Honey Lime Ginger Shrimp with Quinoa and Mango Salsa

I have to apologize for this one; I hadn't planned on blogging it, so I didn't measure anything precisely. I will estimate the best I can, and I promise to make this again & measure everything the next time!
I have recently discovered and fell in love with quinoa. It's texturally quite different, so some of you may not appreciate it, but it's loaded with nutrition--see here: The World's Healthiest Foods: Quinoa.
And, obviously, living in coastal Georgia, fresh seafood is readily available. You could easily substitute the shrimp with chicken or even pork, if you're not a fan. The title is a bit misleading, by the way. I happened to be out of honey, but I had agave nectar on hand. I think you could go either way, but the agave nectar has a much more subtle flavor, and any variety of honey will impact the flavor somewhat. Also, I have a key lime tree, so I use key lime juice in my recipes. Again, the flavor difference will be subtle, but noticeable. I used canned pineapple in 100% pineapple juice, but fresh pineapple would be fantastic in the salsa, and you could buy organic pineapple juice for the quinoa if you preferred.

Ingredients

For the Quinoa:
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 cup quinoa
1/4 diced onion
2-3 diced sweet baby peppers
salt to taste

For the Shrimp:
16-20 large shrimp, shelled
Juice of 1 large lime or 2-3 key limes
1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
1 tblsp agave nectar or honey
1/4 cup grapefruit juice
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice (can substitute equal parts ground clove and allspice)
pinch of salt

For the Mango Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
1/2 onion, diced (I had a Vidalia onion on hand, but purple would work nicely)
5 or 6 sweet baby peppers, finely diced
1 cup pineapple, diced
Juice of 1 key lime or half a large lime

Prepare the salsa by mixing ingredients together and allow to rest in the fridge ahead of dinner. Mix the ingredients for the shrimp in a medium bowl and allow the shrimp to marinate while the quinoa cooks.
Bring all ingredients for the quinoa together in a sauce pan to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Set a timer for 15 minutes--the quinoa should have a chewy texture and most of the liquid should be gone. Turn off the heat and leave the pan to sit.
In a nonstick pan, add 1 tsp olive oil and turn the heat to medium-high. When the oil is shimmering, add the shrimp, including the marinade. Cook quickly, stirring shrimp, until the shrimp is opaque and the liquid is reduced, about 5-7 minutes.
By this time, the quinoa should have absorbed the remaining liquid. Plate the quinoa, topping with shrimp and a drizzle of the reduced marinade, then garnish with the mango salsa.

This recipe isn't complete--I feel like it still needs a bit of tweaking--maybe some cilantro in the salsa? But, feel free to try it with your own twists and let me know what worked for you! Bon appetit!

Clean Eats: Banana Bread

After the pumpkin bread success, I knew I had to give banana bread a shot. I really do love bread. For this recipe, I adapted a generic banana bread recipe I found online.

Ingredients:
3-4 overripe bananas (hint: they should nearly be black and smell sweet)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup Splenda
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Gaspari Myofusion)
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups oat flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Smash the bananas with a fork in a medium-sized mixing bowl before adding in the applesauce. If you have lemon juice on hand, a little drizzle will prevent the bananas from browning (not that it really matters). I used a little squeeze from one of my Meyer lemons. Mix in the Splenda, egg, and vanilla next, thoroughly incorporating all ingredients. Fold in the dry ingredients--I used a fork for the entire process, but you could use a whisk. If you like, add chopped walnuts--this is a personal preference, and I used a generous handful. Coat a 4x8 loaf pan with non-stick spray and pour in the batter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour--depending on how 'done' you like your bread.

I went the full hour and ended up with a nice crisp crust with a super soft interior.

This bread tastes like a ripe banana in just the right way, and is about as clean as bread can get! Hope you enjoy.

Clean Eats Pumpkin Bread

This is the inaugural Clean Eats Lifestyle Blog! Many thanks to my best friend, Jen, who persuaded me to go all out for a bikini competition (more on that later), subsequently leading to my first ever six-pack abs. I'm going to share how I got there....in my thirties.

We'll start with a recipe for Clean Eats Pumpkin Bread. I crave carbs and sweets something fierce; especially when I'm on a gym hiatus. So, I started Googling recipes for clean desserts, and after a couple, I realized I could probably make my own. This bread isn't too sweet--I tend to make pies and breads a little less sweet, so you can bump up the sweetness level if you wish.

Ingredients
2/3 cup Splenda (or Truvia; you can bump this up to 3/4 cup for added sweetness)
3 whole eggs (yes, whole eggs--you need the fat from the yolks)
1 can pumpkin (100% pumpkin, not pie filling)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit

Whisk together the eggs and Splenda until combined. Add in pumpkin and vanilla; continue whisking until thoroughly mixed. Sift the dry ingredients together, then fold into the wet ingredients until incorporated, but don't overmix. Spray a 4" loaf pan thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray and pour in batter. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the center is set (toothpick or cake tester comes out clean).

This bread is best when it's piping hot out of the oven, but if you cool it thoroughly on a cooling rack, then wrap, it will keep a day or two. I added a tablespoon of molasses to my first batch for added spicy sweetness.

Hope you enjoy!