Ran-out-of-Time Asian Shrimp

NOTE: I researched Walden Farms products and found some disturbing things about Splenda, which is in the Walden Farms products. See the research here:http://lessofmehcg.blogspot.com/2009/10/walden-farms-quick-study.html

Tonight, I'm getting ready for an all day out of town trip to Portland for cello lesson. So, I'm working to get the meatloaf and the cola chicken made up, too! I ran out of time for supper tonight, so I came up with a *really* quick shrimp recipe. Hope you enjoy it! Here's the sharesies:

Ran-out-of-Time Asian Shrimp (90 calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories)

1t Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1 garlic clove, sliced thinly

3T Walden Farms Asian dressing

In hot pan, add Braggs and toss the shrimp in on top. Cook the shrimp fully on both sides, then turn heat off and add garlic and Asian dressing, stir so fully coated. Serve hot!

Lunch Repeater, Shrimp Cocktail

I was busy working on making kids' rooms cleaner (since they don't do it). My Mom and I decided that anything that wasn't in it's proper place while they were at school today would go into a storage place until they could prove that they could keep their rooms clean.

Needless to say, lunch was selected from the ones we've already done. I know, I know. Lunch Repeater! Hahaha! Lunch today was the Chili Chicken from the other day. It's a tasty and quick make.

For supper, though, I'm doing a new one. It's Shrimp Cocktail! Of course, mostly, it's the sauce that's the recipe. :) Yummy sauce, too. I served it up with yellow squash so the veggie wouldn't outshine the main course. Here's the sharesies:

Shrimp Cocktail (90 calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories)

1T tomato paste

1t worcestershire

1/2t onion powder

1/2t garlic powder

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/4t celery seeds

salt & pepper to taste

1T water

Mix everything except the shrimp in a small bowl. In ramekin, set shrimp so they don't overlap, then spoon sauce onto shrimp. Pop in the (toaster) oven 15 minutes at 325* then broil another 5 minutes. Serve it up hot!

Baked Shrimp

The original recipe I found for this baked shrimp called for nutmeg, lemon juice, and for the grissini to be crumbled and sprinkled over the top of the shrimp. I think this is a great waste of a grissini stick, as I'd much rather just eat it and enjoy the flavors and textures it has unto it's own. At first, I went with the original recipe, but the lemon juice was just too tart (and it called for waaaay too much of it), there wasn't enough garlic (one small clove wasn't enough),

the nutmeg caused the whole dish to taste bitter, and there needed to be a little bit extra flavor. Where I knew that it could do that, I figured I'd best give it a shot as the recipe was and adjust it from there. OK, almost I followed the original recipe. Hahaha! I couldn't bring myself to first crumble, then add the grissini to the top of it. I'm so glad I didn't!

So, here's the sharesies on the recipe that I'll follow next time around, after considering what I had for lunch. I'm sure this one will be much better!

Baked Shrimp (90 calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories)

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1t lime juice

a sprinkle onion powder

a sprinkle pumpkin spice

salt and pepper to taste

1t parsley

Shake ButterBuds

In a ramekin (just because it's pretty) combine everything but parsley & butter. Top shrimp with parsley and butter. Bake for approximately 8-9 minutes. I served this beside broccoli & a parmesean grissini. It made a beautiful plate!

"Honey" Citrus Glazed Shrimp

This one, where it's a little late, I think needs some tweaking. I post it here as a jumping off point for other people who experiment. Luckily, we can make the "glaze" and taste it all by itself, as those things are all "free." What I found was that, even though it is tasty, it overpowered the shrimp. I think less tobasco, less fruit juice next time. And I'm sure it needs something to even out the juice tang, but I'm not sure what yet. I'll have to ponder this one a little longer, I think. Or, better yet, I'll just pass it around to some of my other recipe making friends and see what they come up with to balance it.

All in all, it didn't have honey's smoothness and I think, ultimately, that's what's missing. Anyway, here's the sharesies:

"Honey" Citrus Glazed Shrimp (90 calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories)

Juice of one lime, or lemon

6-10 drops orange stevia

2t Tobasco sauce

1t Ground Ginger

1/2t Celery Seed

1/4t Knox gelatin (if you want to thicken it)

Combine all ingredients except shrimp in small bowl. Add shrimp to the bowl and let marinade for an hour. Glaze will be soupy and won't look much like a glaze until it gets heated up. Center all ingredients on 8" square of foil and fold into a packet. Place in toaster oven at 350* for 10 minutes or until shrimp are done, then serve hot. I poured it all over the top of some broccoli!

Going out today

So, we're planning to head out this afternoon for some yard saling and the Hood River Fly-In, which is an event where antique airplanes are displayed. It means that we won't be home this evening for dinner, though, so I've got to do a little planning.

I thought I could just go to SubWay and order a "salad" of all tomatoes or cucumbers along with one of their broiled chicken breasts, but I've not yet done my research and want to make sure that I'd be staying on the protocol. I also considered just going to the store and purchasing some cottage cheese & veggies, take a little flavoring, a pocket knife and eat on the fly. Not so great for getting that "meal" feeling, though. Of course, that's also how I used to eat - just on the fly and what ever I could grab.

In the end I decided to do shrimp. They're easy to transport and taste good hot or cold. And shrimp, regardless of the surroundings you eat them in, are considered on some level a decadent meal. :) Obviously, that's a psychological thing. Hehehehe.

So, here's the sharesies on the recipe for the shrimp:

Dilly Garlic Shrimps (90 calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories)

1/4t butter flavor (see my store if you don't have any!)

1/4t garlic powder

1/2t Braggs' Liquid Aminos

1/4t dill weed

a shake or two of pepper

Place shrimp in center of 8" foil. Lay them out so they're not touching, then sprinkle butter flavor evenly over them. Then sprinkle garlic powder evenly. Then add Braggs', trying to cover each shrimp (but don't worry about it if you don't). Over all that, spread dill weed then top with pepper. Close the foil over the shrimp, forming a little pocket and toss in the toaster oven at 350* for about 10 minutes.

I'll be sure to take pictures when we're out and about to add later, but for now, it just looks like a little foil pocket. You can't even see the shrimp yet. ::grins:: I'm putting it into a glass pyrex container and into an insulated lunch bag to keep warm. Hopefully, they'll stay warmish.

Zippy Shrimp

This afternoon, we're doing some zippy little shrimps. I think I'll pair it with some fresh cucumber to cool my mouth off because I plan to add more red pepper flakes and paprika to mine, but I like-a tings SPICY! In mine, I doubled a few of the ingredients, which I noted in the recipe. I tried to cool the recipe off for all you who aren't up for a spicy meal, below in my sharesies:

Zippy Shrimp (90 calories)

100g jumbo shrimp (90 calories)

2T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

1/4c water

1 clove garlic, sliced

1/4t red pepper flakes (I doubled this at least for mine)

1/2t paprika (I doubled this one, too)

2T lemon juice

1 t chopped fresh basil

1/8t cinnamon

1/4t tobasco sauce

salt & pepper to taste

Heat the water and Braggs' in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the garlic in until the garlic is nearly translucent. Sprinkle in red pepper flakes, paprika, cinnamon, tobasco sauce, and basil. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Pour the lemon juice over the shrimp; allow to cook until the shrimp are bright pink on the outside and the meat is no longer transparent in the center, about 1 or 2 minutes more. Reduce heat to medium-low; add the basil and toss lightly. Add your salt and pepper then serve.

Lunch time ZINNNGG!

This morning, outside, it's sort of a chill day in Oregon. It's overcast and has been raining for the last two days. A soup sounds like the perfect antidote to the outside weather, but I just don't want soup today. I want something spicy with some ZING that's going to make the top of my head tingle as I eat it. :) If you aren't interested in that sort of meal, I don't suggest this next recipe to you.

Some days, though, you just need a ZINNNGGer!

Shrimp ZINNNGG (90 calories)

100g shrimp

1T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

1t wasabi powder, split in half

2T water

1/2t Furikake

MORE wasabi, if you really want a zinnger (we added a whole tablespoon for a serious zinnngg!)

In the middle of an 8" foil, lay the shrimp out and set aside for a moment. In very small bowl, mix Braggs' and 1/2t wasabi together. Add water. Now spread the wasabi mixture over the shrimp, trying to coat them evenly. (If you don't get them all, though, don't fret - the oven will do it for you, too.) Sprinkle Furikake over the shrimp next. Close the foil into a small packet and place the toaster (or conventional) oven for 15-20 minutes. Place on your plate and either dust with more wasabi powder or mix the wasabi up into the traditional paste and dip your shrimp in it. YUM!

I used an unusual spice for most kitchens today, Furikake. Basically, it's a seaweed seasoning. Sometimes there's sesame seeds, sometimes pieces of dried fish, but always it's a seaweed base. You should be able to find it in the oriental section of Safeway or some other store, but we buy it at the Oriental stores in the city closest to us. We buy quite a bit of oriental foods, really. Years ago, we invited some Japanese exchange students into our home and they, of course, brought all kinds of new and different sorts of food with them. They'd eat, straight from the can, sheets of nori (seaweed), and their candies weren't sweet sweet like in the US. It was a nice change, even for me when I was still in high school. They shared some of the delights of sushi with us (though the raw shark just didn't set well in my stomach at 17). But, more importantly, we all shared a little of who we all are and what we enjoyed. It was a great experience that I recommend to everyone.

We decided to pair this ZINNNGGer with a veggie to cool it down a little; steamed zucchini. It makes for a really inexpensive calorie meal, since the zucchini has only 20 calories per cup. So, we decided that it was the perfect day to enjoy two cups of veggies with our breadstick and shrimp. It brings us to a total calorie intake of just 150, leaving LOTS of calories for dinner and our fruits. :)

If you tried this recipe and liked it, please let me know in the comments! If you have some experience with Oriental cooking and found something worked better, please let me know that, too!

Sushi for lunch!

You know how you have little rituals during the week, like Friday is "Sushi Day?" Well, we have one of those for when we go to Portland for music lesson. Yesterday, we didn't go to Portland, simply because it's Labor Day weekend and not a smart time to travel. But Mom and I still found ourselves craving sushi. A bad thing, considering it's not something allowed on the hCG Protocol.

Instead of just figuring we were doomed to have that craving, Mom designed a great little wanna be sushi for us. We chose to use shrimp in ours, but crab could just as easily become the main protien here.

So, for all you sushi lovers, here's the sharesies:

Wanna-be Sushi (you'll have to add up the calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories) OR crab (55 calories)

1 T Plochman's stone ground mustard

1/2-1 t wasabi powder

1/2 t ground ginger

1 T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

Onion powder to taste

Garlic powder to taste

1/2-1 t more wasabi powder

2 c Zucchini (58 calories) - you can use the allowed amount, if you like

In pan, stem zucchini until nearly done. While that's steaming, combine Plochman's, 1/2 to 1 t wasabi powder, and ginger in a small dish and set aside. Dry fry shrimp, Braggs', onion, and garlic powders on the stove until shrimp is hot and cooked. Place shrimp in dish with mustard mixture and coat. Remove zucchini from steamer and place on plate. Place shrimp over the zucchini then, in the dish that held the mustard mixture, mix another 1/2-1 teaspoon wasabi and add 2 t water to it to make it sort of soupy, then drizzle the soupy wasabi over all of it. Tah-dah! Sushi! You can even eat it with chop sticks for the full effect. :)

Lunch Repeaters

We were still unprepared for lunch today so we had a repeat. I know, I know, we're Lunch Repeaters! Mom varied it with a bowl of fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden and added some spices to the shrimp, but it was very similar to yesterday. I suspect it's got something to do with lounging around enjoying tea all morning and the lunch hour sneaking up on us. I enjoyed a wonderful pot of Honeybush Vanilla tea (I use loose teas - they taste better).

Breakfast menu:

Honeybush Tea (0 calories)

1 T Honeybush Vanilla loose tea

10 drops Vanilla Stevia

Heat water just to the boiling point. Add tea and stevia to teapot, then add the water. Let steep for 5-10 minutes. Relax and enjoy the whole pot out on the deck while watching a green frog crawl up the side of your house.

Here's the lunch menu:

Better than Standard Cucumbers (58 calories)

4 cups cucumber

salt to taste (better than vinegar, I think!)

Add cucumbers to a bowl and toss with celtic sea salt (YUMMY). Enjoy whilest watching a pleasant movie like Miss Potter.

Balsamic Vinegar Cherry Tomatoes

2 cups cherry tomatoes

Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Add cherry tomatoes to a bowl and add enough balsamic vinegar so that it's precisely right for your tastebugs. (Yes... That's what taste buds are called when you're a 9 year old girl.) Allow to rest in the bowl for at least 10 minutes, then enjoy while lounging on the couch in front of a movie.

Spicy Braggs' Shrimp (90 calories)

100g shrimp (about 16)

Creole' seasoning

1T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

In semi-heated dry pan, add shrimp and pour Braggs' over shrimp; "fry" in Braggs' until shrimp are cooked.

And, let's not forget the sad and lonely bread stick, for 20 calories. :) I'll have to figure out a way to incorporate that into and be part of lunch, rather than be a side of lunch. Perhaps I'll just put that thought into my Mom's head and see what she stews up. She's wonderfully clever with food and most of my fondest memories begin with something that she made in the kitchen. That's probably why I'm so rotund. Hahaha!

I've discovered over the years that the setting in which you eat is just as important as the food you're eating.

So, here's the latest on us:

Me:

Started: 327

End Phase 1: 332

Today: 325

Total: -2

Mom:

Total: -3

Yae us!

Phase 2: First Meal

Well. We had a pretty simple first meal. Even though I found all those recipes, we were unprepared because we didn't even want to think about food for the last couple days. Here's the lunch menu:

Balsamic Vinegar Cucumber (45 calories)

3 cups cucumber

balsamic vinegar over it to taste

Braggs' Shrimp (90 calories)

100g shrimp (about 16)

1T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

In semi-heated dry pan, add shrimp and pour Braggs' over shrimp; "fry" in Braggs' until shrimp are cooked.

It was all delicious and so wonderfully light after all that nasty fat. We had *a* melba toast with the lunch - it was sort of a pitiful silly thing next to the heap of cucumber. I wondered why we needed to eat it, but I'm not going to question the process, just follow it. It leaves 95 calories for the fruit that I plan to eat as a snack. No clue what the fruit will be yet, but that's saved for it, regardless.

So far, I'm at 155 calories for the day and it's 2 in the afternoon. Nice.

This is the easy part, isn't it? This phase 2 thing isn't hard at all so far. Phase one was much more difficult.