Bubba Gump would be proud

How did Hungry Girl know I wanted to talk to you about shrimp?

I’ve been under the crustacean persuasion lately.

Crustacean persuasion. Good lord. It’s too early for such corniness.

Anyway, I love shrimp. Most especially shrimp cocktail.

I’ve gotten where I’ll load up on bags of frozen cooked cocktail shrimp when it’s on sale and have it as a side with my grilled chicken or whatever I’m having for dinner.

Just run it under water to thaw and serve with cocktail sauce (extra horseradish!), and voila! Pure goodness.

Shrimp this way have a ridiculously low calorie count of like 11 each.

But beware. Prepare shrimp in a naughty way or pair it with naughty stuff, and it’s as bad for you as a deep-fried Twinkie.

Take Applebee’s Grilled Shrimp ‘N Spinach Salad. Sounds healthy enough, yes?

Check the stats: 1,060 calories. Yikes.

In today’s Bite It/Fight It feature from Hungry Girl, she talks about shrimp scampi.

The typical portion has more than 800 calories, she says, and the Cheesecake Factory’s has 1,195 calories.

So she offers up this recipe (and this photo) instead. Sounds pretty tasty, and half the recipe (I guess we’ve gotta share?) is only 238 calories.

Give it a try and tell me what you think. Enjoy!

Super Delicious Shrimp Scampi with Fettuccine


1 small lemon
2 packages House Foods Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Noodle Substitute
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. chopped garlic
8 oz. raw shrimp, peeled, tails removed, deveined
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
2 tsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
Optional: salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, chopped parsley


Directions:
Cut lemon in half, and squeeze the juice from one half into a small dish; remove any seeds, and set aside. Cut the other half into wedges, and set those aside as well.


Use a strainer to rinse and drain shirataki noodles well. Pat dry. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 1 minute. Drain excess liquid. Dry as thoroughly as possible, using paper towels. Cut noodles up a bit, using kitchen shears if you've got 'em. Set aside.


Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray (butter flavored, if you've got it) to medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until softened, 2 - 3 minutes.


Add shrimp and tomato. Stirring occasionally, cook until shrimp are opaque, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and continue to cook and stir for 1 minute.


Raise heat to medium high, add shirataki noodles, and mix well. Continue to cook for 1 - 2 minutes, until entire dish is hot and shrimp are cooked through. Add butter and stir.


Plate (or bowl!) your scampi, and top each serving with 1 tsp. Parm-style topping. Garnish with lemon wedges and, if you like, season to taste with optional ingredients. Enjoy!


MAKES 2 SERVINGS


Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe (about 1 3/4 cups)
Calories: 238
Fat: 8.5g
Sodium: 329mg
Carbs: 14g
Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 26g
POINTS® value 5*