Weigh-Low: Sassy Shrimp Skewers

My favorite part of perfecting low calorie cooking is taking yummy recipes and giving them a Whitney Weigh-Low makeover. I often peruse magazines and rip out recipes to try, replacing ingredients with my own secret weapons or removing them all together.

Therefore I must give credit to Women's Health for the idea for these two dishes. Although the recipes are similar, I've tweaked them a bit to get you the least calories and simplest ingredients, but maintain the fabulous flavor.

Pesto Shrimp Skewers atop Summer Succotash

Ingredients

12 Large Shrimp (90 cal)
1/4 cup of Yellow Corn (40 cal)
1/4 cup chopped Zucchini (7 cal)
1/4 cup mixed chopped Red and Yellow Peppers (8 cal)
5 Cherry tomatoes (25 cal)
1 Tbls Pesto (60 cal)
Wooden Skewers

Directions

1. Marinate thawed uncooked shrimp in pesto for at least 20 minutes.

2. Spray a nonstick pan with Pam and saute corn, zucchini, and peppers till cooked through. Season with salt, pepper, and basil.

3. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until you can press on them and they burst.

4. Pierce 5 shrimp each on two skewers. Cook skewers on a stove top grill or BBQ for about 5 minutes on each side until pink. Serve over summer succotash.

Total Calories: 260 (whole recipe)


Simple Asparagus Soup

Ingredients

1 c Fat Free Milk (90 cal)
1 Tbls Whole Wheat Flour (25 cal)
1/2 pkg (5 oz) Frozen Asparagus (40 cal)
1 Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese Wedge (35 cal)

Directions

1. Mix FF milk and flour in a frying pan and simmer on low to medium heat until it thickens, about 5-10 minutes.

2. Add frozen asparagus and cook until limp.

3. Transfer mixture to blender or food processor and puree.

4. Transfer back into pan and warm. Add laughing cow cheese and stir till dispersed.

5. Add salt, pepper, or cayenne pepper to taste. Garnish with sliced almonds.

Total Calories: 190 (whole recipe)

The soup is quite large and can be split with a friend for an appetizer. But if you want to eat the entire portion of both recipes, you're still only talking about a 420 calorie dinner. Not bad!

Enjoy.