Coconut Shrimp Curry

(From the South Beach Diet newsletter.)

Serves 2

When making a curry, toast or warm the curry paste in liquid first, before adding other ingredients, to bring out the fragrant, complicated flavors. Opt for red curry paste as opposed to green, which is much spicier, and make sure you use unsweetened coconut milk, not the thick sweetened kind. We like to serve this over brown rice — the curry cooks so quickly, it will be done before the rice is finished cooking.

Tip: Since there's no oil in the pot, you must keep stirring the peppers and onions as they cook.

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened light coconut milk, divided
1 teaspoon red Thai curry paste
1/2 large red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons granular sugar substitute
1 teaspoon fish sauce
10-12 ounces extra-large shrimp
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Sliced fresh basil leaves and fresh lime wedges for garnish

Instructions
1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and the curry paste to simmer. Add peppers and onions; cook 4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in remaining 3/4 cup coconut milk, sugar substitute, and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer; let cook 1 minute.
2. Add shrimp; cook 3 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through, stirring once to flip shrimp. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice. Serve over rice, garnished with basil and additional lime.

Nutritional Information:
399 calories
19 total g fat (13 g saturated fat)
235 mg cholesterol
19 g carbohydrate
37 g protein
2 g fiber
520 mg sodium

Creamy Coconut Shrimp with Crisp Veggies

(This is from www.hungrygirl.com. If you haven't signed up for their daily newsletter, do it now!)

Ingredients:
1 cup Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, Unsweetened Vanilla (or light vanilla soymilk*)
2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 oz. Torani Sugar Free Coconut Syrup
2 tsp. cornstarch
8 oz. uncooked shrimp; shell-off and de-veined
5 cups green beans (or veggies of your choice)
Optional: 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:
Begin by stirring to combine Almond Breeze (or soymilk), Torani Syrup, cornstarch, soy sauce, and (if desired) red pepper flakes in a medium-sized saucepan. Set stove to low heat and cook until mixture reaches a frothy boil. Stir and continue to heat for 2 - 3 minutes. Turn off stove, but leave sauce in the pan to thicken. Wash and cut green beans and place in a microwave-safe dish with 1/3 cup of water. Cover veggies with a lid or plastic wrap, and heat in microwave for 5 - 10 minutes (depending on how crisp you like ‘em). Drain liquid and set aside. Next, add shrimp to the sauce in the saucepan and cook at medium heat. Cook until shrimp are pink on the outside and opaque throughout (about 3 - 5 minutes; time will vary based on shrimp size). Top steamed green beans with shrimp and sauce. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Serves 2!

(1/2 recipe: 235 calories, 3g fat, 550mg sodium, 23g carbs, 10g fiber, 4g sugars, 30g protein = 4 Points)