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

I’m always looking for fast lunches that are also healthy and tasty.  The October 2007 issue of Eating Well magazine caught my eye with a feature promoted on the cover as “Easy Lunches to Go.”  These recipes make one serving each, are all under 350 calories (some far under), and are completely portable.

I immediately made the Shrimp Cobb Salad.  It’s loaded with vegetables, and has some protein to keep you going through the afternoon.  Although the “recipe” calls for blue cheese dressing, you could switch it out with your favorite dressing, if you don’t like blue cheese.  I put recipe in quotation marks, because really this is just a recommended combination of ingredients.  If you don’t like something, swap it for something else.  Not a shrimp fan?  Use some leftover shredded chicken instead.  Cucumber doesn’t strike your fancy?  Try shredded carrot in its place.  Depending on what you switch out, you may change the nutritional analysis, but as long as you’re not loading it up with high fat add-ins (nuts, bacon bits, cheese), you probably won’t be making too dramatic a change.

This little salad makes a nice lunch any time of the year, but during the summer it’s especially cool and refreshing if you chill the lettuce, cucumber, and shrimp before serving.

Shrimp Cobb Salad

Combine 3 cups chopped hearts of romaine, 5 grape or cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup sliced cucumber, 1 sliced hard boiled egg, and 5 cooked peeled shrimp (31-40 count) in a bowl.  Season with black pepper.  Serve tossed with 2 tablespoons light blue cheese dressing.

273 calories, 13g fat (3g saturated), 5g fiber.

picture from Eating Well magazine.

Because most of its chocolate comes from cocoa powder, and chocolate mini chips, there’s a strong chocolate flavor without a huge amount of fat. I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, making it intensely chocolatey and rich, which means you can get a big chocolate hit in a very small piece. In fact, although the recipe says it makes 16 servings, I’ve found that I can get more like 20 servings out of it because it’s so very satisfying. The original recipe calls for regular cocoa, and in fact the comment from the reader who developed the recipe is that she likes the delicate flavor of the cake. I liked the dark chocolate version because it allowed me to feel I’d eaten a lot of chocolate, when in fact I’d had only a very small slice.

The glaze that’s poured over the cake as it comes out of the oven ensures that the finished cake is very moist. I was a little worried about dumping a cup of liquid over a just-baked cake, thinking the result might be somewhat soggy, but my fears were misplaced. The glaze slides down the sides of the pan and around the bottom (or, when removed from the pan, the top) of the cake. I would recommend spooning the glaze toward the outside and inside edges of the pan, rather than over the cake itself. Drizzle some on the cake, of course, but target the majority of it to the sides where it will ease in and have the most impact. The result was outstanding, and received rave reviews from my tasters.

Plus making this is an excuse to say Bundt a lot. Bundt bundt bundt.

And so, without further ado:

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Drizzle oil into a 12-cup Bundt pan; coat pan thoroughly with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour, shaking out excess. Coat prepared pan with cooking spray.

Place 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 6 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 3 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Beat 2 minutes. Fold in chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Swirl batter using a knife.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately pour glaze over cake. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate; cool completely. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
CALORIES 326(28% from fat); FAT 10.3g (sat 5.8g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 5.5g; CHOLESTEROL 43mg; CALCIUM 59mg; SODIUM 211mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 1.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.8g