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When Dana and I decided to start this blog I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of wanting to impress you with stupid healthy dishes that were overly ambitious and required way too much time. As a recovering DoorDash, Postmates, and Grubhub-aholic, I get the convenience and efficiency of ordering delivery. While my husband and I were planning our wedding, we shamefully ordered delivery 6 nights per week. We both were so unhealthy, painfully bloated, and in turn, our mental health was struggling severely. Not even counting the insane cost that comes with constantly ordering delivery-- we were broke and unhappy.
I was grateful to have a 4 month paid vacation from work this year (thanks furlough and $600/week on unemployment!) and really got back to my cooking roots and put a strict rule on our household of only one DoorDash day per week. Recently, after going back to work I have been reaching for recipes that require minimal ingredients, minimal thinking, and minimal effort--- but healthy.
My main goal is to give you easy shortcuts to healthy food but also bonus methods if you’re feeling extra ambitious. AND TAKE LESS TIME THAN DELIVERY! Today, I was originally planning on doing a whole separate trip to the grocery store to recreate a healthier version of my mother-in-law’s Enchiladas Verdes recipe (stay tuned because this recipe is the only reason my own family keeps me around). But, decided to stick to simplicity and give you a clean, simple staple in our household-- Chili Lime Shrimp Bowls with a Broccoli Slaw.
Ingredient Breakdown:
Shopping List:
Pre-cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp- 12 oz
Bag of broccoli slaw- 12 oz
Mayo
3 limes
Rice
Tomato Paste- in a tube if you can find it!
Spices/ pantry:
Oil- I prefer Avocado oil but use what you have on hand!
Chili powder
Cumin
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
The ingredient list in the recipe card seems overwhelming. IT'S NOT! Take a deep breath and you'll realize it's 90% spices that you likely already have.
Frozen, pre-cooked shrimp hack:
The shrimp I use in this recipe came frozen, pre-cooked, peeled, and deveined. Have you ever tried to peel and devein shrimp? It’s gross. Deveining is literally taking the poop line out of the shrimp. Avoid at all costs.
The great part about pre-cooked shrimp is… you don’t have to cook it. Shocking, I know. I’ve found a little hack with pre-cooked shrimp to make it seem like you marinated and cooked them yourself with an insane amount of flavor-- without overcooking them. And it comes together in about 3 minutes. Boom. Meal.
First, thaw your shrimp. Either leave it in the fridge overnight or thaw in a bowl of cold water 10-20 mins prior to cooking. Next, take a skillet and heat 2-3 tbsp of oil on a medium heat. I used avocado oil because it’s pretty neutral tasting- but use whatever you have on hand. You da boss, applesauce.
Next, take your spice mix and dump them into the warmed oil. I also added a tbsp of tomato paste to the mixture to make it extra saucy. It’s not completely necessary but if you have some on hand- use it! They even make tomato paste that comes in tubes now so you aren’t wasting an entire tiny can for just a tablespoon. And toast your spices in the oil! This wakes up the flavors in the spices and helps them bind together!
After about 1-2 mins turn off the heat and plop in your thawed shrimp! Give it a good stir and let it sit! The residual heat from the pan will warm the shrimp without cooking it more and it will get coated in the delicious toasted saucy spice mix you just made. THAT’S IT. That took less time than it did for you to decide what to order from Chipotle for the 3rd time this week.
Shrimp is insanely low in calories and ZERO CARBS- in 3 oz of shrimp you get 84 calories, 18 grams of protein, 21% of your daily recommended dose of B12 (throw away those supplements, ladies) as well as significant amounts selenium, iron, magnesium, iodine, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, antioxidants... The list never ends. Basically, get your low cal, zero carb, nutrient-dense fix with shrimp!
Broccoli Slaw:
FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU. Okay, sorry. It’s not though. It’s one of the best ways to feel full. That doesn’t mean go out and eat a stick of butter or down a whole jar of peanut butter (tempting). In moderation, fats help round out meals and leave you full and sassy after you’re done. We use mayo a lot in our household. Sometimes I feel ambitious and make my own mayo but most times I buy it-- but make sure to check ingredients. So many mayos have added sugar?? and a bunch of weird ingredients I cannot even pronounce in them. To make mayo all you need is eggs, oil, lemon, mustard, and salt. I usually buy the Trader Joe's Organic Mayo because it’s pretty damn close to that ingredient list.
Long story short, there’s mayo in the broccoli slaw. And also lime zest. Don’t skimp on this step! If you don’t have a microplane-- use a cheese grater on the smallest grating setting. It adds SO MUCH more lime flavor than lime juice on its own. Literally just shred the dark green skin off the lime. That’s it. Easy. and makes you feel like you’re an established chef.
Man, I am long-winded about dumb things. Bowl. Broccoli slaw. Mayo. Lemon Zest. Lemon juice. Spices. That’s it. 2 minutes and you’re done. Moving on.
Rice
The great thing about cooking is you have the creative freedom to interpret recipes however the hell you want to. For the rice- I use long-grained white rice and cook it my favorite way (stay tuned, the recipe is coming). But we’ve made these bowls with cauliflower rice, 3 min frozen microwavable rice from Trader Joe’s, and even no rice at all. I season it with salt, garlic powder, lime zest, and lime juice. The end.
Is anyone still reading this? I tend to ramble when I am passionate about something.
TL;DR: used to order too much delivery. Use frozen, pre-cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp. Fat is not your enemy if you ever want to feel full. Rice up your life.
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