Shrimp & Grits.

My boyfriend, Elliotte, loves shrimp and grits more than most people I know. If its on a menu at a restaurant, without question, he will order it. Ergo it came as no surprise when he suggested we look for a healthy version of his favorite dish.

After some searching, we found an awesome recipe in Southern Living. And because he is such an expert when it comes to this dish, we adapted it a bit to make it our own....and it was a huge success. Elliotte made a few quote worthy comments after we devoured the dish: "Never been much for magazines, but some of the stuff that comes out of southern living is legit." and "Hurry up and start blogging, the world needs to know about this."

Parmesan Grits Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits


• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Creamy Shrimp Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 pound peeled, deveined medium-size raw shrimp


• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper


• 1/8 teaspoon salt


• Cooking spray


• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour


• 1 1/4 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth


• 1/2 cup chopped green onions


• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes


• 2 garlic cloves, minced


• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce


• 2 cups firmly packed fresh baby spinach


• 5 slices of turkey bacon or turkey sausage

To prepare the parmesan girts, start with 4 cups of water and add 1/2 tsp salt. Bring the  salt water to a boil. Gradually add grits. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add in cheese and pepper. Keep warm.

Next you need to cook the shrimp. Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and 1/8 tsp salt. Cook in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until shrimp turns pink. Remove from skillet.



Reduce heat to medium. Add oil and flour; cook 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in broth and add green onions, tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and hot sauce.; cook 2 to 3 minutes.



Stir in shrimp and spinach.



Cook 1 minute or until spinach is slightly wilted.



Serve about 1/3 cup sauce over 1/2 cup grits. Finally, add a few slices of the turkey beacon or crumbled turkey sausage. (I guess at some point I should have told you to cook the turkey bacon or sausage...but if you're like me that wouldn't be necessary, because I bought it fully cooked :))

 This savory dish is only 250 calories!!! And when I asked Elliotte where this dish fell in his rankings of all the shrimp and girts he's ever tired, he said "Its in my top 10, and that's all I'm willing to say."