Spicy Shrimp Spinach Salad

Do you stay busy and on the run? If so, then this is the meal for you, it is quick and easy, but also cost effective. The best part is that it tastes great too! I have made this dish numerous times and passed the recipe to friends and family. Since everyone enjoyed the recipe and thought it was delicious, I thought I would share it with you.

When you think of shrimp money comes to mind, but for this recipe you can use small shrimp or large, depending on your budget. Shrimp is packed full of nutrients such as protein and contains vitamin B-12, omega 3’s, iron, and niacin. The second main ingredient, spinach, is a wonderful dark leafy vegetable that also has a lot of nutritional value. For example, spinach is a good source of folate, iron, and vitamins K, A, & C. Just keep in mind the longer you cook the spinach, you lose more nutrients. Adding the tomatoes adds more nutrients and color to the plate. You can change this recipe by adding avocados or anything that you find savory.

Remember these tips when preparing this dish:

• Defrost the shrimp in the refrigerator or under cool running water for no more than 20 minutes.
• If you’re making this dish for a large crowd and will not be using the shrimp immediately after cooking, place it in the refrigerator until time to put it in the salad.
• Rinse spinach under cool running water and pat dry with paper towel.

This dish is simple, fast, nutritious, and scrumptious. Feel free to add other ingredients and if you serve this to someone who does not like spinach, you can substitute the spinach with whole grain noodles.

I would like to give special thanks to Danielle Hammond, RD. Extension Assistant, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and Amanda Scott, RD, LD, MS. Program Specialist with Expanded Nutrition with the Nutrition and Food Science Department with Texas AgriLife Extension Service for their time, support and input to make this project successful.