Shrimp: Fast and Delicious

Shrimp is the ultimate fast food for people with limited time but the desire for a healthy diet. It's low in calories, rich in protein, omega 3 fatty acids, B12, selenium, and many other vitamins and nutrients. They cook rapidly so they're a great ingredient to keep on hand in the fridge and freezer for last minute meals. Here are a few ideas on how to prepare them.

The purest way to eat shrimp is to steam them and make a simple cocktail sauce out of ketchup, horseradish (prepared, not creamy), and fresh lemon juice. Remember that shrimp cook rapidly, so as soon as they are pink remove them from the heat and immerse them in a bowl of ice. This keeps them from overcooking.

Cook up a shrimp boil for a complete and fast meal that your whole family will love. Most shrimp boils are made out of sausage, potatoes, corn, shrimp, and Old Bay seasoning. You start boiling the ingredient that takes the longest, and keep adding until you put in the shrimp last. Use your imagination and add something different, such as green beans, edamame, or sweet potatoes.

Keep frozen, cooked shrimp on hand to top salads. Simply run tepid water over shrimp until they're thawed. All you need to do is open up a bag of mixed greens, slice tomatoes, cucumbers, and whatever other veggies you have on hand. Add a chopped hard-boiled egg or steamed asparagus. Leftovers are always great salad toppers, such as sautéed mushrooms or leftover veggies. Put the cooked shrimp on last, drizzle lightly with your favorite light vinaigrette or a teaspoon of olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon. You can grate some lowfat cheese or Parmigiano for extra flavor.

Use shrimp as a pizza topping instead of pepperoni and sausage. Make your favorite pizza dough, spoon on some Marinara sauce; lightly sprinkle with lowfat mozzarella, fresh shrimp, chopped basil or a sprinkle of dried Italian seasoning, and Parmigiano. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes for the perfect pizza. You can also make this for lunch or a snack with whole grain English muffins or pita bread.

Cook shrimp for breakfast. Add it to your scrambled eggs, omelet, or make a breakfast wrap with shrimp, scrambled eggs, chopped tomatoes, lowfat cheese and shredded lettuce. Make an English muffin sandwich for on-the go eating. Toast the muffin, spread with Light Swiss Laughing cow cheese, top with shrimp, a slice of tomato, some arugula or fresh spinach, and top with other muffin half.

Sautee up a simple dish of onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms. Add some white wine, salt, pepper, fresh herbs and shrimp. You can eat this on its own, add to steamed rice or whole grain pasta, on top of a creamy polenta or grits, on top of a baked sweet or regular potato, or across a loaf of toasted garlic bread.

Shrimp is fast, easy, delicious and fun to prepare and eat. Try some of these recipes and add your own twist to one of the most delicious fruits of the sea.