FitSugar

Seafood Dilemma: Shrimp vs. Scallops

FitSugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Move over boneless, skinless chicken breast, there are a couple other lean proteins taking over the plate: shrimp and scallops.

These jewels of the sea make for tasty entrees, as well as appetizers or salad toppings. Easy and quick to make, they're adaptable to almost any cooking method and can be grilled or sauteed, broiled or baked. How do they compare nutrition-wise? Find out when you read more.

Serving Size: 6 ounces	Scallops	Shrimp
Calories	150	180
Protein (g)	28.5	34.6
Total Fat (g)	1.3	2.9
Sodium (mg)	274	252
Omega-3s (g)	.52	.58
Iron (mg)	.5	4.1

Nutritionally, it's hard to choose between scallops and shrimp, since they're quite comparable. When it comes to iron content, shrimp is not so shrimpy, containing almost 25 percent of an adult woman's recommended daily intake. Both are also high in vitamin B12, which supports metabolic function among other things.

Not quite sure how to prepare either type of shellfish? Try shrimp and whole wheat couscous or spiced scallops with balsamic-braised cabbage.

Source

Healthy Recipe: Stir-Fried Shrimp With Spicy Orange Sauce

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:30:00 -0800

You can find some healthier options on Chinese takeout menus, but often the highly caloric options sing a little too loudly to be ignored. Besides, cooking at home means you're in control of how much oil goes into the pan and it's typically cheaper than ordering in. When you're craving something that's reminiscent of this popular takeout option, stir up a medley of shrimp with spicy orange sauce on your very own stove. This recipe is a cinch to make and consumes less time than it would take delivery to reach your door.

As written, this Cooking Light recipe packs a spicy punch, so if you're not one for heat I would use less chili paste than called for. It was a hit when served over brown rice with a side of lightly sauteed and seasoned eggplant and spinach, and the leftovers were just as good for lunch the following day. For nutritional details and some more photos, read more.

Flavored with orange juice and low sodium soy sauce, this meal gets its flavor from the spices. If you have any snow peas, green beans, and/or red peppers on hand, they would make tasty additions to this dish. You can get the recipe here. And to inspire you to do so, check out this nutritional information.

Serving Size	3/4 cup
Calories	301
Total Fat	10 g
Saturated Fat	1.1 g
Cholesterol	259 mg
Sodium	621 mg
Carbs	16.8 g
Fiber	0.5 g
Protein	35.3 g
Calcium	103 mg

Here are some photos of the meal in various phases of cooking.

View 3 Photos ›

Healthy Recipe: Shrimp With Whole Wheat Couscous

FitSugar — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:00:00 -0700

Tired of making multiple meals to satisfy the diverse palates of my family, I have been on a quest to find healthy meals that are appealing to both parents and kids alike. This couscous recipe certainly fits the bill. The children love the couscous and I love that it is whole wheat. Plus the veggies are mixed into the dish, making them harder for my young picky eaters to avoid. Since my kids have an aversion to basil (they find it spicy), I add it in after I have served them.

To see the recipe, just read more.

Shrimp with Whole Wheat Couscous
adapted from Everyday Food Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 pound trimmed green beans, snapped in two
1 package of frozen corn kernels (10 ounces) thawed, or one can of corn kernels drained and well rinsed
1 pound deveined jumbo shrimp, peeled, tails removed and cut in half lengthwise
1 cup whole wheat couscous
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or ripped
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one lemon

Directions

In a large pot with lid, bring one cup salted water to boil. Add green beans. Cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
Add thawed corn and shrimp; stir to combine. Cover and cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp is opaque.
Add couscous; stir to combine (add canned corn here). Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Add basil, oil and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Serves 4

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The leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave too! Plus you can use fresh corn in the Summer, or substitute fresh peas for the green beans. So versatile.

Healthy Dose Link Time!!!!!!

FitSugar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:00:09 -0700

About: Low Fat Cooking has the low down on eating shrimp as part of your low fat diet.

The Weighting Game poses the question Alli: Friend or Foe?

fitPod's new music mix is 40 minutes of "pulsing bodyworking beats" designed to get your body moving. Did I mention this play list is FREE?

iFit&Healthy has some tips on dealing with the plateaus of weight loss.

The Skinny Website weighs in on the question of whether Fergie was photoshopped for the cover of "Self."

Back in Skinny Jeans has started "fit" blogging. Check in and see how she is doing as she drops pounds and inches.

Fitness Fixation has made a personal dare - check it out and see if it is a challenge for you too.

About: Yoga introduces you to the Reverse Warrior. It is an elegant and satisfying pose.

HealthBolt has an easy tip for avoiding acne break outs.

That's Fit shares a folk remedy for digestion troubles and surprisingly it involves vinegar.

Complete Running Network explains the relationship between Sir Isaac Newton and your running style.

Lift News warns you about counterfeit Colgate toothpaste.

YumSugar brings you dessert without guilt: Banana Mousse.

Healthy Dose Link Time!!!!!!

FitSugar — Mon, 21 May 2007 11:45:00 -0700

Complete Running shares an amazing tale of running through adversity - the adversity being chemotherapy!!!

Traveling? About: Yoga shares ways to take your yoga practice on the road.

Think just women are subject to airbrushing on magazine covers? Back in Skinny Jeans wants you to check out Andy Roddick on the cover of Men's Fitness and weigh in on the subject.

diet-blog has the details on healthy meals for kids, and what the kids really ate.

Renee Get's Fit gets serious about having prehypertension.

Fitness Fixation offers up ways to stay in shape while you're traveling - the 100 Challenge. Don't let the name intimidate you.

About: Low Fat Cooking has a tasty looking recipe for shrimp with mango for you to try.

That's Fit ponders the possibilities of a vaccine against allergies.

I love poems and running, and Run DMC magically combines the two and it's titled the best place to be.

fitPod has a 50 minute, aerobic inspiring music mix for you to download for free.

The Skinny Website has the skinny on how Sandra Bullock and Brooke Shields stay so slender and fit.

Curious to see a health nut's grocery list? The Weighting Game found one and you should take a gander, copy it down and buy that healthy food.

The Same Thanksgiving dinner without the Same Fat: Snacks

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:30:00 -0800

Thanksgiving is all about eating and then there's some giving thanks involved, maybe some football or the parade. But really it seems to be all about food.

As we gather around and wait for the fabulous meal to be ready, we snack. It is inevitable. Here are a few suggestions of snacks to have available that won't have such an adverse effect on your waist line:

Shrimp cocktail for a little bit of protein and not a lot of carbs or fat.
Raw nuts for some omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Almonds and walnuts would be the best. Make sure they are low salt and have no added oil or sugar.
Raw veggies like carrots, celery and red pepper strips for dipping in a healthy dip like hummus (you know I love hummus) or guacamole.
I also like to put out wasabi peas - they are low in fat and have some dietary fiber and the spice keeps you from eating too much.

For another idea, check out today's Snack Attack pears with blue cheese and walnuts.

Snack wisely and when you get to the table eat slowly and enjoy the meal.

Go Ahead, Put Another Shrimp on the Barbie!

FitSugar — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:30:00 -0800

EcoFish offers the first nationally distributed certified organic white shrimp.

These shrimp are grown in an eco-friendly aquaculture farm in Ecuador and they are naturally raised without any chemicals, antibiotics, genetic modifications or pollution. What's more? They are certified organic! What's even more?! These shrimp are fed a special feed that makes them have 30% less cholesterol than regular shrimp!

The shrimp are individually quick frozen, peeled, medium sized and ready to cook. They could be the best tasting and healthiest shrimp you will ever eat! Go here to get a list of stores where the shrimp is sold.

Fit's Tip: Store a few bags in your freezer. You never know when you'll need a quick appetizer and these little babies cook in less than 10 minutes. Throw a little cocktail sauce in a dish and you got yourself a quick (and healthy) snack for your guests.

Food Review: Lean Cuisine Szechuan Shrimp Stir Fry

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Though I sometimes eat Lean Cuisine products in a pinch, I'm not usually a fan of processed frozen food. But when these Lean Cuisine meals arrived at the office the other day, I recognized the Spa Cuisine Classics box from the 100 healthiest supermarket foods list. (The Chicken With Peanut Sauce was named best frozen dinner.) Better yet, the box proclaimed that the meal was preservative free, so I decided to try it.

I had the Szechuan Style Stir Fry With Shrimp, featuring whole-wheat noodles, baby corn, sugar snap peas, carrots, and bell peppers. After I zapped the meal in the Sugar HQ kitchen, several passersby said it looked delicious. To find out if it actually tasted good, read more.

I'm not sure how a frozen meal can be preservative-free, but it's true: there was nothing troubling on this ingredient list, aside from "caramel color." Mostly, it was shrimp and veggies, plus soy sauce, garlic, and seasonings. Though the box promises a "spicy Asian-style sauce," this dish wasn't at all spicy but actually rather sweet and mild. I was sad to find very few snap peas in my box, but the entree redeemed itself with flavorful shrimp and tender pasta that tasted fresh.

Flavor and texture-wise, the Spa Cuisine Classic impressed. Although some co-workers said the portion looked small, it filled me up quite nicely, and with just 240 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, it was a very healthy lunch. Unfortunately, like many frozen meals, this one is very high in sodium: It contains 760 mg, or 32 percent of your daily recommended intake. But if you're looking for a healthy, fast frozen lunch or dinner, this one is better than the average microwave meal, and I appreciate the lack of strange-sounding chemicals in the ingredients.

Have you tried these? If so, what flavor do you like?

Cookbook Review: Almost Meatless

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0700

Studies on health and the health of the environment continue pointing to the fact that eating less meat is beneficial. It is from the perspective that you can reduce both your carbon footprint and your long term health by cutting back on your carnivorous ways that the authors of Almost Meatless ($22.50) penned their new cookbook. A collaboration between a former vegan, Joy Manning, and a committed meat eater, Tara Mataraza Desmond, this cookbook is full of recipes that include meat, fish, and poultry in the ingredient list. The meat, however, is not central to the dishes and is used more like a spice for flavor, texture, and color.

The cookbook is divided into sections by animal proteins, including chicken, seafood, eggs, beef, and pork. The amount of meat in these recipes is small, often hovering around four ounces to create a final dish containing four to six servings. The photos of the dishes are inspiring, but I would love a shot of every dish - I am very visually motivated when it comes to experimenting with new recipes. There are many tempting dishes to make like Almond Gnocchi with Lamb Ragu and Sweet Potato Chorizo Mole. I cooked up the shrimp fried rice and everyone in my house plus two guests loved it, and I look forward to trying more recipes from this book. The authors provide great cooking and shopping tips - like how to freeze bacon so you can use a slice when needed. Yes, cooking with just a piece of bacon still packs a powerful tasty punch. The only problem I have with this cookbook - there are no nutritional breakdowns of the recipes. I believe that cooks interested in using less meat are also going to want to know the calories, protein, and fat per serving.

To check out the tasty fried rice recipe read more.

Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice
Almost Meatless by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond

Ingredients

1 large pineapple, cut in half length wise
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 small onion, but into 1/4 inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves, garlic minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 (1-inch) piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 small red bell pepper, but into 1/4 inch dice, about (half a cup)
1 cup shopped sugar snap or snow peas
1 Thai chile, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
4 cups cold cooked brown or white rice
1/2 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cute into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions

Make two bowls form the pineapple halves by arcing out the center, leaving the bottom intact and leaving about a 1/2-inch-think border along the sides. Cut the carved out pineapple into small chunks, discarding the pieces of the tough center core. Set the pineapple shells and he chunks aside.
Coat a wok or a large sautée pan with the oil and set over medium-high heat. Once the oils shimmering but not smoking, add onion, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, peas, and chili. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, and rice, tossing to incorporate with the other ingredients.
Add the shrimp, cooking just until done, for about two minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the pineapple chunks. Spoon the rice into the carved out pineapple halves and serve.

Serves 4

Make it family friendly by leaving out the Thai chili. Just sautée the chili separately and add to adult plates depending on desired spiciness.

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Healthy Eating Tip: Eat Two Different Fish a Week

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:00:10 -0700

Many people are worried about high mercury counts in fish, so they're swearing off seafood. The thing is, many types of fish are low in saturated fat, are an excellent source of lean protein, and are high in essential heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. I'm not saying that mercury is something to overlook, since this toxin can cause brain damage, and possibly cancer, but it doesn't mean you need to give up fish entirely.

It's safe to eat fish twice a week (up to 12 ounces), but you should choose two different types of fish to get a variety of nutrients. Good sources of low-mercury fish are shrimp, oysters, scallops, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, flounder, sole, halibut, and catfish. Young children, women trying to get pregnant, those already pregnant, and nursing moms are considered "high risk," since too much mercury can affect developing brains. So for those people, the EPA recommends limiting intake of seafood that's high in mercury such as swordfish, golden bass, golden snapper, and shark.

Trying to meet your fish "quota" doesn't need to be boring. Try poached salmon with curried yogurt sauce or halibut stir-fry for dinner tonight.