Tag: shrimp

Nutrition Snapshot

• A serving gives about 20 grams of protein from shrimp, with only about 1 gram of saturated fat in the whole dish.
• Diced avocado adds the same kind of fat as olive oil, plus most of the fiber in a serving.
• A serving holds about 346 milligrams of sodium, so use a no-salt-added ketchup and cut the Worcestershire sauce.

Ceviche is what you make when it is too warm to stand at the stove. Shrimp, lime juice, tomato, onion, and cilantro go into one bowl and chill for an hour. The diced avocado goes on at the very end so it stays green. Poaching the shrimp first makes the dish safe for guests who should skip raw seafood.

Lean Shrimp and Avocado Fat Make This a Heart-Healthy Starter

Shrimp Gives Protein With Almost No Fat of Its Own

Almost all of the calories in shrimp come from protein. A serving of this ceviche has about 20 grams of it. The 5.5 grams of total fat in a serving comes mostly from the avocado, and only about 1 gram of that is saturated.

Shrimp is high in cholesterol, and that matters less than most people expect. Your liver makes most of the cholesterol in your blood, and it makes less when you eat more from food. Saturated fat has a much larger effect on LDL cholesterol, which is why shrimp fits a heart-healthy pattern.

Avocado Adds the Kind of Fat That Helps

Almost all of the fat in an avocado is the kind that stays liquid at room temperature, called monounsaturated fat. It is the same type that makes up most of the fat in olive oil. Swapping monounsaturated fat in for saturated fat lowers LDL cholesterol.

The avocado is also the biggest source of fiber here. The tomatoes and onion add the rest, for about 3 grams a serving.

Shrimp and Tomatoes Bring the Potassium

A serving has about 472 milligrams of potassium, which is more than its 346 milligrams of sodium. Potassium relaxes the muscle in the walls of your blood vessels, which lowers the pressure inside them. It also increases how much sodium the kidneys remove in the urine. Eating patterns higher in potassium than sodium are linked with lower blood pressure.

The shrimp supplies about half of the potassium here, and the tomatoes and avocado supply most of the rest. For more on this mineral and where to get it, see Potassium: Understanding This Major Mineral and Its Impact on Health.

What’s in a Serving

Most of a serving comes from the shrimp: the protein, about half the potassium, and a good share of the sodium, since shrimp contains sodium on its own. The tomatoes and onion add water, fiber, and potassium for very few calories. The avocado adds the fat and most of the fiber. The bottled sauces add flavor and the rest of the sodium.

A serving is small in calories, so you can eat a real portion of it. For how much protein you need in a day and where to get it, see Protein: How Much Do You Need And Where Do You Get It. The recipe card below lists the full nutrition figures for a serving.

What to Buy

Shrimp

Raw shrimp that is already peeled and deveined saves you the fussiest step. Frozen is usually the better buy, since most shrimp sold thawed at the fish counter was frozen first anyway. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or under cold running water. The shrimp gets chopped, so any size works. Buy whatever is on sale.

Limes and Cilantro

Squeeze the limes fresh. Bottled lime juice tastes flat here. Three quarters of a cup takes about six to eight limes, so buy more than you think you need. Choose limes that feel heavy for their size. Cilantro should look crisp, with green leaves and dry stem ends.

Avocado

You want one that yields to gentle pressure at the stem end. A firm avocado ripens on the counter in two or three days, faster in a paper bag with a banana. Dice it right before serving. Lime juice slows the browning, and the pieces still look best within an hour of dicing.

The Bottled Sauces

The Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and hot sauce are where most of the added sodium comes from. A no-salt-added ketchup and a lower-sodium hot sauce both work here with little change to the flavor.

Worcestershire also contains anchovies, so leave it out for a fish allergy or a vegetarian guest. If the dish needs to be gluten-free, check the label, since some versions use malt vinegar from barley and some use a soy sauce made with wheat.

Who This Fits and Who Should Go Easy

This fits anyone eating for their heart and anyone who wants a high-protein starter that stays light. Poaching the shrimp widens who can eat it. Lime juice firms raw shrimp, and it leaves bacteria and viruses alive. Poaching kills them, so the dish is safe in pregnancy, for young children, for adults over 65, and for anyone with a weakened immune system.

Shrimp is also among the lower-mercury seafoods, which answers the other half of the pregnancy question. If you are watching sodium closely, skip the added salt, use a no-salt-added ketchup, and cut the Worcestershire sauce to a teaspoon. Shrimp is the whole dish, so a shellfish allergy means a different starter.

How to Make It Your Own

Bay scallops work in place of the shrimp. They are small, so give them about a minute. Firm white fish such as cod or halibut also works, poached and flaked. Diced cucumber, jicama, or mango add crunch and sweetness. A minced serrano gives you more heat than the bottled sauce does. Leaving out the Worcestershire and ketchup gives you a cleaner, more traditional lime and cilantro ceviche.

Swaps Recap

• Lower sodium: leave out the added salt, use a no-salt-added ketchup, and cut the Worcestershire sauce to 1 teaspoon.
• Lower sugar: ketchup is the only source of added sugar here, so a no-sugar-added ketchup removes it.
• Fish-free: leave out the Worcestershire sauce, which contains anchovies, and add another squeeze of lime instead.
• Dairy-free: the recipe is dairy-free as written.
• Nut-free: the recipe is nut-free as written.
• Gluten-free: check the Worcestershire label, and scoop with corn tostadas or gluten-free crackers.

Storage, Make-Ahead, and Serving

The shrimp mixture can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. The shrimp gets slightly firmer as it sits in the lime juice, so the texture changes a little overnight. Hold the avocado and the green onion until you serve, then stir the avocado in gently so the pieces stay whole.

Leftovers keep two days in the refrigerator. Freezing turns the shrimp rubbery and the tomatoes watery, so plan to finish it. Serve it cold in glasses or small bowls, with whole grain crackers, corn tostadas, or endive leaves for scooping.

Poaching the Shrimp Widens Who Can Eat This Cold Starter

Two or three minutes in boiling water is the whole difference. The shrimp is cooked, so you can serve this to a pregnant guest or a grandparent. The lime still gives it the flavor. What you get is a cold starter with about 20 grams of protein and about 1 gram of saturated fat. Serve it in small glasses, about half a cup each, with corn tostadas for scooping.

Serve It With

Ceviche is cold and acidic, so it pairs well with something crunchy and something green. Easy Cilantro Lime Coleslaw repeats the lime and cilantro and adds cabbage crunch. A Jicama and Carrot Salad uses the jicama from the variations above. An Easy Kale Salad turns either pairing into a light summer supper.