Guest Post: Fast(ing) Food - Grilled Greek Shrimp with Salad and Green Beans

by Sarah Berger

Grilled Greek Shrimp with Tomato-Cucumber-Avocado Salad and Green Beans
(Yields 2 servings) ~380 kcal/serving

Another delicious low-calorie Paleo and low carb meal from Sarah Berger. This one is low sugar, full of healthy fats, and has vitamins A-E. I can't wait to try this one out.

Shrimp:

• 1 lb large shrimp  or about 24 large shrimp (I used the frozen Argentinian shrimp from Trader Joe’s)
• 1 tbsp Greek seasoning (Mix up a batch of equal parts ground cumin, ground coriander, granulated garlic, smoked paprika and dried italian seasoning - keep it for other recipes, make as much as you want, it’s great on chicken!)
• Juice of ½ small lemon
• 1 tsp olive oil 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 wooden skewers

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Combine shrimp, greek seasoning, lemon juice and olive oil in a bag- marinate at least thirty minutes to overnight. Skewer about 6 large shrimp on each skewer. Grill shrimp for 3-4 minutes per side or until firm and pink, careful to not overcook or shrimp will become rubbery. 

Salad:

• 2 large beefsteak tomatoes, in large cubes or wedges
• ½ to ⅔ english cucumber, sliced lengthwise, then sliced into half-circles
• ½ ripe avocado, diced
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and toss to coat---the avocado should mash a bit and become part of the dressing. 

Green Beans:

• ½ to ⅔ lb fresh green beans
• ½ large sweet onion (like Walla Walla)
• 2 cloves minced garlic 
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, while it is heating, thinly slice the onion, then add it to the pan. Stir frequently until the onion becomes golden brown and softens. add the garlic and green beans and splash of water (2-3 tablespoons) , turn up heat to medium high and saute until green beans are tender but still slightly crisp. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide salad, green beans and shrimp skewers between two plates. Serve and enjoy!

The creator and author of this recipe is Sarah Berger. She is the blogger behind Love Muffin (also in my blogroll) which is a collection of her Paleo recipes. Sarah has been my friend since middle school and is a great cook with some culinary schooling.

Fast(ing) Food - Spicy African-Style Fish Stew

Day 122, Fast Day #53

Nom, fishies!

Spicy African-Style Fish Stew (Yields 4 large servings) ~252 kcal/serving
Takes 30-40 minutes

This spicy stew has 20 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber, 39% of the DRV of calcium with no dairy, all of the vitamin A and C for your day and 950 mg of potassium.

• 1 small head of cabbage, diced (I used red) ~176 kcal
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (I didn't have palm oil, which is more traditional, so I used coconut) ~120 kcal
• 1 onion, diced (I used half a yellow onion and half a red onion) ~40 kcal
• 3 garlic cloves, minced ~12 kcal
• 1 1/2 tbsp of ginger, minced ~2 kcal
• 1 can of tomato paste (6 oz) ~150 kcal
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 habañero pepper, seeds removed, minced (can substitute with a milder pepper like a serrano, jalapeño, or an Anaheim pepper) ~15 kcal
• 1 can of sardines in tomato sauce ~371 kcal (you can substitute the sardines with another oily or white fish, Using a white fish which will be less "fishy" tasting)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained ~53 kcal
• 2 cups of kale, just the leaves, chopped ~66 kcal
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice ~1 kcal
• kosher salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Boil water with a couple pinches of salt in a large pot. Boil the cabbage until tender. Drain and set aside.

While the water is coming to boil/cabbage is cooking, heat the oil in a large pan or medium to large pot on medium heat. Add onions and the ginger to the pan and cook until the onions start to become translucent (a couple minutes). Add in the garlic. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring as needed to keep things from burning.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix the tomato paste and water together. Add that mixture and the habañero (or whatever pepper you are using) to the frying pan. I wore latex gloves while mincing the hot pepper, I highly recommend you do too. I have made the poor life decision before and not worn gloves and had burning fingers for days. Add in the diced tomatoes to the frying pan too. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the fish (if using a fish in tomato sauce, include the sauce), kale, and cabbage to the frying pan. Season with allspice, salt, and pepper. Cover the pan and lower the heat to keep a simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes (if using raw fish, make sure it is cooked through). Eat! It's even better the next day.

Fast(ing) Food - Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Day 81, Feast Day #44

I remembered to get on the scale today and I have had zero weight gain despite this past weekend. Amazing! So, I am still down 21 lbs after 11 weeks of alternate day fasting. I don't have any body composition data to work with, but I have got to think a good portion of my weight loss must be fat versus water, or I would have certainly gained back some of the pounds.

My achievement of the day was surviving wedding errands with my brother, despite almost killing him when he got lost in the rain with my wedding dress while his cellphone was dead. Bridezilla made a short appearance when he somehow walked past the store while I was paying for parking and could not be found at the dress fitting appointment we were already late for. Now that the dress has been fitted, I need to try not to lose too much weight, as she says everything in the bust and waist fits perfectly and suggested I keep a little extra space (since apparently stressed brides tend to retain water according to her, plus I should try to eat at my own wedding).

After running errands, I relaxed with Zach and my brother with some hard cider and enjoyed some beef stew I made in the slow cooker this morning. I am looking forward to the leftovers for tomorrow's fast day.

The remaining stew after Zach and my brother ate most of it and drank all the broth.
I should have taken an earlier photo, oops!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew (Yields 8 servings) ~303 kcal/serving
Takes 7-9 hours on low to cook, prep time is only 5-10 minutes

The slow cooker was the best joint purchase Zach and I have ever made. If you don't have one, I highly recommend getting one to improve your overall quality of life. Ours was $30 or $40 at Costco and we have never regretted the purchase.

• 1 large onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion) ~60 kcal
• 6 red potatoes, eyes taken out and quartered ~714 kcal
• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced (I used white mushrooms) ~107 kcal
• 3 medium carrots with their leafy tops, sliced and greens chopped ~116 kcal
• 2.5 lbs of cubed beef chunks for stew ~1,400 kcal
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ~10 kcal
• 1 14 oz. can of beef broth ~10 kcal
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary ~2 kcal
• 1 tsp dried parsley ~1 kcal
• 1/2 tsp paprika ~3 kcal
• pepper, to taste ~1 kcal
• salt to taste

In the slow cooker, add onions and carrots. Top with potatoes, mushrooms, beef, and carrot tops. Add Worcestershire sauce, spices, and beef broth.

Cover the crock pot and set to low and cook for 7-9 hours until the beef is cooked through and tender. Eat!

Feel free to add celery to this. I avoided it as I am newly allergic to it.