MAKING INTENTIONAL CHOICES WHEN YOU EAT
Time is just flying by, isn’t it? We are already heading into the month of February! And I promised myself I would work on balancing life through eating well, exercising often, breathing more intentionally, simplifying my life, and focusing on what’s most important each day. So I joined a “Health Behaviors = Healthy Weight” program through my company’s wellness benefits.
We’re learning all about what healthy behaviors drive good eating. This week it was about if you want to lose weight, you need to take in less calories than you put out. And that you should have 50% of your plate in vegetables, 30% protein/good fat, and 20% carbohydrate (the good kind). Simple, right? And it isn’t about denying yourself good food, but just making good choices, whether it be portion control, eating fruit instead of crackers, or cutting an 8 ounce steak down to 4 ounces and bulking up on more vegetables.
NOTHING’S AS EASY AS MY ROASTED SHRIMP!
So versatile and super easy, my roasted shrimp can be served alone or as part of a dish like my Shrimp, Broccoli and Pasta dish! Just roast peeled and deveined shrimp in the oven for about 5 – 8 minutes (depending on size), and it’s ready to add to any pasta, stir fry or surf and turf dinner! And just by boiling pasta according to directions, and adding in a head of broccoli about 5 minutes before the pasta is done, you can drain both together and put back in the pot along with the roasted shrimp and dinner is served!
PASTA OR SQUASH….YOUR CHOICE!
So this week since we had a lot going on I didn’t have a lot of time to make a fancy dinner. I needed it to be easy, satisfying, and tasty! I decided to make my roasted shrimp with broccoli dish two ways: one with rotini pasta and the other with butternut squash! As much as I love pasta, for this month is all about trading some of those carbs for more veggies, but the rest of my family wanted to have pasta. I thought substituting butternut squash for the pasta for me would be just as filling and delicious! And it was!
Now I think you can buy butternut squash out of it’s skin, but I had a whole butternut squash on my counter. So after cutting it in half, I just sprayed the flesh with olive oil spray, and microwaved it for about 15 minutes. Then all you have to do is scrape the insides with a fork, and the flesh comes out like spaghetti! Toss the broccoli and shrimp with the spaghetti squash and dinner is served!
Which do you prefer? Better yet, have the Shrimp and Broccoli with Rotini pasta one night and with butternut squash the next! That way, you can’t go wrong!
Until next time,
Let’s get cookin’ together,
Madeline
Shrimp and Broccoli Dish Two Ways: With Rotini Pasta or BUtternut Squash
Equipment
- 1 4 - 8 Quart Pot with Lid
- 1 9" x 13" Aluminum Pan or Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
Roasted Shrimp, Broccoli and Rotini Pasta
- 1 pound raw shrimp (21-25 or 26-30 count)
- 8 ounces Rotini pasta
- 1 head broccoli florets
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp Madeline's Blended Oil Seasoning You can substitute 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp Italian Seasoning, 2 tsp Kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup grated Italian cheese, such as Pecorino Romano or Parmesan.
Roasted Shrimp, Broccoli and Butternut Squash
- 1 pound raw shrimp (21-25 or 26-30 count)
- 1 whole butternut squash (or 4 cups squash flesh)
- 1 head broccoli florets
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp Madeline's Blended Oil Seasoning You can substitute 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp Italian Seasoning, 2 tsp Kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup grated Italian cheese, such as Pecorino Romano or Parmesan.
Instructions
Roasted Shrimp, Broccoli and Rotini Pasta
- Preheat oven to 400° convection roast or bake setting.
- Toss shrimp with garlic, olive oil and seasonings (or Madeline's Blended Oil Seasoning). Roast for 5 - 8 minutes.
- Boil pasta according to instructions, adding the broccoli florets 5 minutes before pasta is cooked.
- Drain pasta and broccoli, return to pot.
- Toss in roasted shrimp with any juices.
- Sprinkle on Pecorino Romano cheese! Serve and enjoy!
Roasted Shrimp, Broccoli and Butternut Squash
- Preheat oven to 400° convection roast or bake setting.
- Toss shrimp with garlic, olive oil and seasonings (or Madeline's Blended Oil Seasoning). Roast for 5 - 8 minutes.
- If using a whole butternut squash, cut in half, scrape out the seeds, spray flesh with olive oil and microwave (flesh side up) for 15 minutes. If you have the raw flesh, microwave for 3 - 5 minutes.
- Scrape flesh with a fork like spaghetti.
- Blanch broccoli for 5 minutes until just tender.
- Toss shrimp and broccoli together and plate over butternut squash.
- Sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
