Shrimp Salad Sandwich

Happy Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras has come and gone…what a perfect day to get my life “back on track”. Since the Super Bowl took over my life I haven’t eaten as well, worked out as much, been as organized as usual…oh well!

But today is a new day. I’ve already worked out, been to church, eaten lots of healthful things, drank a lot of water…starting to feel better!

I started my day with half of a pear for my pre-run snack. After my run I enjoyed a bowl of pineapple over-night oats and a glass of OJ. For lunch I whipped up this delicious shrimp salad (no meat today!) and had it on whole wheat toast. I also had some yogurt and cottage cheese with blueberries. And lots of water.

I’ve decided to give up coffee (caffeine) for Lent, again. I’ll have to wait and see if I’m really addicted to the caffeine (no headache yet) or if I just crave coffee. Hopefully this will help me cut back in the long run and not just for these 40 days. I drink coffee everyday and I wish I didn’t…but I love it! Or at least I think I do. It will definitely force me to drink more water.

So onto the shrimp salad recipe…it’s so easy that I really can’t even call it a recipe! I bought pre-boiled/pre-peeled shrimp at WF yesterday, about 1.5 pounds worth. Pulsed them in the food processor and then transferred them to a mixing bowl. I then added 1 heaping tablespoon each of Greek yogurt (non-fat) and mayo (the real deal) which equaled about 1/4 cup total, a scant tablespoon of Dijon mustard, about 1/4 of a cup of relish (green tomato relish…my fave), 3 stalks of finely diced celery, and some Old Bay Seasoning.

That’s it! You can adjust everything to suit your taste…just don’t add too much mayo! And if you want to skip the bread, just do lettuce wraps instead.

Per serving (about 1/8 of the recipe…w/o bread) - 131 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated), 5 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 18 g protein (exchanges: 3 protein, 1 fat; WW points: 3)

Marinated Flank Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce

The Super Bowl is over, and after spending a week in MIA I am finally back in my kitchen.  What a week it was!  I don’t think I have ever been so exhausted in my life…but it was worth it.  To experience the Saints winning the Super Bowl from the sideline is a memory I will never forget!

I returned home Tuesday morning to an empty fridge and no desire to go to the grocery store.  But I finally went yesterday and got the ingredients to make this week’s CEiMB recipe…hosted by yours truly!

I selected this recipe for several reasons: 1) I love beef, 2) I love blue cheese, and 3) the recipe was in the new cookbook I got from Danielle for Christmas…and I hadn’t cooked from it yet.

Yesterday I marinated the meat all day.  When I got home from the studio I seared the steak in a skillet on the stove and then put the whole thing under the broiler. 

 
I turned the blue cheese sauce into a salad dressing.  The dressing was loosely based on this recipe…for the sour cream and mayo I did 2 tbsp Greek yogurt and 1 tbsp mayo…and it was delish!

For my salad: shredded carrots, red bell pepper, green onion, radicchio, and romaine plus the beef and dressing…perfect dinner!

I think some people are surprised when I tell them I eat beef and cheese.  But my food philosophy is to eat REAL food that I enjoy…and if it happens to be high in fat (like both of these foods are) I do so in moderation.  This means in small amounts and/or only occasionally.  I eat cheese regularly, but in small amounts.  I eat beef about 1 to 2 times per month. 

Marinated Flank Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce

• Per serving – 310 calories, 16 g fat (5 g saturated), 7 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 33 g protein (exchanges: 1 vegetable, 4 1/2 protein, 3 fat; WW points: 7)
• Notes – Sure 16 grams seems like a lot of fat, but only 1/3 of them are saturated…the other 11 grams are healthy unsaturated fats;  flank steak is a relatively lean cut of beef;  as mentioned above, I let the steak marinate longer than 30 minutes and then cooked it in a skillet on the stove and then under the broiler