Nutrition

A Bag of Frozen Shrimp and A Light Lunch

For any busy person making lunch in the middle of the day can be an almost impossible task. This is one of my favorite "quickies". I don't really measure, I just put ingredients in a bowl until it looks right. For Zoners measure for desired blocks.

Shrimp Avocado Salad
Cooked Shrimp
1 Avocado
2-3 seeded Roma tomatoes
Fresh Cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

I use a bag of frozen cooked shrimp from just about any grocery store.  Thaw the shrimp and remove tails if needed. Chop the tomatoes and avocado. In a small bowl squeeze the halved lime and add equal amount of olive oil. Snip cilantro into dressing along with the salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and enjoy! You can place the salad over a bed of mixed greens if you  like. 
Make only as much as you will eat as this salad will not keep well. If you are preparing the recipe to take with you to work then squirt the chopped avocado with lime juice and store in a separate container. Place the shrimp and tomatoes in the same container but drain the excess tomato juice before mixing with the avocado and dressing.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti?

Any Paleo/Primal eater knows that pasta is a no-no. I have found that since giving it up I've really not missed it. On occasion though, I do crave spaghetti sauce! Spaghetti Squash is named so for a reason. After being cooked the meat of the vegetable is scraped out and it resembles strands of spaghetti. I can be a great alternative to noodles as a conduit for your favorite (paleo/primal) sauces. When buying look for squash that is heavy for it's size. Most grocery store spagehetti squashes are orange to pale yellow in color. The more orange the color the more sweet the squash.

My squash was slightly orange and had a mild sweet flavor. I paired it with a store bought spaghetti sauce. I felt that the squash was a bit too sweet but I still enjoyed it. The next morning I pulled out the left overs and had it with a strip of bacon. Now that was amazing! The pairing of the lightly sweet squash and the saltiness of the bacon worked beautifully. I added nothing else to it. I think that in the future if I want to use a red sauce (that usually tend to be a bit sweet because of the tomato base) I'll look around for a more pale squash.

Basic Spaghetti Recipe
Baked: Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Whole-Pierce the fruit several times with a long fork or skewer. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for one hour. Squash is done when an inserted fork meets little resistance. To reduce baking time, cut in half longwise, place cut side down and bake for approx. 30 mins.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10-20 mins. Cut in half long wise. Scoop out the seeds like a pumpkin. Using a fork scrape all the flesh away from the skin. Getting as close to the skin as possible.

I will be experimenting further in the near future. For now try this recipe

Spaghetti Squash and Bacon
One cooked and prepared spaghetti squash using above recipe.
A few strips of crispy bacon
2 Tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkle of parsley

In a skillet heat the olive oil, add the squash and bacon bits. Toss until heated through. Sprinkle with a bit of parsley.

Enjoy!

Zone, Recipes

Chicken Is Good!

There are things in life that are easy and enjoyable.Chicken salad is one of those things! I could probably eat chicken salad everyday for a week. Just so long as I change it a bit so I'm not too bored. Chicken salad is extremely easy to prepare, but here is my secret. You can buy at Costco, shredded rotisserie chicken breast. Mine was about 4lbs. for $15.76. No muss, no fuss. No cooking or shredding, and the chicken is very good. I plan to use it in other ways as well.

Blank Canvas Chicken Salad Recipe
shredded rotisserie chicken
mayo (homemade is best and also easy)
garlic salt (not paleo, but primal)
onion powder
I mix it all together using the mayo lightly.

Now... the fun starts.You can add... 

• water chestnuts, drained
• thinly sliced celery
• halved green grapes
•  finely minced onion
•  lemon juice
•  ground ginger
•  Worcestershire sauce
• or
• walnuts and chopped green apple
• Or go creole!
• diced celery
• chopped purple onion
• lemon juice
• Creole seasoning to taste
• Try throwing in Mexican spices. Sounds yummy to me!
• Chicken salad doesn't always have to be on bread. My two favorites are stuffed mini peppers or on cucumber "crackers" with a little paprika sprinkle for color

• 

• Stuff it into a tomato or over a bed of your favorite greens. 
• Now go be creative and then report back with your favorite chicken salad.