Shrimp, Avocado And Tomato Salad

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A simple, easy, light salad for a sunny day. Took less than 10 minutes to put together - and 9 were for defrosting shrimp!

A simple, easy, light salad for a sunny day. Took less than 10 minutes to put together – and 8-1/2 were for defrosting shrimp!

It’s another beautiful day. The outdoors are calling to me. Time for a little light lunch on the deck followed by some knitting as I sit in the sun.

So what’s on tap for today’s lunch?  Something light yet tasty. Perfect for a perfect day. I picked up some frozen shrimp at the grocery store. With my husband’s highly allergic love of all things shellfish, I never buy the stuff. Don’t want to tempt him or fate. But I am trying to eat more seafood. And I miss it. I figured frozen is the safest. Why? Well my husband is a lazy man by nature. If it’s not ready to eat, he won’t bother with it.

The recipe is fairly simple – just 4 ingredients and a bowl and 5g net carbs. I doubled the shrimp and avocado increasing the Weight Watcher’s PointsPlus value from 7 to 11. You can keep it at 7 points and just add lettuce.

Shrimp, Avocado & Tomato Salad
Carb Count: 5g
Points Plus: 11

Ingredients
6 oz shrimp, cooked and chopped
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1 Tbsp low carb dressing (I’m using my Ranch dressing today)

Directions
Place the shrimp, avocado and tomatoes in a bowl. Add salad dressing and mix. Eat up!

Mixed Green, Avocado & Radish Sprout Salad

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Beef patties with mixed greens, avocado and radish sprouts. Low carb and yummy to boot!

Beef patties with mixed greens, avocado and radish sprouts. Low carb and yummy to boot!

A simple lunch today. Just a yummy salad to go along with my cow. Yes, there are two ground beef patties in my photo, but their combined weight is under 5.5 ounces.

With salads, there is always the risk of boredom. It’s too easy to get into a rut of iceberg lettuce, tomato and cucumbers.  I suspect those three ingredients are the staples in most household salads. I say fight boring salads with a little creativity. My Grilled Chicken Salad is awesome (no doubt due to the bacon!) as is my Spinach and Strawberry salad (with bacon dressing…hey, I sense a theme here). Those recipes coming soon.

Today I’m using radish sprouts. I’ve used bean sprouts in stir-fry dishes and alfalfa sprouts on burgers. This is the first time I’m using radish sprouts. They taste like radishes. The sprouts and the mixed greens give the salad a nice kick both in taste and texture. Delish! I plan to rotate them into my staple of salad ingredients.

The meal is 5g of carbs and you feel satisfied after eating.

As far as Weight Watchers, this is a high point meal – 14 points.  Why so high? The ground beef patties. I use the 80-20 ground beef. Higher in fat, higher in points. However, I’m going low carb – no pasta, rice, potatoes, breads, grains, sugars, low-fat foods. So I actually increase the good fat content in my diet to keep me satiated.  If you are not low carb, you can simply substitute  3 oz of a lower-fat patty (yes only one) or a skinless chicken breast (also 3 oz) if you like.

As for dressing, I used 1 tbsp of my Olive Oil & Apple Vinegar dressing.

Mixed Green, Avocado, Radish Sprout Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Add 1-2 tbsp of your favorite dressing and toss. Enjoy!

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Chili Chicken & Mexican Avocado Salad Tonight

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Cajun RubI love my rubs. I made a batch of chili seasoning back in February. I decided to use it as a rub on some chicken breasts. The result: spicy and tasty.

Rather than the old standbys of steamed broccoli or grilled zucchini, I decided I wanted veggies that had a little more kick. So I’m making a salad I found in a low carb recipe book. Like the chili chicken, it too looks spicy and tasty.

Chili Seasoning/Rub
Serving Size: 4
Carb Count: 0
Weight Watchers Points: 3-6 (depending on size of chicken breasts)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Using your hands, rub seasoning into chicken breasts. Place into a Ziplock bag, and add 1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Let chicken marinate for up to 1 hour then its ready for grilling.

Mexican Avocado Salad
Serving Size: 8 1-cup servings
Carb Count: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

Ingredients
24 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 medium head iceberg lettuce cut into 1/2 inch ribbons
2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled and chopped

Directions
1. Combine tomatoes, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a medium bowl; let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Add onion, jalapeño and cilantro; toss well.
2. Arrange lettuce on a platter and top with avocado. Spoon tomato mixture on top and serve.

I’m thinking of substituting the red leaf lettuce I’m growing on my deck for the iceberg lettuce. Either way, tasty goodness on the menu tonight!

Low Carb Ranch & Russian Dressing Recipes

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I’m making a couple of low carb salad dressings tonight. I got both recipes – Ranch and Russian dressings – from the Atkins site. 

Both require mayo, so I’ll be using mayo made with olive oil. I’ve made these before and they tend to be thicker than normal salad dressings, which make them a perfect dip for veggie snacks.

Since they are thicker, I highly recommend only using 1 tbsp for your salad. Just place your salad in a bowl, add 1 tbsp of the dressing and start mixing the dressing into the salad. I know the recipe calls for 2.5 tbsp per serving, but the truth is you really just need one tbsp if you mix it with the salad.

Ranch Dressing
Carb Count: 1 per serving
Points: 2
Serving Size: 2.5 tbsp/serving

Ingredients:
3/4 C Mayo made with Olive Oil
1/2 C Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, Chopped
2 Tbsp Fresh Chives, Chopped
2 Tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Garlic Clove, Minched
1 Tsp Fresh Dill, Chopped
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

Directions: Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve right away or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Russian Dressing
Carb Count: 0 per serving
Points: 2
Serving Size: 2 tbsp/serving

Ingredients:
3/4 C Mayo made with Olive Oil
1/4 C Low-Carb Ketchup (or Reduced Sugar Ketchup)
1 Tbsp Onion, Finely Chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, Chopped
2 Tsp Fresh Horseradish
1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Directions: Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve right away or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Back On Track

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Friday afternoon my hubby and I went out for lunch. He was starving after undergoing a small procedure (he had to fast for about 12 hours). So we went to a small diner. He ordered a Belgian waffle, eggs, English muffin and sausage. I had a salad. His food looked amazing compared to mine and I think he took pity on me because he offered me a small bite of his waffle. Ugh!

I caved.

I had two small bites of his waffle. My taste buds went berserk. I wanted any type of sweet tasty carb that crossed my path. My hubby then ordered an apple pie ala mode. I ended up having 3 smallish bites. It was so good.

Yes, that was my bender for the weekend. And I felt terrible afterwards. I was so mad at myself for not being stronger. I’ve passed on high-carb food before. But this weekend, I had a little voice that said, you should reward yourself.

I had just weighed in that morning at lost 3.6 lbs. But after lunch I really felt that I took a major step back. I ended up taking a 2.5 mile walk going at a pace that was way too fast for me…the kind where I couldn’t talk at all and just panted heavily. I ended up falling into bed when I got home. Just felt incredibly weak.

But as the weekend progressed, those carb cravings became stronger. Saturday I wanted to order pizza instead of cook. I talked myself out of it, then I thought I’ll just run to the store and get wine. I actually got in the car and drove down the street before I said out loud “This is totally f***ing stupid” and ended up driving back home.

Sunday my cravings were at a fever pitch. For some reason, I really wanted a Frosty. Thankfully I didn’t say anything to my husband, as he is always in the mood for a Frosty. I just cooked all day and nibbled on some very unfrosty-like low carb snacks. I was miserable.

After a night of bad sleep, I’m happy to report that I survived the weekend. The cravings are gone. Its just amazing how things could have spiraled out of control this weekend. All because I wanted to “reward” myself with food. For someone trying to lose weight, food is probably not the best reward. Next time, I’ll treat myself by downloading some new music for my workouts.