For years my culinary students have told me how much they love shrimp. They’re pretty surprised when I tell them that these crustaceans are not only delicious, but good for you too! Here’s why we love shrimp and how you can too.
Shrimp Facts
90% of the shrimp Americans consume is imported from countries in the Central and South America and Asia-Pacific regions. The hundreds of species of shrimp are typically divided into 2 basic categories: warm-water and cold-water shrimp. The rule of thumb is the colder the water, the smaller and juicier the shrimp.
Shrimp ranges in hue from deep red to pink to grayish-white to yellow and even dark green. When cooked, most shrimp shells change color due to a heat-induced chemical change.
You can buy shrimp according to their size—usually you’ll find that larger shrimp cost a prettier penny. Colossal shrimp usually come 10 or less per pound, jumbo 11-15 per pound, extra-large 16-20 per pound, large 21-30 per pound, medium 31-35 per pound, small 36-45 per pound and miniature about 100 per pound. Of course, these numbers can vary from region to region. As a general rule, one pound of whole, raw shrimp yields ½ to ¾ pound of cooked meat.
Shrimp is available all year round. They can be found in various forms at your local market such as shelled or unshelled, cooked or raw and fresh or frozen.
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- Food Network Kitchens' Honey Soy Grilled Salmon With Edamame
If you’ve been grilling the same recipes each season, it’s time to shake things up. We’re giving you plenty of deliciously healthy main dish recipes to choose from—meat, chicken, fish and vegetarian—all for less than 400 calories per serving.
Meats
Beef, pork and lamb can all be healthy choices for the grill. Be sure to choose lean cuts of meat, keep portions around 3-4 ounces per serving and limit the amount of fatty ingredients like butter and oil.
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In this week’s nutrition news: Healthy foods that can be deadly, Gulf seafood deemed safe to eat and study finds dorm food bad for the waistline.
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Feeling that cool-weather chill? Cozy up to warm pot of stew. For a change of pace, try chicken, lamb, beans or seafood as the main attraction. Stews contain a variety of veggies — carrots, potatoes, onions and celery — that add immunity-boosting vitamins.
Whether you love digging into thick stone crab claw or a bowl of blue crab chowder, now is the time to do it — the season for some varieties (Dungeness especially) has started. Here are some ideas for prepping this sweet, delicious and healthy seafood.
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Sweet and tender, shrimp are extremely low in calories and a terrific source of protein. Three ounces of cooked shrimp (that’s about 15 large ones) only has 85 calories, 18 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of fat — that’s as lean as lean protein gets.
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- Paula's Grilled Tilapia
Tilapia has gained popularity over the past 20 years. Once a fish that no one had heard of, now it’s the seafood everyone wants to try. It is easy to see why – tilapia is affordable, easy to prepare and has a mild flavor that appeals to those who may not love fish. You might say it’s the perfect “starter fish.”
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