Are you familiar with quinoa (pronounced keen'-wah)?! This is another approved carb option if you're looking to mix it up and try something new. 1/2 cup cooked (~1/4c uncooked) is a carb serving that you can add to soups, casseroles, stirfries or simply top with a main dish just as you would with brown rice.  This week I have a tasty shrimp and quinoa dish to try and a lovely, crisp side. Feel free to substitute brown rice, or for a no-carb option, miracle noodle rice, in place of the quinoa.

Now, before I give you the recipe, I gotta make a confession. Below is the official recipe, but I took some shortcuts so I didn't actually "roast" the "Spice-Roasted" Shrimp. To save time, I just sauted them in a skillet with no extra oil than the marinade and served them right on top of the quinoa as shown in my photo on Facebook. You'll see that some fresh spices were to be used and pulsed in a food processor to make the "pistou". I tend to use dry spices more and avoided the extra clean up by just using everything listed in the marinade. It turned out DEEEElicious, but you may choose to follow the recipe to a T!

Quinoa with Spice-Roasted Shrimp and Pistou

• up to 1 lb medium shrimp, shelled/deveined
• ½ t garlic powder
• ½ t onion powder
• ½ t paprika
• ½ t dried oregano
• ½ t fennel, chopped
• ¼ t dried thyme
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• ¼ cup (packed) basil leaves
• 2 T flat-leaf parsley
• 1 T rosemary
• 1.5 t thyme leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 c quinoa, rinsed
• 2/3 cup water (sub low-sodium broth here for added flavor)

1. In Ziplock, toss shrimp with next 6 spices, 1 T of oil and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper until coated. Let stand at room temp for 30 min.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°. In a food processor, pulse basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme leaves, and garlic.  Add 2 T of the oil; puree until smooth.
3. In a saucepan, combine quinoa, water and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until the quinoa is tender, ~15 min. Let stand for 5 min. Transfer to a bowl; keep warm.
4. On a baking sheet, roast the shrimp for about 8 minutes, until curled and pink. Cut the shrimp into thirds and add to the quinoa with the pistou (sauce from the food processor that I just put in the marinade initially). Toss well and serve; makes 2 protein/carb servings on L1-3 (for L4, use 1/2 lb shrimp).

I'm sure one could easily saute or roast diced veggies to accompany the shrimp but I chose to serve this with kale chips. These are a piece of cake: buy a bunch of kale and wash/dry. Cut out the middle stem and cut large leaves down a bit to preferred size. Toss with 1-2 T olive oil, garlic powder, and paprika. Bake at 275 for about 30 min (test the crispiness...a little blackening is ok). Enjoy!

And that's it for this week's installment of "Friendly Feasting". Next week, Bootcamp XV begins and my recipes will be suited to the diet level for the bootcamp each week. Until then, whether you feast from the oven or from the stovetop: feast with spices, feast with quinoa, and as always...FEAST ON!

~Coach Lauren