Fit Fare

I’ve been given a strict order to take my lunches to work this week.  Seems my “lunch budget” has gotten somewhat out of control.  And I know it’s better for me to bring something from home; everything available to me around the office is either fast food, or the kind of restaurant where it’s hard to make a good choice (I have a really difficult time going to a Mexican restaurant and getting the healthy option with all those enchiladas and chimichangas staring me in the face; better not to expose myself to the temptation).  I was casting about for some options, trying to think of things I could make in advance and take along.Enter the September issue of Cooking Light and their Dinner Tonight column.  The first two offerings were right up my alley, and looked like perfect lunch fare.  And the best thing: each recipe makes two servings, one for me, one for my husband.  I often find that if I make a large batch of something like risotto or soup that I get tired of the flavors long before the week is over, and I wind up listening to marachi music and squelching feelings of guilt about a) the chimichanga I just ordered and b) having gone out for lunch again.

So Sunday morning I whipped up the Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp and popped it into Tupperware to take.  It was incredibly fast–the thing that took the longest was thawing the shrimp!–and rich and creamy, but with only about 7 grams of fat per serving.  My shrimp were just about an ounce each (making each serving 6 shrimp), so if this is the case with yours, and you want to taste them before you serve, you could add a “tasting shrimp” for good measure.  My husband likes things spicy, so I upped the curry paste to a whole teaspoon.  That’s pretty fiery, so if you don’t like it hot, stick to the 1/4 teaspoon the recipe calls for, or maybe increase it just a tad to a half a teaspoon.  Also if you happen to be growing Thai basil this summer, swapping it for the regular basil would probably add a more authentic taste.

If you were making this for dinner, and decided you wanted it for lunch too, you could easily double the recipe.  This one definitely goes on the “make again” list!

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp
from Cooking Light magazine, September 2008
makes 2 servings

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon red curry paste (such as Thai Kitchen)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 12 ounces large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/3 cup light coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and curry paste to the pan, saute 1 minute, stirring occasionally (paste will “melt”).  Stir in sugar; saute 15 seconds.  Add shrimp; saute 3 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring frequently.  Stir in coconut milk and fish sauce; cook 30 seconds or until heated through.  Remove from heat; stir in green onion and basil.

Serving size: 1 cup.  Calories: 225 (26% from fat); Fat 7.4g (sat 2.6g, mono 1.8g, poly 1.9g), Protein 36.1g; Carb 10.2g, Fiber 1.1g, Chol 259mg, Iron 4.6mg, Sodium 740mg, Calcium 111mg