The bacon IS the bread. This is such a great idea for keto diets and bacon lovers. The bacon can be prepped in advance, even frozen in the hatch cross pattern and ready anytime.

Each sandwich uses four pieces of thin to medium sliced sugar free bacon and is filled with your favorite ingredients.

Bacon is the Bread Ideas

• The BLT. Lettuce, Summer Tomatoes, Mayo. Add: Cucumbers, Micro Greens, Avocado.
• The Club: Add Turkey to the BLT.
• The Caprese: Tomato, Mozzarella, Drizzle of Olive Oil with Basil or Pesto Smear.
• The Farmhouse: Cheddar, Tomato, Lettuce, Ranch Dressing.
• The American Burger: Burger Patty, Cheddar, Pickle, Mayo, Lettuce.
• Chicken Sandwich: Chicken, buffalo sauce, crisp lettuce tucked inside.
• Breakfast: Stuff with eggs, cheese. Either hard-fried eggs, scrambled eggs or mini-omelettes. Add avocado and arugula. Be creative.
• Salad: Stuff any favorite salad ingredients into your bacon sides. Messy, but who’s watching!

How to Prepare the Bacon as the Bread

• Four slices of bacon per sandwich
• Cut slices in half and arrange in lattice form.
• Place on parchment paper or silpat on baking sheet.
• Bake at 400 degrees F. approximately ten minutes each side.
• Drain on paper towels.

Bacon Egg Sandwich

More Keto Bacon Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
• Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
• Sugar Free Bacon Maple Jam
• Keto Bacon Cheddar Dutch Baby
• Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

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Turn Bacon into Bread

How to make bacon cross hatch style to serve as the bread with many sandwich ideas

Course lunch

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2 Servings

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon thin to medium slice

Instructions

• Cut four slices in half.
• Arrange in cross hatch pattern.
  
• Bake on parchment or silpat on baking sheet at 400 degrees.
• Drain on paper towels. Fill with ideas from the blog post above.
  
• Freeze in advance: You can make cross hatch bacon, freeze on tray. Once frozen, stack between parchment. When ready to bake, allow to defrost for about ten minutes prior to baking. You may take longer than the twenty minutes.
  

The post Keto No Bread Bacon Sandwich Ideas appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

A visit to Puerto Vallarta before I knew Mr. Spinach Tiger with someone else I refer to as the surfer heel, if I can use a very old fashioned word, led me to a near death experience and an authentic lunch in the middle of nowhere in Mexico.

The Near Death Experience.

Our hotel had a secluded beach and a riptide someone forgot to tell me about. The surfer heel insisted we venture further out into the water from the shore and as usual he went ahead not looking back. He never noticed that I got caught in an undertow only a few feet from shore. The good looking outdoor bartender came to my rescue, got me out of the water and somehow my top, that came off in the rough waters, got back on. I was too frightened to care about that at the time and am grateful there were no cell phone cameras back then to embarrass me.

The guests were stunned. Not because of my wardrobe malfunction nor my near drowning, but that surfer heel didn’t even look back or take notice. Finally, he realized I wasn’t there and he came back to find himself at odds with all the guests. They shook their heads with disgust and wondered what a nice girl like me was doing with someone like him. This was the vacation that led to the demise of this relationship and that wasn’t the worst of it.

The Unsettling Beach in the Middle of Nowhere, Mexico

The next day, he insisted we rent a car and drive from the semi-safe tourist part of town to a smaller town where odd looking stray dogs run wild and tourists are no where to be found. While he was surfing, I had the pleasure of sitting on a very unsettling beach, scared to death that something worse than an undertow was going to come along. It was time to end this relationship and wait for a real man who put me first.

Mexican Lunch in the Middle of the Nowhere, Mexico
The food was surprisingly good and that’s when I tasted my first real guacamole, assembled from chunks of avocado with simple ingredients

Budro’s Tableside Guacamole

The next time I tasted anything as good was at Boudro’s Texas Bistro in San Antonio. I had dinner there with Mr. ST one Valentine’s week many years ago, comforted in the realization that I had waited for the right man.  They took a picture of us on the patio wrapped in blankets which Boudro’s provides its guests.  Romantic that he is, he framed the picture and has it on his desk.

He became just as smitten with the their famous tableside guacamole and recreated the recipe as soon as we got back home, adapting it to his own taste. The serrano pepper can be left out, but we love it. 

His guacamole is legendary, and there is none better anywhere here in Nashville. He’s very particular about it, and I enjoy watching him do his table side magic especially because it always takes us back to that night in San Antonio, serving as a reminder to me how different my life could have been with the wrong person. (Although I’m not sure about those sunglasses. I think they are long gone, but he thought he looked like Bono. I laughed too).

Table-side Presentation for Authentic Guacamole

Table-side guacamole is something you can do when your guests arrive, but give them a drink first. The entire assembly takes about five minutes.How to  Make Sure the Avocado is Ripe Enough, but not too Ripe

There is a little brown stem (button) on the tip of an avocado. If you flick it off, you will see either a brown spot (too ripe) or a green spot (ripe enough)

Peel Your Avocados. Did you know you can peel avocados. Let me show you here.

Chop your cilantro with this Tuo Cleaver, my new favorite kitchen tool.



Tableside Guacamole and a Beautiful Presentation

The key to a beautiful presentation is to have everything ready to chop freshly on the spot peel the avocados. This is much easier than you may think and I did a post on it.  Peeling the avocado makes it easier to cut into attractive slices for some dishes or nice chunks for this one. It might be a good idea to have your onion pre-cut, but dice the tomato fresh.

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So tell me, did you wait for Mr. or Mrs. Right? Did it take you as many dogs as it took me?

More Avocado Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• How to Peel an Avocado
• How to Ripen an Avocado
• Avocado Margarita
• Avocado Shrimp Salad
• Avocado Chicken Pasta
• Chocolate Avocado Smoothie (low carb)
• Baked Avocado Egg with Lime Hollandaise

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Authentic Guacamole and Tableside Presentation

Authentic Guacamole and how to do a nice tableside presentation.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Note: To make enough guacamole: use 1 avocado per person and adjust ingredients accordingly.
• 4 avocados
• juice squeezed from 1/2 large orange
• juice squeezed from one lime
• sea salt black pepper
• 1/2 purple onion diced
• 1 small tomato diced
• handful of cilantro chopped
• 1 serrano pepper diced very finely (optional)

Instructions

• Assemble the following into a bowl:
• Peel avocados or carefully spoon out the flesh, keeping the avocado and intact as possible. Cut into large chunks.
• Squeeze the juices of orange and lime over avocado.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Add in chopped onion, tomato, cilantro
• Carefully mix together. You don’t want the avocado turned into mush.
• Season again with salt as needed, perhaps another squeeze of lime.
• Serve immediately.

Video

The post Authentic Tableside Guacamole appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I thought I knew the secret to avocados. But, I didn’t.

I used to think I was pretty smart just spooning and scooping out an avocado, after slicing in half. It works; but, it’s not the secret.

Peel an Avocado When It’s Ripe

When an avocado is ready, it peels right off. Simply slice gently lengthwise without slicing into avocado to get it started, and off the the skin comes. You can slice through and scoop out with a spoon, but if you want to make a salad and have gorgeous green slices, try peeling it to get those beautiful slices.

There is such a satisfaction to looking at this beautiful green football, it’s worth the wait. I was so excited about how beautiful this looked, I peeled another one, and another one.

How Does an Avocado Ripen

The avocado (like the banana) is a climacteric fruit. They do not ripen until after they are picked. And you have to have to purchase them at least 3-4 days in advance.

I discovered this technique when a friend brought some avocados for shrimp tacos for Memorial Day. They were so hard that we couldn’t use them.

I placed them inside a grocery cloth bag, ( I couldn’t find a paper bag) stuck them in the pantry and forgot about them for a week. I was so sure they would be terrible and mushy, but, when they were finally peeled and sliced, they were everything an avocado ought to be.

IF YOU USE A BANANA, you hasten the ripening process to perhaps 48 hours. See my post here.

I love avocados so much I might not even wait to get a cracker or a tortilla. I just eat them naked with salt and squeeze of lime or lemon.

Benefits of Avocado

Avocados are considered a healthy fat and also a super food. These are just a few of the many benefits.

• Increase blood food to the brain, helping information move faster.
• Good for Gut Health
• Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds
• Versatile for Many Delicious Recipes. See some of ours below, including smoothies, cocktails, salads and main dishes.

Recipes with Avocado from Spinach Tiger

• How to Ripen an Avocado
• Authentic Guacamole
• Corn Salad with Avocado
• Shrimp Avocado Salad
• Summer Chicken Soup with Avocado
• Mexican Chicken Rice Soup
• Grapefruit Avocado Salad
• Baked Avocado Egg with Lime Hollandaise Sauce
• Taco Salad
• Keto Chicken Enchiladas
• Low Carb Chocolate Smoothie with Avocado

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Now go out and buy some avocados and then exercise the proper patience so you can enjoy peeling and looking at this beautiful fruit.

The post How to Peel an Avocado appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

When I figured out a fantastic keto tortilla recipe, our low-carb world opened up to more gut sticking recipes, like these salmon tacos, and breakfast burritos.

I was really going for a green dish, and got this brilliant idea to make my own spinach tortillas. I used my grain free tortilla recipe as a starter, adding fresh baby spinach leaves and adding a little more almond flour to soak up the moisture. They were this perfect on the first try.

The Trader Joe’s salsa verde makes this so easy to put together, but you could always make my  homemade roasted salsa verde.

I almost feel silly sharing this recipe because it’s incredibly easy and flexible.

You do need to make the tortilas, which only take about twenty minutes.  I use a rotisserie chicken (from Costco) most of the time, but you could use any left over meat.

Then it’s simply a matter of mixing chicken with salsa verde,  little sour cream and cheddar cheese. Once mixed, you top each tortilla with chicken mixture, fold, add more salsa verde and cheese and bake until the cheese is melted.

Serve with olives, green onion, cilantro and avocado for a full-fat, high protein, delicious easy dinner. These are great heated up the next day. You can also freeze and reheat. I tested that.

Nutrition Value using an on-line app is an approximation to my best ability. 4 net carbs per enchilada, not including avocado

This site contains links from Amazon and earns a small commission, but does not affect price.

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Keto Green Chicken Enchiladas

Low carb, keto friendly Green chicken enchiladas with homemade low carb, grain free tortillas. Approximately 4 net carbs (not including avocado).

Course Entree

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 255kcal

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• This recipe may contain Amazon affiliate links which may earn a small commission.
• 8 grain free spinach tortillasrecipe here
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken left over rotisserie works great
• 1 cup salsa verde I used Trader Joe's
• 1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese depending on your preference.
• 1/3 cup sour cream.
• 3 green onions
• 1/4 cup black sliced olives
• cilantro for garnish
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions

• Mix shredded chicken with 1/3 cup sour cream, 1/3 cup cheese, 1/3 cup salsa verde. Feel free to adjust these at your preference.
• Brush a little salsa verde at bottom of the baking pan
• Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Fold. Set in baking pan.
• Cover all enchiladas with more salsa verde.
• Top with cheese.
• Bake at 350 F. for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. I like the cheese a little crispy. You may like it less so; thus baking time will vary.
• Garnish with olives, onion, cilantro.
• Serve with sliced avocado (optional).

Notes

Nutrition Values estimated using an online app.

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 19g | Fiber: 3g

The post Keto Green Chicken Enchiladas Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

We eat salmon at least once a week, because of all the proteins we could pick, this is the seven minute dinner that can be made in a number of ways. I’ve shown you many salmon recipes in the past, including my most recent salmon with pasta, cauliflower and olives.

When I was asked to partner with the National Salmon Council, I wanted to show you the easiest, most reliable way to get the best-tasting salmon in less than 10 minutes. I wanted to create a fun, family-friendly recipe to be fun, that brought out the best of salmon, while being a little unique.

I imagined vibrant colors of the rainbow and salmon tacos with tomato mango salsa popped into my head, and then onto this tray.

Easy Salmon Tacos are Slow Food Fast

Salmon tacos are easy and adaptable to your own taste. For example, I leave out anything spicy when I’m serving kids, but they tend to love the tomato mango salsa.

Salmon tacos are slow food fast, made in a matter of minutes and still so good for you. The salsa can be made in advance, and all you’ll need is seven minutes to pan-sear perfect salmon (I promise). I like to pan-sear the salmon on one side (skin side down) for two minutes in a hot pan and then put in the oven for five minutes. This is my basic salmon recipe from which many recipes can be created.

The biggest thing I hear from people is their apprehension to cook salmon or to cook fish indoors. Let me put all this to rest and tell you, once you cook salmon properly, meaning not overcooking, you’ll be making it every week and it’s not that fish that makes a house fishy.

Tomato Mango Salsa with Avocado, Red Onion, Cilantro

Mangoes love tomatoes and avocado. Be prepared to swoon over this combination and probably eat it out of the bowl (like we did). Red onion and cilantro bring these three ingredients together in perfect harmony that brings just the right amount of excitement to fish tacos. Sometimes, instead of cilantro, I use fresh basil for the salsa. Always make recipes your own!

Make sure your mangoes and avocados are ripe, but not too ripe. I buy my mangoes when they have a slight give, but not too much. Conversely, I buy my avocados rock hard, then ripen them myself. I explain why in this post, how to ripen avocados.

Cut the mango, by first holding it vertically and cutting the cheeks of the mango, avoiding the inner seed. Then cut crosswise and lengthwise, not cutting through to the skin. Then slide the knife close to the skin under the cubes.

When cutting the tomato, squeeze off a little of the juice and seeds. If you use Roma tomatoes, you won’t have an issue. Cut a very small dice.

Avocados are a superfood and healthy fat that do well with a bit of acid and salt, and when paired with a sweet fruit like a mango, it’s incredible. I peel my avocados first and then cut into a dice.

Red onion, plenty of cilantro, a touch of syrupy balsamic, and sea salt bring it all together. Shredded purple cabbage adds a little crunch, and a little color.

I suggest flour tortillas or my easy made from scratch grain free low carb tortillas (shown in the picture).

Salmon Tacos – Superfood and Eating the Rainbow

Salmon is a superfood that we should eat at least once a week. Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids, EPA and DHA, salmon is loaded with selenium, potassium and is anti-inflammatory. Mangoes promote eye health, facilitate digestion and aid in lowering cholesterol and have a low glycemic count, not spiking blood sugar. Avocados are known universally for their “good fat” and red cabbage has amazing antioxidant properties.

Salmon is usually a signature dish we serve to company. We always get rave reviews, whether we pan-sear or cook on the grill with this technique. In all honesty, I jumped at the opportunity to partner with the Salmon Council, because there is never a time salmon is not in our freezer. It’s my go to for a post-workout lunch and part of my overall low-carb lifestyle.

 More of Spinach Tiger’s Timeless Salmon Recipes

Ginger Roasted Salmon with Roasted Beets

Salmon with Low Carb Pasta, Cauliflower, Olives

Salmon Greek Spinach Salad with Lemony Dressing

Salmon on the Grill

Savory Smoked Salmon Cheesecake

For More Recipes Follow Hooked on Salmon

Follow the Hooked on Salmon Pinterest Board  on Pinterest.

Follow Hooked on Salmon on Facebook.

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Pan-Seared Salmon Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa

Pan Seared Salmon Tacos with Mango Tomato Salsa Recipe, a rainbow of superfood comes together to make exciting tacos the whole family will love.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Total Time 22 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound salmon filets
• 4 tablespoon olive oil divided
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt and pepper
• Mango Salsa recipe below
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• 8 flour tortillas or these almond flour tortillas

Mango Salsa

• 2 mangoes
• 2 avocados
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion finely diced
• 1 large bunch cilantro
• 2 tablespoons syrupy balsamic vinegar see notes
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 to rtillas

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees f, 180 C, Gas 4.
• Marinate salmon with olive oil and lime juice, while oven is preheating. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in pan to medium high in oven proof pan.
• Place salmon in pan skin side down. Cook for two minutes or until skin is crispy.
• Place pan in oven for about 5 minutes. Keep in mind that the salmon will continue to cook once removed from the oven. You do not want to overcook the salmon.
• Remove the skin, cut into pieces to place in tacos.
• Assemble with salmon, red cabbage and mango tomato salsa. Serve Immediately.

Mango Salsa Instructions

• Cut mango into cubes. Hold up vertically, slice off each cheek. Slice across, not cutting skin and then slide knife under cubed mango.
• Cut tomatoes into very small dice. You may need to squeeze juice out.
• Peel avocado, and cut into cubes.
• Finely dice red onion.
• Chop cilantro.
• Toss tomatoes, mango, cilantro and red onion together with lime, 1/4 teaspoon salt syrupy.
• balsamic or white vinegar and honey.
• Add avocado.
• Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Notes

Only use balsamic if you have a good syrupy sweet balsamic. In lieu of balsamic, use 1 tablespoon white vinegar with 1 teaspoon honey.

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of National Salmon Council. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Pan-Seared Salmon Tacos with Tomato Mango Salsa appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Have you ever stood at the grocery store squeezing avocados and they all feel like rocks. We’ve all been there, unless it’s the day after the super bowl and they’re all just a little too soft.

This Goldilocks says if you want an avocado that is just right, buy them rock hard and ripen them yourself.

I have discovered a method that gives me a blemish free, bright green, delicious ripe avocado.

Since discovering this, I buy my avocados rock hard.

What? Rock Hard. Yes, because I know exactly what to do.

Ripen Avocado with a Banana

I put them in a bag with a banana and I wait one to two days.Bananas release ethylene, which triggers the ripening.

This seems to give me that unblemished, not too hard, not too soft, perfect avocado that I can peel, and slice. If the avocado is not rock hard, it will or might ripen overnight. Usually though, it takes me two days.

You will be able to tell if your avocado is ripe, as it should yield slightly when pressed, but not feel mushy.

Once ripened, peel, and enjoy.  Yes, you can peel an avocado and I show you that here.

You may have heard about the method of putting the avocado in the oven wrapped in tin foil trying to rush the process.  Don’t do that unless you are absolutely desperate to make guacamole. The Kitchn tested this method and said it took an hour and didn’t have the texture and taste we all love.

Sometimes we can find ripe avocados, but so often they are a guessing game and you cut them open to find those brown spots you don’t want. This is why I prefer to buy the hard ones and ripen them myself. So far, this has given me that beautiful green I’m looking for.

Now go ahead and make that perfect avocado toast. I like mine on these grain free tortillas (keto, paleo)  that I simply crisp up in the oven. These will change your life. Make a perfect oven-fried egg to top this.

Suppose you mess up and have a messy avocado. Fear not. You can freeze it.

Squeeze some lemon juice on them first. Don’t freeze whole avocados unless you’re freezing them for smoothies, guacamole, etc. I prefer not to do this, as I’m not a fan of freezer food, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.

A ripe avocado will yield to firm, gentle pressure, but shouldn’t feel overly soft or mushy.

Use Avocado in this chocolate avocado smoothie.

Would you ever consider an avocado margarita?

Don’t forget the  Doug’s tableside guacamole that can’t be beat! This is made right before serving and is amazing!

What’s your favorite avocado recipe and do you think you’ll try this method?

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How to Ripen an Avocado with a Banana

Avocado hack

Cuisine American

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• avocado
• banana
• paper bag or plastic bag

Instructions

• Put avocado and banana in paper bag for one to two days in cool dark place.
• Check at 24 hours. If avocado starts out rock hard, it may take two days.

The post How to Ripen an Avocado appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I do want to have a word with you about unsweetened cocoa powders. I was absolutely blown away when I did a taste taste of various cocoa powders.

My two favorite cocoa powders are Vahlrona dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder and Better Body Foods Cacao Powder.

Having said that, you can use any unsweeteend cocoa powder for this recipe. But if you ever get a chance, do your own blind tasting. One of the leading grocery brands is salty and bitter, usually hidden by mounds of sugar.

Low Carb Chocolate Smoothie Options

There are a few options with this low-carb chocolate smoothie. You can add a shot of cold espresso or cold brew for a mocha flavor (or for making this your morning fix).

You can also do what I do and add in collagen peptides. I like this brand I buy on amazon (affilaite). It mixes in seemlessly.

I like to add in Collagen Peptides (amazon) to my smoothies for healthy skin and hair, and for bones and joint support. Sports Research is my favorite brand for nutrition.

Why Avocado for Smoothies?

The avocado sets up you with good fat and will help to satiate you if this is breakfast. It’s also good for you, and adds the necessary creaminess making this almost milkshake like.

• Good Fat
• Creaminess

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I’m sure there are endless possibilities with this low-carb chocolate shake, but I’m in love with it all by itself.

If you do decide to add in peanut butter or almond butter, makes sure it’s sugar free like this brand. (amazon) I would skip the coffee and pay attention to the calorie count. It can add up quickly.

The carb count comes from the cocoa powder and milk. Cashew milk is 8 carbs; unsweetened almond milk is only 2 carbs,. Another option is Fair life whole milk at 6 carbs a cup. You decide what milk to use.

Did you know you can PEEL AN AVOCADO?

Yes, go to this post, How to Peel an Avocado I wrote and find out how easy it is.

More Smoothies from Spinach Tiger

• Vitamin C Smoothie and Tips for a Fever
• Two Green Smoothie Recipes Kids Love
• Blueberry Banana Protein Smoothie
• Red Beet Smoothie (kids love, so do teens)
• Blueberry Protein Smoothie Bowl

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Keto Rich Chocolate Smoothie

A low-carb, keto friendly high fat chocolate smoothie with avocado. Dairy free. Diabetic friendly.

Course Blender Drink

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 minute minute

Total Time 6 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk iced cold I use cashew milk
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1 tablespoon Vahlrona unsweetened cocoa Order Here
• 1 tablespoon granulated powdered erythritol Order Here
• 1/4 avocado
• Collagen Peptides Optional Order Here
• 1/4 cup cold brew coffee or shot espresso optional
• whipped cream garnish optional

Instructions

• Mix in blender.
• Top with whipped cream if desired.

The post Low Carb Chocolate Smoothie with Avocado (Keto Friendly) appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This shrimp avocado salad recipe is a go to in our house. Sometimes we eat it with big corn chips. Sometimes we use this as an in between meal when we know we’re going to a big fat food event. I make this at least twice a month.

While this shrimp avocado salad  recipe may seem like light fare, it’s filling because of all that good fat from the avocado.

In the summer we cut corn right off the cob and into the salad for an even better bite.

You can make the shrimp avocado salad recipe  your own in so many ways, by adding corn, beans, olives, or even making lettuce wraps or tacos.

One of the secrets as to why this is so good is how I cook the shrimp. I use this recipe. You could stop right here and enjoy this simple, yet nuanced shrimp appetizer adapted from Marcella Hazan.
The key to making anything taste good is a combination of fat, acid and salt.

The avocado provides plenty of fat, so be sure to add in plenty of acid and taste for salt. Also,if the shrimp can sit in olive oil and lemon for a while and soak in the citrus, the taste will be all the better.

We don’t like to refrigerate tomatoes, so if you want to make this ahead, just do the shrimp, onion and cilantro part. Add in your tomatoes and avocado right before serving. Never ever refrigerate tomatoes. It turns them mealy and deems them tasteless.

I used grape tomatoes because it’s not tomato season yet and these taste best at this time of year. In the summer, I’ll replace with fresh summer heirloom tomatoes and perhaps add some fresh sweet corn right off the cob.

You can extend the bulk of the salad by tossing it with a handfuls of romaine lettuce. You can add a crumbly cheese like a ricotta salata or feta.

However, you choose to adapt this shrimp avocado salad recipe, make it your own!

Click Here for More Shrimp Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Shrimp Avocado Salad

Shrimp avocado salad is a perfect low carb entree, appetizer and can be used as a party dip, by slicing shrimp in smaller pieces.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Cook Shrimp
• 1 pound raw cooked shrimp
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon champagne or red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt or 1 piece celery
• Make Salad
• 3 tablespoons red onion finely diced
• 2 small avocado
• 3-4 radishes optional
• 1 pint grape tomatoes or 2 tomatoes chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice of one lime
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• sea salt
• black pepper

Instructions

• Cook Shrimp
• Put water in large sauce pan.
• Add vinegar and celery (or celery salt)
• Once water boils, add shrimp.
• Once water boils again, turn off stove. Shrimp should be pink and cooked.
• Drain. Take shrimp out of shell, which should occur easily.
• Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze lemon on shrimp. Refrigerate.
• Peel and slice avocado into bite sized pieces.
• Slice grape tomatoes lengthwise and again cross wise into bite sized pieces.
• Clean and slice radishes thinly. This will give a bite to salad and is an option.
• Juice the lime.
• Once shrimp are cold, assemble with ingredients, including cilantro.
• Toss with remaining olive oil, lime juice and vinegar. Most vinegars will work, but red wine vinegar or a white champagne vinegar works best.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Taste to see if more vinegar or salt is needed.

The post Shrimp Avocado Salad Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Mexican chicken avocado pasta is part of the big fat healthy chicken pasta series. See the links below to find easy, family friendly meals that keep you healthy and smiling.

If you’re new here, please understand I really mean it when I say big fat healthy food. It’s Spinach Tiger saying, “take a few minutes out of your busy day to make good food fast and perk up your senses.”

Nothing perks up the senses like food with a Mexican flair.

The corn quinoa gluten free pasta takes the “gluten worry” out. The pico de gallo can be homemade as I did here, or you can just pick some up at the store, as long as it’s freshly made. If you want it hot, go ahead and get it hot. Do be sure to pick up some fresh cilantro, as there is nothing like fresh herbs and cilantro just happens to be an herb with lots of health benefits.

Avocado makes everything better and it’s what gives this pasta dish it “mouth” of creamy, so do splurge on this. Did you know you can peel avocados.

Lime is the acid that brightens the dish and moves the avocado from good to great (along with some sea salt).

I used boneless breasts of chicken, which I marinated so they wouldn’t be dry. I’m not a fan of white meat chicken, but they make sense for this dish. You can substitute boneless, skinless thighs. Thighs have more flavor, but I didn’t discover this until mid adulthood.

Mexican chicken avocado pasta was developed for the busy mom or dad.

You can marinate your chicken in a plastic bag in the morning, pick up the ingredients or already made pico de gallo at the store. While the pasta is cooking, you can have the chicken grilling. You can also sauté the chicken breasts on top of the stove.

You can make Mexican Chicken Pasta your own, by adding more ingredients.

I’ve kept the dish dairy free, but you can add in queso fresco or queso blanco. Try frying this cheese in bite sized pieces and adding it in. You could also add in a can of beans. (Just rinse off in the can, heat and drain first.)

I hope you’re enjoying these Spinach Tiger easy chicken pasta dishes, and please let me know if you make them. You can follow me on instagram. Take a picture,  and tag any dish you make with the #spinachtiger hashtag.

More Healthy Chicken Pasta Dishes from Spinach Tiger

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Chicken Linguini Avocado, Tomato, Salsa

Easy, Healthy Chicken Pasta, Mexican Style.

Course Entree

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 limes
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 avocado
• 2 cups pico de gallo recipe below
• queso fresco optional
• 8 ounces gluten free pasta
• !Homemade Pico De Gallo found here
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons red onion finely chopped (can use white onion or shallots)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 serrano or jalapeño pepper seeded, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish
• heavy dash of salt
• 1/2 lime for garnish slices

Instructions

• Whisk olive oil, juice of one lime in bowl. Marinate chicken breasts one to three hours. If you find you're don't have time, just marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• You can pan fry, grill, or bake in oven. For this recipe, I prefer to grill on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side.
• While chicken is grilling, cook pasta according to package directions. I used a gluten free corn/quinoa rotini pasta which compliments the dish.
• Reserve a cup of pasta water in case you need it.
• When chicken is grilled, allow to sit five minutes
• Slice avocado.
• Toss drained hot pasta with pico de gallo. Add chicken to dish. If pasta seems dry, drizzle in some olive oil and tablespoon or two of pasta water.
• Right before serving, add avocado. Squeeze lime. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add garnish of chopped cilantro.

Notes

You can also add in some queso fresco as an option

The post Mexican Chicken Pasta with Avocado appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Husking fresh corn for corn salad says summer is here, the crops are in, and the food we wait all year for is ready to go. While we here  in the Nashville area don’t grow our own avocados, we do grow corn and tomatoes and we cherish these two crops.  Fact is, around here, try to tell someone you don’t eat corn or tomatoes, and you might just hear the click of a shot gun.

Just kidding, of course, but those words would still muster up some mistrust and a careful observation of your music collection. Just don’t dare say you don’t like Johnny Cash. I don’t care if you’re a rocker, a punker, a rapper,  a dead head or a Beiber freak, you better not talk trash against Johnny Cash. That would downright unamerican around these parts.

All in fun, of course, I think we Nashvillians are a friendly people who like our food and especially our cookouts. On July 4th, I brought this salad over to a neighbor’s party, and it was a big hit, even if a few out of towners called it “dip.” Husband followed suit and started eating it with potato chips and I started to think maybe I should have serve it with corn chips, but it was intended to be a salad. Open minded as I am, I started to think, this could be a dip, or if we want to get fancy, a topping for a crostini.

Use Fresh Ingredients for Avocado Corn Salad and a Champagne Vinegar

The ingredients are freshly husked corn, red onion garden tomatoes, black eyed peas, avocado, thyme, basil, olive oil, lime juice, lime zest and champagne vinegar. I’m going to give you a recipe, but feel free to mix the ratio up anyway you see fit. Don’t skip the black eyed peas, though, as they add in a very satisfying texture. Do add in some cayenne pepper; I really wanted to do that, but there were a few non-spice guests, so I kept the heat out.

Did you know you can make corn on the cob in four minutes? Simply remove the corn silk, leave in husk, wash (sometimes there are bugs). Put in microwave for four minutes.It will slip right out of the husk. So easy. We do this all the time, and if the corn was just picked, we don’t even put salt or butter. It’s perfect naked.

As far as peeling avocado, did you know that it’s pretty easy, and it looks cool.

Tell me what kind of salads do you bring to parties?

If you love corn, check out seven ways to grill corn on the cob.

More Salad Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Corn Avocado Salad, Tomato, Black Eyed Peas

A summer salad with heft, can be a side, or a meal.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 260kcal

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 10 ears of corn or 4 cans corn
• 1 can black eyed peas
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 1 avocado cut into chunks
• 3 tomatoes chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1 lime for the juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 black pepper

Instructions

• Cover each corn with wet paper towel. Place in microwave 3 ears at a time.
• Cook for four minutes. The corn will fall right out of the husk.
• Once cooled shuck corn and cut corn into a bowl.
• Rinse the black eyed well with cold water.
• Chop onion, tomatoes.
• Mix with onion, tomatoes, black eyed peas. Toss with just enough olive oil to glisten salad. Sprinkle vinegar, and mix.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Taste for seasoning to see if you need to add more vinegar or salt.
• Squeeze lime juice over the avocado and mix in right before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 11g | Fiber: 7g

The post Corn Avocado Salad, Tomato, Black Eyed Peas and Four-Minute Corn on the Cob appeared first on Spinach Tiger.