Shrimp has been a favorite of mine for years, partially because it's so low in fat and partially because it doesn't get much easier to cook. I eat it far less in the winter, although I don't know why because you'll see here I prepared this meal on the stove.

 

The weather yesterday was questionable, and while it ended up turning into a beautiful summer night, the afternoon rain made me play it safe and cook indoors (rest assured we still ate on the patio!).

 

Shrimp is one of those foods that's so easy to add flavor to. I chose to wrap it in turkey bacon (because who doesn't love bacon?!). I should include in here that if you haven't tried turkey bacon before, I do not suggest starting by trying the Jennie-O version. Not only does it look just weird, it's texture is weird too. A lot of brands make great turkey bacon, and I buy the precooked variety in our local grocery label (Roundy's) just to save on time. It's a fraction of the price and you really can barely tell the difference from regular bacon. Just promise me you won't test turkey bacon for the very first time with the Jennie-O brand, ok? Thanks!

 

I tend to pair shrimp with a light salad made of arugula, mostly becuase I think the peppery flavor of the leaf offsets the garlic/salty flavor provided from the turkey bacon and seasoned shrimp. Not to mention the flavor of arugula doesn't require much in terms of dressing, making everything just that much healthier (yay!).

 

The other side dish pictured above is couscous. While I personally love quinoa, Husby does not, so I had to search out some other starchy side (because we love our starches), that provided more benefits than things like rice.

 

Couscous is kind of a hidden little gem. When purchased PLAIN (this is key to avoid all the extra sodium in prepackaged "5-minute prep" varieties, couscous will never sell you short in terms of nutrition. In fact, it's one of the healthiest grain-based products around. Its glycaemic load for every grain is 25% lower than pasta. Not only that, but it's also known to contain twice the niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and folic acid. And don't even get me started on the protein content and the fact that it only has a 1% ratio of fat to calorie (I dare you to find that in rice and pasta!).

 

Ok, but let's be real, eating couscous completely plain is a little boring. To help with that, I'll add maybe a teaspon of olive oil to the boiling water, and when it's done I'll stir in some freshly shredded Parmesan cheese. Not a lot, just enough to make it really yummy.

 

Alright, alright, I've rambled enough. Here's the recipe folks!

 

 

Day 3: Shrimp & Arugula.

 

INGREDIENTS

Raw jumbo shrimp (13-15 per pound; see Tip), deshelled & deveined

Arugula (picture above is 2 cups lightly packed per serving)

Precooked turkey bacon

1 tsp minced garlic (1 garlic clove)

Red onion, sliced thin, chopped into 1" long pieces

Parmesan cheese, shaved

Lemon Juice

Olive Oil

Couscous

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil water and 1 tsp olive olive to make couscous as explained above.

2. Meanwhile, whisk equal parts olive oil & lemon juice (I use 1 Tbsp each for 4 c arugula), garlic & 1/8 tsp pepper in bowl. Add arugula and toss to coat. Set aside or refrigerate.

3. Wrap 1 piece of turkey bacon around each shrimp.

4. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp in single layer and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes.

5. Plate everything and serve!

 

TIPS

Shrimp is usually sold by the number needed to make one pounr. For example, "21-25 count" means there will be 21 to 25 shrimp in a pound. Size names like large or extra large are not standardized, so to get the size you want, order by the count per pound.