Salad Thoughts

 I grew up in the 80s and 90s, when diet food basically meant a grilled chicken salad. Let me tell you; for the longest time when I moved out on my own, I wouldn't touch either grilled chicken or a salad because they had become synonymous with bland, flavorless, textureless sadness. Which is sad, because since then I've had several wonderful grilled chicken salads! But I can't be the only one who remembers those terrible fast food salads that were basically a bed of plain lettuce, maybe a tomato wedge and one slice of cucumber if you were lucky, and a piece of plain unseasoned grilled chicken chopped up?

Also, I admit that I love carbs. So most of the time, salad is way, way down on my list of food picks. That being said, when you put in the work to make a salad out of this world, it can become something that a tortilla or bun would only detract from!

This crisp, flavourful salad was the star of my day; I would definitely recommend doubling the recipe so that you have lunch the next day! It's a perfectly balanced mix of spicy shrimp, tangy lime, and cool garlic crema!

Mexican Shrimp Salad:

285g shrimp, peeled and deveined
170g shredded cabbage/carrot mix

1 fresh lime

1 sweet bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 Roma tomato, sliced into rounds

1/2 red onion, small diced

226g baby spinach

3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

1 tbsp Mexican seasoning blend

3 tbsp sour cream

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tsp olive oil

1 sprig fresh basil, chopped

Zest your lime, and reserve the zest in a large salad bowl. Juice the lime and reserve the juice. Discard remaining lime. To the bowl with the zest, add the Greek yogurt, fresh basil, and lime juice, and mix until well blended. Add your shredded cabbage and toss to combine. Set aside so the flavours can soak in.

In a small bowl, add the sour cream and the minced (or pressed) garlic. Season with a little black pepper and salt to taste, and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When pan is hot, add the olive oil. Drain your shrimp and pat them dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle them with Mexican seasoning blend, and cook them until they are pink and cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side.

Take out two salad bowls, and split the baby spinach between them. To each bowl, add the coleslaw mixture, then top with shrimp and garnish with the other fresh vegetables. Drizzle with the garlic sour cream.

This flavour-packed meal has only 244 calories, 7g of fat, 21g carbohydrates, and 25g protein, and you won't be hungry after eating it! It's definitely not like the sad, limp salads I remember from the 90s!