Easy Garlic Baked Shrimp

I promised to share some recipes on our journey to better health and this one is a keeper!  Easy Garlic Baked Shrimp is packed with protein, low fat, savory and best of all.....quick and easy!  I warn you, I'm kind of a kitchen experimenter so I don't usually measure much unless I'm baking but I'll try to give estimates for you.

Easy Garlic Baked Shrimp

Servings 2-4 

1lb raw shrimp fresh or frozen (I use the medium sized shrimp)

1 clove garlic minced/crushed (I use the jarred garlic and use a lot more than this.  We love garlic!)

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 cup Seasoned Panko bread crumbs 

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly mist a small casserole dish with cooking spray or olive oil.

Thaw shrimp if frozen under running cold water.  Remove shells and tails, devein if needed.  In a bowl, combine shrimp with garlic, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well then pour into the prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle seasoned Panko bread crumbs over the top.  Bake uncovered for 15 mins until shrimp is cooked.  Do not over cook.  Shrimp will continue to cook after removed from the oven and can easily over-cook and be tough.  Enjoy!  

Nutritional Analysis:  Servings--4, Cal. 167, Carbs, 8.  Fat, 2.  Protein, 27.  Sodium, 197.  Sugar, 1. 

As a side note:  I have also done this with marinade sauces.  Simply marinate the shrimp with your favorate marinade for about 15 mins, dump in the prepared casserole, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake as above.  If your marinade is saucy, the bread crumbs will absorb it.  So good!  We like Lawry's Brown Sugar Bourbon marinade for this!

Got. To. Get. Healthy!!

Over the last few months, my husband and I have seen the pounds creep back on.   I guess it was inevitable as we succumbed to convenience foods and fast foods due to our crazy work, school and sports schedules.  We so need to make changes around our house.  The first being getting rid of the last of the Girl Scout Cookies.  Being Troop Leader/Cookie Mom and having all those cookies sitting there calling your name is NOT good for a healthy way of eating-- or a healthy wallet for that matter!  Also, we need to stop buying the junk snacks we have in the house.  If it’s there, it WILL be eaten!!

So I’ve been trying to get back to cooking at home again.  It’s been great!  The food tastes so much better and I’m making extra so Hubby and I can take leftovers for lunch.  Double score—positive impact to health AND wallet!!!  I’ve tried a few newer recipes lately and also have tried to lighten some others up.  

It is still hard to work home cooking into my crazy schedule but I’m learning to improve my meal planning skills and kitchen organization to help.  I admit I’m not cooking each night but even 2 or 3 nights a week is a big help.  One thing I’ve learned which works for so many things is to start low and go slow or risk a burnout.  Using the grocer sales flyers to plan my meals has been a great help.  I also try to do several themes each week like Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Fun Food, Crockpot—then I look for new recipes to try.  It keeps it interesting!!

Stay tuned to see some of my Proven Awesome Recipes very soon!!  Next step is to get moving!  More on that later.

Chicken.....and Shrimp! It's what's for dinner!

I've recently begun cooking again.  I mean real cooking, with fresh ingredients and recipes.  Not dumping a box in a pot.  This is driven partly by my family's efforts to improve our health and cooking from scratch is getting us away from all those processed foods and broadening our food horizons. 

I'm loving it even if it is a bit of a challenge with my busy schedule.  And I'm finding myself severely disorganized in the kitchen from all those years of box cooking.  But I'm still loving it!  I'm getting faster each day I cook!  LOL!!

One of my favorite cooking blogs has got to be Gina's Skinny Recipes at SkinnyTaste.com.  She is AWESOME!!  I've tried several of her recipes and I'm always satisfied!!  I'll post more of my Proven Awesome Recipe from her site later.  But tonight I made Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets for the kiddos (yup, those are mine in the photo) and Healthy Breaded Shrimp for Hubby and me (sorry, no photo for those, we scarfed them up too quick!). 

Both were a huge hit!!  The nuggets were moist and tender.  I added a little garlic powder on the chicken because we like it that way.  The shrimp were soooo good!  I never need to eat a "fried" shrimp again!!  And both recipes were easy.  The breading was the longest part but still didn't take too much time.  I served the shrimp with cole slaw and a baked sweet potato.  The kids had mac n cheese (admittedly, this WAS from a box!).  And a good meal was had by all!

Stage 2?

I have finally given up on denial and moved on to acceptance. Scott has always been a “spirited” child. Even as an infant, he would wail for hours inconsolably. I had strangers offer to hold him in stores so I could do my shopping. He had separation anxiety to the point of throwing full-out tantrums at daycare drop-off. When we moved and had to switch daycares, it was hell on earth.

We had hoped that the structure of Kindergarten would help him to settle down but it appears to have done the complete opposite. He is very smart and learns quickly but he can’t keep still and he can’t keep quiet. His teacher has said on some days it’s like he drank a 2 liter bottle of Mtn Dew right before school and he has no control. ADHD was mentioned actually by me but I just didn’t think that was it because he CAN focus and settle. He’s not always “on”.

Well, I did some web surfing on ADHD and saw quite a few signs and symptoms in his behavior—namely hyperactivity and impulsivity—and found out that they aren’t always “on”. We also talked with family members as 2 of our nephews have ADHD and Hubby says that Scott acts just like he did when he was a boy. So now I’m moving from denial to acceptance. Even if it isn’t ADHD, there is definitely something amiss.

We have an appointment with a counselor for Monday to review his background and behavior and will hopefully have his evaluation in January. Now that I’ve admitted he most likely has a problem, I want to fast track it and get him some assistance. But as those of you already in the system know, it is NOT a quick process. So my frustration level is mounting. But I have a good friend who has been through it and is being a great source of support. Scott’s teacher is also wonderful. She is willing to do anything we can to help him. Thank you so much, Mrs. Wall!!

It just breaks my heart to see his behavior page from school on those bad days--especially now, understanding he may not be able to control it. He’s such a sweet boy. I just want to help him so that the rest of the world can know the sweet boy that I know.

Healthy You Year Update

Well, I've done pretty well so far this week. I've had breakfast everyday but today. Not a bad start. I just need to keep it up. 21 days to form a habit, right??? I did notice that I was STARVING come lunch time today and I ate more at lunch than on the days that I ate breakfast. I also seemed to have more energy in the afternoons on those days. Think I'll keep it up!!!

2008--A Healthy You Year!

I'm making my resolutions a bit early this year. I'm racing toward the big 4-0 next year and I feel like a 60-year old woman most days. I'm definitely not a posterchild for a healthy lifestyle. So I'm planning to make small changes in my lifestyle--one at a time until they become a habit. I'm getting a head start and beginning in December. My habit for this month is going to be to eat breakfast. I rarely eat breakfast and when I do it's usually not the best choices. So I'm making the effort to eat a healthy breakfast each day. Yogurt, high fiber cereal, eggs. We'll see how it goes. Can you help keep me honest? I haven't decided whether to do my accounting here or at my other blog, Health Matters, which I've not been keeping up in quite some time. I'll decide and let you know. Wish me luck!!!!

Get into the PINK!!!

5 Minutes for Mom is having another give-away. This time it's a pink Casio digital camera to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer. Go check them out! And don't forget to click at The Breast Cancer Site to help provide mammograms for women who can't afford them!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I’ll be posting lots of related things this month to help get the word out so please stop by often and spread the word. You’ll notice in my sidebar a button for The Breast Cancer Site. This site helps to fund free mammograms just by you visiting and clicking. Your click on the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button helps fund free mammograms for women in need — low-income, inner-city and minority women whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited. Your click is paid for by site sponsors, and mammogram funding is provided to clinics throughout the U.S. through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

They also sell breast cancer related products and have information on diagnosis and treatment and stories of breast cancer patients and survivors. Please help out. All it takes is a click and clicks are free!!!! Then you can help another woman have a mammogram that could save her life.

Oh, yeah, it’s the first of the month, so don’t forget to check to the girls!!!!!

Time to Check the Girls

It's the first of the month and time for our Breast Self Exams again!!! If you need a video demo, check here. I have my annual exam this week so I'm going to let the professionals do it for me this month. I'll post when it is done. You do the same, 'K?

Time to Check the Girls!!

Today is August 1 and it’s time to do your Breast Self Exams (BSEs). Here is a great video demo for BSEs. My doctor uses this method too. He goes back and forth instead of circular making sure to go way down onto the ribcage and all the way up to the collar bone. Don’t forget the underarms!! And look for any odd physical changes: redness, swelling, itching, orange peel skin, heat, a sore that won’t go away. Make sure to call your doctor right away if you see any of these changes!! I admit to not keeping up with it myself even with my previous scares. But lets commit to it now!

Update: Mine is DONE!! Post a comment when your is done, too!!!