-4 minutes.)
5. Add turkey bacon back in, with chipotle peppers and adobo sauce.
6. Heat until warm.
7. Warm corn tortillas in a pan, microwave or over the burner.
8.  Fill tortillas with shrimp mixture and serve with lime wedges and lettuce/onion/cilantro as desired.

Nutritional Information:

Per 2 Taco Serving:

357 Calories
9.5g Fat (2.5g sat)
33g Protein
35g Carb
3.6g Fiber
378 mg Sodium