Fast, Fresh, Gluten Free in Five Minutes: Shrimp & Green Pea Salad
I am finding myself at a nutritional crossroads again. For those of you who haven't followed along, I find myself with an inflamed liver, constant fatigue and Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease along with a ton of other annoying symptoms--some fixed by surgeries and others by prescriptions. I also find myself, as always, trying to lose the extra pounds that have crept on over the years.
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| This is going to help me get healthy and lose weight? I am in! |
So far, with a family history of Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis, I suspect my body is doing the same with some sort of inflammatory response. However, Sjogrens, Celiacs, and Lupus have been ruled out through a variety of tests and biopsies. Ack! !@#$% body don't fail me now!
Still the best I felt was last year when I eliminated all grains/cereals from my diet. And yes, I mean anything with prolamins/gliadin from the grass family: Wheat, Rice, Corn, Oats, Buckwheat, etc. Studies are discovering even rice and oats have similar protein structures similar to gluten in wheat.
Yes, that makes it difficult to eat, especially a foodie like me with a love affair with pasta, bread, pizza,etc. Still feeling this way is much more difficult, so I am giving it another go. I am going with a paleo-inspired, but definitely modified diet of removing all grains, cereals and limiting sugar and salt while vastly increasing my family's intake of a variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds, and proteins. After a month, we'll see how I feel and go from there...possibly adding back in.
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| Make ahead in morning &pull out protein rich portions as needed! |
Did anyone catch that I said family?
Yep, I will be taking them along for the month of July on our vastly revised menu.
With that, I give you one of my first fresh, impossibly fast, and amazingly delicious salads.
Make ahead and put in portion if the fridge or toss, thaw, and from kitchen to table in mere minutes!
Shrimp & Green Pea Salad
2 lb bag of cooked frozen shrimp (or quickly cooked fresh shrimp)
2 lb bag of frozen spring green peas
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 squirt siracha or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Ground pepper to taste
1/2 squeezed lemon
2 tsp dill
Variations: Add 2 tbsp. unsweetened Greek yogurt for creamy salad or 1/2 cup feta for a more protein packed version.
Put shrimp and peas in colander and run under cold water for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add all rest of ingredients into large bowl. Once thawed, blot dry shrimp/peas combo with a couple paper towels. Add to bowl. Toss and enjoy. Perfect summer salad for a hot day with plenty of protein and veggies.
Update and plea for help:
A complication! Seven days in, we've cut out all pasta, cereal/grains, breads, etc. for the month. Yep, going PALEO-ish and have even started Crossfit. I am losing weight--6 lbs today! Yay. The problem? My 15 yr old competitive swimmer who swims anywhere from 3-5 hours daily had problems keeping on weight even before on our old lifestyle of copious amount of pasta, bread, and pizza. So we are now looking for high calorie, generally healthy foods. Things we are already doing are high fat Greek yogurt with tons of fruit, copious amounts of red meat, peanut butter, whole fruit smoothies, and nuts. My 12-year-old has even made some pretty brilliant cookies and cakes with coconut, quinoa, and almond flours because the carb cravings are strong with these kidlets.
Help? Ideas? Thoughts on balancing one family member's quest to lose weight with another's need to gain weight?
3 comments:
I don't really have any advice, but I can commiserate. Steve and I are both on the high end of healthy weight, while Trevor is at the absolute lowest end of healthy weight. It's a constant struggle to give him enough high calorie food to keep his weight up without raising our weights. It's very frustrating!
How about avocado/guacamole? I think that's high calorie, but nutritious...
Godspeed on your quest!
Not only gluten-free, but also paleo. Well done, you.
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