What's For Dinner? Shrimp with Corn and Basil

I threw caution to the wind and declared I didn't care if it irritated my incision, I wanted to do a treadmill workout. I missed my quality Battlestar Galactica time on the DVD while I walked, so I after I got back from the grocery store I threw on my workout gear and headed downstairs. I did 45 minutes total, 43 minutes walking at 2.5mph, and 2 minutes jogging at 3.5mph, both at a 1% incline. The last time I tried jogging I felt like a lumbering asthmatic water buffalo, and that was definitely not the case this time. I'm certainly not in shape to run a 5K, but I could feel just the tiniest hint of what my old running form used to feel like, giving me hope that someday I'll have that back. Let's see how my ass reacts overnight! (8 more days to surgery!)

As you know I've really been working at getting some protein variety in my diet since some of my old primarily carb-based meals are no longer a possibility for me (white lasagne, I do miss you!). I've always had texture issues with most seafood, but I've eaten shrimp a few times, and decided to give that another go since it's something the Man really enjoys.

I did buy frozen, cleaned (de-headed, shelled, and de-veined) shrimp rather than doing it myself, but as Alton Brown says, if you live more than about an hour away from the shore where shrimping is done, you're not going to get quality fresh shrimp anyway, so there's nothing wrong with flash-frozen.

I did underestimate how many shrimp would make up a serving for me, so the dish was a little light on the protein, but with the way my stomach has been acting anyway, I didn't completely finish my plate (only had about half of the 1/3 cup rice I served myself).

I was pleasantly surprised - this was a dish I could eat again. I'm not going to crave it yet, but it wasn't something I had to choke down either. I made a minor variation to the recipe by adding 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic, and about 1/4 dried thyme.

Dietary progress, I'm making it. 

My Meals

Breakfast

• Dannon Light & Fit raspberry yogurt

Lunch

• Chicken salad made with: 
• 2.4 oz grilled chicken breast
• .75 oz chopped slivered almonds
• 1 tbsp minced onion
• 2 tsp mayonnaise
• 15 hummus chips - sea salt flavor (see note below meals)

Dinner

• 1/2 serving Shrimp and Corn with Basil (just 1.5 oz shrimp)
• 1/6 cup red rice

Planned snack

• Sargento Light String Cheese
• Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt - raspberry

Exercise: Treadmill, 45 mins total, 320 calories burned, Avg HR 132, Max HR 172

Water - 50 oz

Daily Totals: 763 calories, 33.8g fat, 62.5g carbohydrates, 23.8g sugars, 55.9g protein

Hummus chips - what an amazing invention! The Man's store (Harris Teeter - a South Eastern regional chain) carries these from Simply 7. They are reasonably low in fat - well within my guidelines, super crunchy, and have a little bowl shape so I used them as tiny vessels for my chicken salad. A serving, per the package, is about 30 chips for just 130 calories - I had half of that with my chicken and it was plenty. There's only 2g of protein in a full serving, so it's not really a source choice, but these give crunch, are light, and with the low fat count if you can tolerate them I think they're a fun choice. The company also makes lentil chips and pomegranate chips in a variety of flavors.

Disclaimer: I have not been compensated in any way for promoting or favorably reviewing this product. This post is only my personal opinion based on a personal purchase.