Running Rabbit: Art and Madness: Rabbit in the Kitchen

all things in moderation, sayeth Ben

I have been challenged by my niece the wonderful, Hed, to come up with a tasty and low-fat dish for her contest. As a fallen member of Weight Watchers who is doing her damnedest to crawl back up on that wagon, I know that just low-fat doesn't cut it. For example, sugar has no fat but that crap is seriously unhealthy for those of us with food issues--and for those of us who still possess our own teeth.

It's also bad news to try to cut out all fat, having been there done that and lost my gall bladder as a consequence, I can truly testify. Like Ben Franklin said, all things in moderation except moderation. I loathe and despise "diet" foods. I want to blow things up with my chemistry set not eat from it. Diet foods that make wild claims usually taste hideous on top of everything else. Have you ever actually tasted diet cheese? I'd rather eat the wrapper and throw out the cheese. I get cold shudders just thinking about it that rubbery squeaky excuse for food. There are actually cheeses us cheese hounds can sample--in moderation. Again with that word.... I would rather have a small piece of exquisitely lovely Cantalet than a whole vat of chemical cheese. I'll just have a serving of low cal fresh fruit with my small serving of real cheese and a few raw almonds and be very happy.

And while I'm ranting, diet salad dressing. Retch. Barf. Nasty stuff. Instead why not measure a tablespoon of your favorite ORGANIC dressing into a small cup and dip your fork into the dressing and then into your salad and then into your mouth? The trick is not to give your salad a dressing bath. Just enjoy the flavor in a smaller way and you won't feel quite so deprived or indeed, punished, as you will with evil diet dressing.

So on to the recipe! Shrimp are high in cholestrol so those with cholestrol issues might want to give them a nice wide berth, for the rest of us shrimp are one of those wonderful low cal tasty foods we can truly enjoy.

Shrimp Jambalaya
1 package large shrimp (cooked according to package directions) Six shrimp are ONE serving by the way.
Put the shrimp aside while you saute in a pan:

one medium onion, chopped- less if you are not a fan.
several cloves of garlic, chopped finely-to your own taste
one green pepper, dice finely and do the same for three stalks of celery

Saute all your vegies with one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. You can use more if you need it but don't forget to measure it so you can get an accurate calorie count: 120 per tablespoon.

When the vegies are softened and successfully sauteed, add your shrimp, salt and pepper and two middle sized cans of tomato sauce, or you can use a low fat pre-packaged red marinara sauce if your prefer a little more flavor. Heat everything together and serve over brown rice.

1 cup brown rice=218 calories, 6 shrimp=110 calories, vegies are pretty much free foods and add 120 for the olive oil, even if you didn't eat the whole tablespoon all by yourself. Not too bad for a filling meal. Yes, its not haute cuisine because I didn't go out and pick the tomatoes and make my sauce from scratch but most of us work and just want things that are really yummy, fast and easy before we get tempted to munch on bad stuff because we are STARVING. Serve with a nice green salad and enjoy.