Blanched Kale Salad and Lemony Shrimp

Last night I had one of those... hmm, what to cook nights. And after looking through the fridge and freezer I threw together a tasty and healthy dinner of Blanched Kale Salad and Shrimp with Mushrooms in a Lemony sauce. 

I love Kale... but not raw. I just have a really hard time getting past the deep earthy mineral-y flavor. So  my way of getting around that while still maintaing all the nutrients of raw Kale is to blanche it! Its so easy! Then I just make whatever dressing I'm feeling like and mix it up and ta-da! A beautiful bright green and still crunchy Kale Salad with a much milder flavor. 

Kale Salad:

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 min

8-10 Large Kale Leaves- de-stalked and chopped into 2 inch pieces

1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1tbsp Lemon Juice

1-2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 fresh corn on the cobb- just the kernels sliced off and quickly sauteed for 2-3 minutes

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes quartered

1. Place chopped kale leaves in a large heat safe bowl, pour near boiling water over kale just enough to cover. 

2. Using tongs swirl kale, making sure all leaves are submerged. Wait 30 Seconds

3. Drain water and refill with cold water from the sink- add 2 cups ice cubes

4. Using tongs stir kale to make sure the ice water reaches everything and then drain. Squeeze excess water from kale leaves. 

5. Loosed kale by gently rubbing leaves through your fingers. Add Balsamic Vinegar, Lemon juice and Olive Oil. Stir kale to incorporate evenly, then add corn, tomatoes, and Salt & Pepper to taste.

Serve immediately or store in a sealed container the fridge for up to 2 days. 

Shrimp with Bacon and Mushrooms in Lemon Sauce:

Serves 4

Prep Time: 20-30 min

Cook Time: 20 Min

1 bag shrimp, peeled and deveined

6 Large Baby Bella Mushroom- sliced 1/4 inch thick

6 slices bacon- cooked and chopped (I use the Oscar Meyer precooked)

3 cloves garlic- minced

1/4 cup white wine

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon- zest and juice

1. Thaw shrimp in cold water for 20-30 minutes ahead of time

2. Heat skillet to medium high, add 2 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil. Once heated add mushrooms- cook until nicely carmelized. About 6-8 minutes

3. Put mushrooms in prep bowl, cook or reheat bacon depending on if using raw or pre-cooked. Drain any excess oil.

4. In same pan as mushrooms and bacon, add 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Add minced Garlic. Add Shrimp. Turn heat to medium. Add 1/4 cup white wine, lemon zest and lemon juice.

5.  Cook shrimp in sauce until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. 

Serve over rice, pasta or a salad!

Coconut Tilapia with Stuffed Bell Pepper

ForI LOVE fish! In fact, when I finish with my juice fast I intend to use it as an opportunity to completely change my food lifestyle by eating primarily vegetarian... except I can't give up fseafood. I just love it to much, so I will actually be adopting a pescatarian diet.

In the mean time, here is a meal I made last week before starting my juice fast thanks to some beautiful fresh tilapia I found at Costco. 

When I got it home I knew I wanted to do something simple by tasty with it and since I was feeling kind of lazy I came up with this quick and simple way of cooking it. It turned out to be DELICOUS!

Coconut Tilapia and Stuffed Bell Peppers

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

I suggest starting on the peppers first so they can be baking in the oven while you cook the fish!

For Fish:

1/2 cup Coconut Flour (find at your local natural foods/ health store or whole foods)

1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper, 2 tsp Paprika 

3-6 tbs Virgin Coconut Oil (it has much more flavor and health benefits then 2nd pressed)

Fresh Tilapia- at least 4 fillets 

For Stuffed Peppers:

2 large bell peppers (I prefer red, orange or yellow over green personally) to stuff

1 pepper to chop up

3 big handfulls of chopped Kale (stems removed)

1 zucchini chopped

1 cup of cooked rice (jasmine, brown, black) or quinoa (left overs work great!)

3 cloves garlic minced

2 tbs lemon

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil or coconut oil

The fish is so easy- just mix the salt, pepper and paprika into the coconut flour and set on a plate. Dredge the fillets straight from package or after a quick rinse if you prefer in the flour then set on a clean plate. 

Heat Coconut oil in a large flat bottom pan. Bring to high heat. When oil heated add dredged fillets and turn heat to medium. Let cook 3-4 minutes then flip and cook another 3-4 minute or until flesh is firm. 

To make Stuffed Peppers:

1: Rinse all veggies and cook rice if not already cooked, set oven to 350 to preheat

2: Cut top off pepper by running knife all the way around so as to keep the seed bunch easily removable with the top. I then chop the out parts of the pepper top up and add it into the mix but you can save it to pace back on as a top when cooking if you like- just remove the seeds/center. 

3: Clean out interior of peppers from any seeds or pith (the white bits) and blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 min. Then place them directly in a cold water/ice bath to stop cooking. Drain and rub interior with a bit of oil using fingers. 

4: Dice other veggies (zucchini, peppers, kale) into small 1/2 inch bites and mince garlic. 

5: Heat another skillet with oil (I like coconut) to medium heat and add zucchini, peppers and garlic. Cook 4 minutes

6: Add kale and cook another 4 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and any other seasoning you might like! Add rice. Stir until whole mixture is well incorporated. 

7: Using a spoon, stuff peppers with mixture. You can really pack it in!

8: Place peppers in a glass baking dish and put on middle rack in oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes!

Once peppers are tender slice in half gently and using a spoon plate with fish! Or use more peppers and double the filling and give each person a whole pepper! I served half a stuffed pepper per person and so 2 stuffed peppers served 4 of us!

Bon Appétit!