Sometimes you want a change, but you want it to be easy. When I have a week where I want to incorporate seafood, I know I can prep shell fish for a few meals ahead of time + then lean on my go-to quick seafood recipes, made fresh, for the rest of the week!

I can still do my normal routine of  taking a protein as a base + prepping it in several different ways to increase variety + decrease boredom in the kitchen while meal prepping. As a protein, shellfish should be used every so often-I have it for 4-5 meals/month and that is out of 90-odd meals if you count up 3/day. And the rest of the time, try to get in healthy fat-filled seafood for ideally a few meals/week.

MODES OF COOKING: grill or pan-saute

I love to grill jumbo shrimp in the shell + then use them whole on salads or peel + chop it for more recipes. You can do this on an indoor griddle in cold-weather months, which I love! (My fave griddle pan is Staub.)

THE RECIPES

Black Pepper Shrimp

makes 2 servings

To Make:

1. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the last shell segment and the tail fin intact.
2. Add 2 olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the shrimp to the pan + cook until pink- about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan + set aside.
4. Add the minced garlic and peppercorns to the skillet, cook-stirring frequently for about 1 minute. Add the stock + lemon juice. Allow to cook and reduce by at around half. Add in the remaining ghee or butter, 1 TB at a time. Stir in the shrimp. Toss gently to combine.
5. Serve with roasted asparagus + black rice, garnished with parsley leaves + lemon wedges.

Coconut Curry Shrimp Salad

makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

To Make:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, + red pepper flakes. Cook-stirring frequently- until the onions are tender.
2. Add the curry and fish sauce- stirring another minute.
3. Raise to medium-high heat and add the coconut milk + cook- stirring occasionally until coconut milk is cooked down.
4. Add the shrimp + cook until the shrimp release turns turns pink + opaque.
5. Garnish with fresh cilantro over fresh superfood slaw.

Honey-Sriracha Shrimp

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Mung bean sprouts
• 2 cups purple cabbage, shredded
• 2 cups baby bok choy, pan-grilled
• 1 1/2 LBS shrimp, peeled + deveined
• 2 TB honey
• 1/2 cup Sriracha
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 lime, juiced
• Cilantro + lime wedges, to garnish

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the sriracha, honey, garlic, + lime juice.
4. Shake the shrimp up with the sauce in either a bowl or a large ziplock baggie.
5. Place shrimp on prepared baking sheet + bake for 8-10 minutes or until opaque.
6. Meanwhile, pan-grill the bok choy with a dash of sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat.
7. Mix the cooked shrimp  + bok choy in a bowl with the sprouts + cabbage.
8. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro + lime wedges.

Air-Fried Popcorn Shrimp

Roasted Garlic Shrimp + Tomato Pasta

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 LBS shrimp, peeled + deveined
• 1 spaghetti squash, cut in half + roasted until tender @ 375 degrees F with a brush of oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups baby spinach
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 TB basil, coarsely chopped

To Make:

1. Roast the squash as written above
2. In a skillet over medium heat with a bit of olive oil – heat the garlic for 1 minute.
3. Add in the tomatoes + shrimp -cook until tomatoes are tender + shrimp is opaque/pink-roughly 6-8 minutes. Try to avoid stirring too much so the liquid from the tomatoes isn’t released.
4. Add in the baby spinach + merely mix until slightly wilted.
5. Serve 1/4 of the shrimp mix over 1/3 cup spaghetti squash noodles with a pinch of chopped basil + a drizzle of olive oil.