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Ok, we're going back even further. I'm being very bad at posting chronologically since this dinner was actually made on last Friday!! But I felt like I should post some cooking-intensive recipes after all the throw-together meals recently. This throw-together meal has been one of our major staples since we became a couple.

Taco night actually became sort of a tradition when Boyfriend decided to make me dinner for the first time (this event did not repeat itself for many, many months afterwards). He chose tacos and I came to his apartment to find (sorry BF) greasy ground beef with store bought salsa, guac, shredded cheese and sour cream as the fixins. At the time I wasn't nearly at my goal weight and was fairly dismayed at his choice of dinner (though flattered by the gesture). Still, that taco night wound up being a really interactive meal and it was fun since we were making our own tacos while we talked and ate! We returned to it many times over the course of the past 1.5 yrs but the tradition did become healthified (Tacos a la Jules!)

Shown above are the Mango Shrimp Tacos that we threw together the night before we went to see Cirque.
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To give you an accurate time frame: we defrosted the shrimp in the morning and I came home at 6pm. By that time Boyfriend had already chopped the mango (so lets call that 15 minutes). I poured 1 or 2 tbsp Honey Mustard Marinade on the shrimp and chopped half a jalapeno very finely. Opened a can of corn (about 1/2 cup) and tore off a bunch of cilantro leaves.

We microwaved a few fajita shells (80 cals each!) and put a container of arugula on the table.

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After everything was chopped I threw the 10 minute marinated shrimp onto a pan and sauteed until they were opaque (4 min one side, 3 min other side?) and cut them into three pieces each.


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Threw all the ingredients together in a bowl, squeezed some lemon juice over it and it all went on the table.

Taco: 80 calorie fajita shell, probably at least 4 medium sized shrimp, some pieces of mango, some corn, cilantro and as a base: arugula. We also put some spicy sauce we brought back from Peru on the taco shell before piling it on.

I only had 1 taco that night (you might recall the post that described the giant 10oz glass of wine I got served later that night and couldn't finish due to the light meal) but 2 tacos (at less than 400 cals total) would have been REALLY filling. And so tasty and refreshing. The perfect thing for summer.

Now that it actually is getting to be summer, I have a feeling taco nights will become much more common. Some of our previous taco night endeavors have included: cod/mango/cilantro (switching up any flaky white fish for the shrimp works really well), chicken/red bell pepper/mushroom on a bed of spinach, turkey sausage crumbles with shredded cheddar and sliced beef roast with zucchini, mushroom and red bell pepper. We've also been known to make omelet tacos =).

Today was Chocolate Detox Day #2 (walked by the candy basket all day! Took lollipops) and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I suppose once you actually feel sick from chocolate it loses some of it's appeal! I'm also packing for our hiking, dining and wining weekend but took a break to have a beer and a green papaya salad with a friend. Like I said, there's a possibility (although small) that there will be a weekend post, but for sure I wont be cooking anything!

<3 Jules

Serenity
6/20/2011 12:49:17 pm

great idea and back story. corn tortillas are lower cal and smaller. i think they taste better too.
here is a recipe link i found over the weekend via mary engelbreit, the illustrator, that sounds like a perfect summer dish.
http://www.maryengelbreit.com/make-takes/recipes/cold-cucumber-soup

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Kevjo
6/21/2011 02:15:17 am

Awesome recipe. This will be Friday's dinner! Thanks!

Reply
6/21/2011 04:01:32 am

Hi Serenity,

You're such a great source for inspiration, I really appreciate it. As soon as my chocolate detox is done, those brownies are getting made, the recipe looks perfect! The cucumber soup sounds a lot like tzatziki variation, which I have made before and it's heading to the top of the rotation as the summer gets warmer (though now it's still pretty comfortable).

Kevjo,
Let me know how it goes =) I'm glad you're enjoying the blog. If your main concern is time, think about some of the muffins I have up here because they don't take long to make and you can freeze them for even faster meals later.

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    I'm a recent graduate from medical school and a pathology resident living in New York City. Like most girls living in the city, I've found that a lot of my social life revolves around the regular consumption of high-calorie food and alcoholic beverages. I've decided to start a blog about how I am trying to beat the bulge by eating and cooking defensively between social engagements and how even a busy girl can fit exercise into a busy life.

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