Shrimp Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
To be upfront, this recipe calls for mayo. Wait! Hear me out. Some love it. Some hate it. I get it. All it takes is one overly mayo-ed tuna salad or bad bologna sandwich as a toddler to scar you for life. Like whole eggs and full-fat dressing ON my salad, mayo has made its way back into my life in an effort to include healthy fats in my diet.
Mayo, when made well, is oil and egg yolk with a little vinegar and/or lemon juice and seasoning. Dr. Mark Hyman, the head of Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and my personal hero, recommends mayo and other healthy fats in his latest book, "Eat Fat, Get Thin." Among many myths about fats he dispels in this book (my new bible), he addresses our misled beliefs on saturated fats. "The shocking counterintuitive fact is that dietary saturated fats don't raise blood saturated fats. It's carbs and sugar (and excess protein) that cause your liver to produce the saturated fats found in your blood."(1) Actually saturated fats found in egg yolks, mayo and grass-fed butter actually strengthen your immune system, help your lungs work better, balance hormones, are essential for nerve and brain health, and reduce inflammation when eaten without the presence of refined sugars and with the presence of omega -3 fats.(2) But, as you guessed, have them in moderation.
So, back to the shrimp salad recipe I adapted from Dr. Hyman. It calls for mayo as part of the sauce, but you would never know as the sauce is light, tangy and delicious. I love to have this dish around as a staple in my fridge for a snack or toss with greens, avocado and a simple champagne vinaigrette for a fresh, healthy fat-filled meal.
Ingredients
1 lb cooked shrimp
juice of 1-2 lemon
1 small shallot, finely chopped, roughly 2 T
3 T mayo. I like Sir Kensington's for it's simplicity of ingredients.
1 heaping T of Dijon mustard
2 T finely chopped fresh dill
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
Instructions
Cut shrimp into smaller pieces and place in a bowl. Toss with 2T lemon juice.
In another bowl whisk together shallots, 2 T lemon juice, mayo, Dijon and dill. Add dressing to shrimp. Toss with celery.
Salt and pepper to taste.
To add to greens with avocado and champagne vinaigrette - serves one
Place roughly 1 cup of the shrimp salad on 2 cups of mixed greens.
Add 1/4 - 1/2 avocado.
Combine 1 T extra virgin olive oil with 1 T champagne vinegar plus 1/2-1 tsp Dijon and Himalayan salt to taste. Whisk together and toss with greens, shrimp salad and avocado.
1 "Eat Fat, Get Thin," by Dr. Mark Hyman, page 74.
2 "Eat Fat, Get Thin," by Dr. Mark Hyman, page 75.
HEARTFUL RECIPE - One of our real food recipes that focuses on veggies, protein, healthy fats and/or healthy carbs and doesn't include gluten, dairy, soy, refined sugar, corn or peanuts.
