Skinny Scampi w/ Julie Hartigan

“People who love to eat are always the best people” ~Julia Child.

And boy was she right! This crazy tribe of foodies I encounter keeps growing - and each one has their own amazing way of creating and exploring food. Julie is one of them! Having worked with Weight Watchers for years as a recipe developer and tester - she’s come up with countless ways to lighten up some of our favorite dinners! And I was SO excited when she agreed to work with me and share one of those recipes with you guys!

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One of the things I’m always telling Health Coaching clients is to add in the good! It’s a theory known as “crowding out”. I almost never tell people NOT to eat something; I just tell them to eat MORE of the good stuff! And this recipe does JUST that. We’re not, NOT eating butter and oil and pasta…we’re just adding in MORE, stock, veggies and lean protein! It’s really as simple as that! The more good stuff you put in your body - the less you’ll find you even want the bad stuff!

Adding in a few handfuls of “zoodles” (zucchini noodles) at the end is the perfect way to swap in some healthy greens while still feeling like you’re eating a plate of pasta. And the chicken stock (you could use veggie stock too) is a great way to make that silky, scampi sauce, without loads of butter. Plus lots of detoxifying shallot and garlic that add plenty of flavor - and you’re not missing anything!

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Julie also shares some easy weeknight cooking hacks like always stocking a bag of peeled, deveined, frozen shrimp in the freezer for a quick meal. And using your microplane to grate garlic instead of trying to chop it with a knife! Which is especially helpful if your knife skills aren’t quite there yet! Don’t forget to check out my video on how to chop an onion for practice!

Check out the video and get the recipe below!

Skinny Shrimp Scampi
Serves 4

1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled & deveined (thawed, if frozen)
1/4 C. dry white wine
1 1/2 C. chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. butter
1/2 lb. bucatini pasta
2 C. fresh zucchini noodles
salt
red pepper flakes

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions.

In a large saute’ pan, heat oil. Add in shallots and garlic and allow to cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Add in shrimp and allow to cook until just turning pink and beginning to curl. 3 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Pour white wine into the pan. Use your spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. Then add in chicken stock. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 5-8 minutes until the liquid is reduced and thickens.

Add in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Stir until butter is melted.

Add the shrimp and any juices they’ve released back to the pan.

Add cooked pasta and raw zoodles. Toss everything together with tongs until heated through, another minute or two. Serve hot seasoned with salt and red pepper flakes.