Satisfying the Beef & Broccoli Cravings

I'm still a little shaky after doing the first day of Blogilates this morning, but I feel a lot better. It's actually helped me concentrate on writing this term paper I've got due. Fifteen pages due on Monday. Yikes.

Anywho, taking a break from the paper, I couldn't decide what to eat for lunch. It needed to be something easy and delicious, not to mention quick--I've got this draft calling my name.

I really wanted to make some beef & broccoli, but I don't have any beef around. No delicious beef for me. I did, however, have the broccoli. Looking around gave me two suitable options: chicken and shrimp. The chicken, while individually frozen, needs to defrost before I can do anything with it. So that's defrosting for another meal. Already cooked, the shrimp was the perfect option, taking out a step.

Now, to tie everything together, I needed something with which to dress the duo. I immediately thought of seasoned rice vinegar, but it's no more. It broke when I recently cleaned the fridge. :(  (Need to get some next time I'm shopping.) Then it hit me, Newman's Own Sesame Ginger Dressing would be fabulous! I love this stuff: it's got a nice tangy flavor, with a pretty decent ingredients list. Plus, it's low calorie (35 calories per serving of two tablespoons), which is great for those of you tracking your numbers.

Ingredients for beef & broccoli substitute.

Speaking of, here are the numbers.

Frozen, cooked shrimp, 6oz. (Kirkland Brand, a serving is 3oz.)
     100 kcal, 18g of protein (x2)
Frozen broccoli, 16oz. (Wegman's, a serving is a cup or a fifth of the bag.)
     25kcal, 2g of protein (x5)
Newman's Own Sesame Ginger Dressing, 4 tbsp. (A serving is 2 tbsp.)
     35 kcal, 0g of protein (x2)
Total: 395 kcal, 46g of protein

Om nom nom. Delicious.

It's a huuuuge amount for just under 400 calories! I ended up eating it throughout the afternoon. Any did anyone else know that broccoli has protein? I sure didn't, but what a pleasant surprise. I didn't even mean to make it so protein-loaded, but I suppose it's good for muscle building. Something to note.

So for this super filling dish, I left the shrimp in the bowl with the dressing, while I cooked the broccoli. (If you cook shrimp for too long, it shrinks, becoming tough and rubbery. MMmm. Not.) Once the broccoli started warm, I added the shrimp and dressing, cooking everything until it was warm and ready.

If you decide to make this, I suggest adding the dressing once everything is almost ready. Cooking it changed the taste a bit--while it wasn't bad, I think it would be better if it were less cooked. Also, if you wanted to thicken it so it was more like the beef & broccoli sauce, there are a few options. Before adding it, you could whisk it with some potato starch/flour, cornstarch, ground flax or chia seeds, or possibly even some psyllium husks. It would give it a nice consistency reminiscent of good Chinese food.

Anyway, I'm going to munch on some kimchi while I get back to work.

(Realized I should mention that I didn't get compensated in any way to do this post. I was just hungry and wanted to share.)