Cilantro lime shrimp with pineapple

It's spring! Well mostly. I'm tired of winter and am ready for new recipes that boast sweet and spicy flavours. I'm on a semi-salad kick and this recipe definitely satisfied my cravings.

Serves 4. Courtesy of Everyday food with a few adjustments (ie pineapple because like bacon, pineapple makes everything better). You can also make rice to serve the meal on if you need something more hearty.

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Coarse salt and pepper
1/2 small white onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (less if you don't like spice)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes)
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves chopped
1 head of Boston lettuce (I just used a boxed salad for greens)
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded with a vegetable peeler
1 cup pineapple chunks

In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink and opaque. Transfer to a plate.

To skillet, add a teaspoon of oil and the onion. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cumin and cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat off and throw shrimp in. Toss and remove skillet from the heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together 3 tablespoons of the oil, lime juice and chopped cilantro leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Divide lettuce between 4 plates. Top with shrimp mixture, carrots, and pineapple. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

Homemade Hippie Granola

This recipe was given to me from a dear friend at work who made it for Christmas. My parents ate it every single day they were visiting so I ran out of it quickly.  I had to make some adjustments from the original recipe as a lot of products "may contain nuts/wheat" but it turned out pretty fantastic! Give it a try on yogurt for breakfast.

2 cups of gluten-free oats (such as Bob's Red Mill GF rolled)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted coconut oil (I used olive)
1 cup mixed dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, dates, blueberries)
1 cup seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, flax, sesame, hemp hearts) This proved quite difficult to find nut free. In the GF section at Superstore there is a bag of GF NF seeds by Enjoy Life. I used this and added a few tablespoons of flax, sesame and hemp hearts.
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut flakes (I couldn't find these nut free anywhere. I left it out and put in the difference in oats)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl mix the oats, seeds and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix the honey, oil and vanilla together.  Combine the two mixtures together, stirring well. Leave out the dried fruit and coconut flakes, as these will take less time to cook and can burn.

Spread granola out onto a baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes but stir at the 10 minute mark. After 20 minutes, add the coconut flakes, and dried fruit. Stir it in.

At 30 minutes, remove granola from oven and let cool.  Once it has cooled, add the chocolate chips.

This is money on top of vanilla yogurt!