Tag Archives: avocado

Shrimp and Avocado Sandwich

Posted on March 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

This sandwich is inspired by a delicious deli that is in downtown Victoria. Sam’s Deli does sandwiches so well, we make it a point to bring anyone who visits us over there for lunch atleast once. They have mastered the art and the portions are simply uber. Oh yes, they do right by the earl. My favourite sandwich is the shrimp and avocado. Oh such tastiness. Sadly, I don’t always find myself in that touristy part of downtown so I go without sandwich…that and I’m sure their uber sandwich portions are well…not so friendly for my weight loss attempts. While they just use straight avocado I decided to go with more of an avocado spread to help it last longer between sandwiches. The result was scrumptious. I also went with a Portuguese bun, sadly the whole wheat ones were sold out that day *shakes fist*. I was not to be denied sandwich on a technicality though. The beauty in this sandwich lies in its simplicity. It is…shrimp and avocado.

  • 60 grams cooked salad shrimp (I used west coast shrimp…omnom)
  • 1 bun or bread of choice (not counted in nutritionals, be random)
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • ground pepper to taste
  1. Blend the avocado, lime juice and seas salt together until smooth. If you prefer chunky then just chop and toss a bit!
  2. Pile the shrimp on the bread, top with 30 grams of avocado mixture. Top with ground pepper. Omnomnom!

You see the simplicity? You typically get enough avocado spread for 4 more sandwiches. Each sandwich filling (shrimp and avocado mix) contains 134 calories, 7.3 grams of fat, 3 grams of fibre, 4.4 grams of carbs, and 13.4 grams of protein. Don’t worry about that fat too much. It’s the avocado and that is good for you. You do need so much fat in a day so you might as well make it a fat that is good for you!

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Ingredient, Lunch

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Pistachio Avocado Pesto

Posted on March 9, 2011 | 1 comment

I’m one of those people who has a sensitivity to pine nuts. It’s not so bad to have stuff that may have been in contact with them but if I eat them, well…it’s just not a happy time. So, for the longest time pesto was something I eyed with longing and dread. Then one day years ago I made my own, but with different nuts. There was dancing and rejoicing far across the shire. Pesto was once again a tasty thing to be had again. I have done it with walnuts, pecans, and almonds but so far my favourite has to be this newest version with pistachios. Pesto is chock full of nice and healthy ingredients but sadly so full of fats. It’s those fats though that are giving us those healthy benefits so they stay. This is one of those things to be enjoyed in moderation.

  • 30 basil leaves
  • 4 tbl pistachios
  • 4 tbl extra virgin avocado oil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbl parmesan cheese
  1. Pulse the pistachios to the desired texture in a blender.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a paste or sauce forms.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving contains 92 calories, 8.3 grams of fat and .9 grams of fibre. To help metabolize a lot of that fat you can add a clear dissolving fibre supplement to the mix without any loss of taste or texture. This pesto is great tossed with angel hair pasta but my favourite is serving it as a flatbread topped with a nice light goat cheese and prosciutto.

There are some really great high fibre flat breads out there or you can make this using some of the dough from the deep dish pizza crust recipe.

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Posted in Dinner, Ingredient, Lunch, Sidedish

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Mexican Style Low Fat Layered Dip

Posted on February 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

Come on, everyone has a recipe for these. They are so great for parties or in my case role playing groups. I usually have a chili layer I include in these but I skipped it this time to make it more vegetarian friendly. Served this with a choice of regular tortilla chips and baked chips…and it disappeared fast. Such a crowd pleaser and really not that hard to portion control for yourself. Get a spoon and grab a cross section for yourself, fill up a ramekin (which is usually 1/4 cup) and you have yourself one serving of this dip! That and you won’t have to fight the others as they omnomnom this too. Why no pictures of it baked? Because as soon as it came out of the oven it was grisly zombie scene of devouring frenzy. Goodtimes.

First layer ( the jalapeno popper inspired layer)

  • 5 oz. Fat free cream cheese
  • 1 jalapeno pepper (with seeds)

Second layer ( guacamole inspired layer)

  • 1 avocado
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 1/2 small onion
  • salt and pepper to taste

Third layer

  • 4 tbl Taco sauce of desired hotness or chili layer

Fourth Layer (bean dip inspired layer)

  • 1 cup low fat refried beans
  • 1 tbl lime juice
  • 2 tsp. Taco seasoning

Fifth layer

  • 1/2 cup shredded light cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup chopped green onions
  1. Combine ingredients for first layer in a blender. Jalapeno first and then added the cream cheese, room temperature. Spread evenly on bottom of oven proof container. I use my loaf pan, always the perfect size.
  2. Combine the various layers ingredients and layer them on top accordingly. For the bean layer I used the blender. Finish it up by sprinkling the cheese on top and then topping with green onions (if serving cold, if baked add green onions after baking).
  3. Two ways to serve this. Keep in the refrigerator for an hour and serve cold or heat oven to 350F and bake for 30 minutes (or until cheese is just the way you want it). I prefer the hot way.

Makes about 8 servings of about 1/4 cup. Each serving contains 102 calories, 4 grams of fat and 3.6 grams of fibre. Calculated assuming you used a taco sauce layer, if you go with chili make sure you add those values! Totally delicious!

 

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Open Faced Burgers

Posted on July 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

This is not so much a recipe but a new idea I’ve been seeing around. I don’t remember where I first saw this sadly but I’m starting to see it more and more. It quite simply the exclusion of the top bun, it cuts those bun calories and fat in half of course and to me it seems to be a more elegant burger as a result.

I feel like it opens up a whole new world to topping the burger.  A much prettier world indeed, rather than just mushing the toppings under a bun. Like a burger crostini perhaps? I’m pretty boring usually about my prefered toppings, ketchup, mayo, maybe a bit of mustard and relish if I’m feeling squirrely. No wonder I was hiding it under a bun. For these burgers I blended ground pork, extra lean ground beef, onions, beef oxo and montreal steak spice. The buns were toasted with a bit of margarine, garlic, pepper, and italian seasonings. The top was just a few slices of avocado sprinkled with lime, some minced dill garlic pickle, and a dollop of sweet heat mustard. The colours were awesome and the burgers were delicious!! I’m definitely a convert to this fancier way of getting my burger on. I look forward to getting more creative and decorative with the toppings too. Another great side effect? We only needed two buns to feed the both of us instead of four. Elegant and money saving? Epic win!

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Dinner, helpful tools, Ingredient

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Super Salad Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Posted on May 7, 2010 | 1 comment

These little rolls are great on those warm days because you barely have to do any cooking at all! They are also great for using whatever fruits and veggies are in season in your area at the time you make them. You can always mix and match! The peanut spicy sauce is also very tasty and easy. I love that sauce so much I practically lick the bowl…alrght I’ll be honest. I did. You caught me, so naughty. These also make a great meal or an appetizer.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

  • 6 tbl light peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce (this makes a tingly spice, add more for serious hotness)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbl soy sauce
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbl hoisin sauce
  1. Add the ingredients to a small saucepan.
  2. Heat on low and stir until combined and smooth.
  3. Serve either warm or cold.

This recipe makes 1 cup of sauce approximately. Each serving is 2 tbl and contains 63 calories, 4.5 grams of fat and 0.8 grams of fiber.

Super Salad Rolls

  • 1 mango, peeled, pitted and sliced into thin sticks
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced thinly
  • 3/4 cup shredded lettuce
  • 1/4 cup shredded carrot
  • a few leaves of red cabbage for colour, sliced
  • 1/2 shallot, sliced thinly
  • basil leaves (optional)
  • pea shoots
  • 6 rice papers
  1. Run a sheet of rice paper under some hot water and place on the cutting board. I only do each sheet one at a time as I’m ready for them.
  2. Assemble your filling near the bottom of your circle of rice paper.
  3. Fold in the sides and roll up from the bottom of the paper. Tucking the filling in so it is packed tight.
  4. Cut the roll in half and serve with dipping sauce. Repeat for the remaining papers. Garnish with any remaining pea shoots.

This recipe makes 6 rolls. Each roll is 105 calories, 4.6 grams of fat and 3 gram of fiber. This roll is also very delicious with grilled shrimp or chicken stuffed in the roll with the salad. I found that three rolls is enough for a meal and half a roll is an amazing snack. The remaining sauce will keep in the fridge for about a week and is great in other recipes or for dipping veggies.

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Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Snack

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