Well, I’m hooked on shrimp now. You might remember the shrimp scampi dish I made a few weeks ago, and how I am really not a seafood person, with the exception of crab that is 😉 The weather was gorgeous this past weekend and the grill was literally calling our names. Since making the shrimp scampi, I was very much looking forward to getting the shrimp on the grill — everything is better on the grill, right?! So the first nice weekend we had, I was ready to fire up the grill!

I always love Mexican food and have always been intrigued by the concept of fish/shrimp tacos. I decided shrimp tacos was the perfect way to go to break in the grill for the first time this spring. As for the marinade, there is this DELICIOUS cilantro lime marinade I get at our local grocery store, Wegmans. For those that don’t have a Wegmans, Kraft makes a delicious Zesty Lime dressing that would be delicious on the shrimp as well! Garnish the shrimp tacos with avocado, lime crema and cilantro {as you can see, I forgot that!} and you have a delicious and healthy meal that is perfect for the warming temperatures! 

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos

25 jumbo shrimp {peeled & deveined}

1/2 cup lime dressing {Kraft Zesty Lime is delicious!}

1 avocado {halved & pitted, cut into bite-sized pieces}
Flour tortillas {I used whole wheat, but you could also use corn}
Cilantro, for garnish {which I forgot!}

For the lime crema:
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the peeled and deveined shrimp in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Pour the lime dressing over the shrimp and seal the bag tightly. Make sure the dressing is covering all the shrimp and allow the shrimp to marinade for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your grill to high heat. Weave shrimp onto skewer. Place on grill and cook until the shrimp begins to brown, about 3-5 minted on each side {depending on how high your heat is}. To make the lime crema: mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl with a whisk. To assemble tacos: place 3-4 shrimp on tortilla, garnish with avocado pieces, lime crema and cilantro.

Happy Friday! Today I am recapping the half marathon from last weekend and also sharing the perfect, healthy snack — whether you are running a race or not! Unfortunately, we don’t have many pictures from this year’s race. Actually, we only have 2! With the terrible rain, the opportunity for pictures was just not happening. But, overall, it was a great race and I really feel accomplished for running that distance in a torrential downpour! It was a fitting end to the weeks of training that consisted of only a few outdoor runs due to the snow and freezing temperatures and a 10 mile run on the treadmill. Yes, it was awful. 

A rainy start line!

Now that the training and race have come to a conclusion, I am looking forward to a little more free time and more energy during the week; those 5 miles on the weekdays were a killer! Whether I am training for a race or not, I am always starving in the middle of the day. And having a healthy and nutritious snack while away at work all day is difficult to achieve. The answer: pb (peanut butter) energy bites. I love ANYTHING with peanut butter so that’s typically the first ingredient I look for in a healthy snack. Although oats and peanut butter are the base to this recipe, the rest is up to you! I opted for pretty basic ingredients, but you could also add chia seeds, wheat germ, sunflower seeds or even flax seeds. Another option would be to substitute the chocolate chips for raisins or cranberries {I probably would have done that but didn’t feel like going to the store! Plus, the chocolate chips can help those of us with an uncontrollable sweet tooth 😉 } 

I’m very much looking forward to experimenting with different ingredients to enhance these energy bites — I will keep you posted on future ingredients 🙂 What are your favorite snacks that help to get you through the day? I would love to hear your ideas; I’m always looking for new foods to incorporate into my weekly snack schedule 😉 

Thanks for stopping by and having a fabulous weekend!  

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Although I was planning to take today off from the blogosphere {it was a crazy race weekend!} I wanted to share with you a super simple St. Patrick’s Day dessert that you can throw together quickly — and it’s delicious! 

I guess I first need to ask if “muddy buddies” are a regional obsession?! Growing up, I could not get enough of this sweet treat, but after speaking with a co-worker who had never heard of the term “muddy buddies”, I began to wonder if this was something half of the country was missing out on? For those that haven’t heard about this addicting snack, it’s Chex mix, peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar all combined to make a snack that you literally can’t stop eating. How can you honestly go wrong with any of these ingredients?! 

It always seems that as the post-race recovery period begins, all I want are sweets {so please excuse this unhealthy recipe 😉 }. I thought to make these muddy buddies more festive, I would add a few St. Patrick’s Day ingredients: green M&M’s and Lucky Charms cereal {I also have a confession about that: I have never tasted or bought Lucky Charms cereal before this recipe! I’m not a big sweets person, except post-race days, but I thought this cereal was too perfect to pass up!}. The result is a delicious and addictive sweet snack that you will not be able to stop eating! Hopefully this cures my post-race sweet tooth 🙂

Have you heard of muddy buddies? Or do you call them something else? Or are these a totally new snack to you? Let me know in the comments below! 

1 box Chex cereal {about 9 cups}

1/4 cup green M&M’s

1/4 cup Lucky Charms cereal

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Place Chex cereal in a large bowl. In a separate microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Cook on high for 30 seconds, stir with a rubber spatula, and cook for another 30 minutes until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex cereal and toss to coat, using a rubber spatula. Pour the mixture into a 2 gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the powdered sugar to the bag, seal the bag tightly and shake vigorously to allow the powdered sugar to coat the cereal. Spread mixture onto waxed paper to dry and mix with the green M&M’s and Lucky Charms. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

*Click here for the standard Muddy Buddy Recipe