Working out and a revised Grapefruit Salad with Seared Shrimp recipe

For Christmas my husband gave me a gift certificate for five sessions with a personal trainer at our local rec center along with a 20 visit pass. I was excited to work with a personal trainer figuring that she could come up with an exercise plan that would compliment what I was doing with my physical therapist to rehab my knee.

When I met with Stephanie during our fist session a month ago, she gave me a set of leg exercises (leg press, leg extension, etc.) similar to what I was doing in PT. She then added core and arm exercises using an exercise ball, dumb bells and a lat pull down machine.

My New Routine and Some Challenges

I now go to the gym three times a week. I use a stationary bike for 30 minutes then I go into the weight room and work out for another 30 minutes. In the month I’ve done this, I’ve already been able to ratchet up the weight and reps.

The only thing I don’t like about working out at the rec center is that I keep running into people I know. Talk about seeing me at my worse – sweaty, in workout clothes, and with no makeup. Oh well.

I wish I had more time to work out, especially now that I don’t need to go to PT any more! (Yes, I’m doing very well according to my surgeon and can rehab on my own now.) However, my schedule and my family’s is too busy right now to do more than three session a week.

That’s fine because my routine is getting a little boring and I’m finding excuses not to go. To combat this I plan to download Ken Follet’s World Without End on my iPod just to listen to while I exercise. I’ve been dying to read the book, so it should motivate me to exercise just so I can listen to the story.

It’s also been a challenge to get together with Stephanie since we both have such busy schedules. We’ve only met once, but I don’t mind because I’m comfortable working out on my own. Plus it’ll make my five sessions with her last longer.

I look forward to our next meeting in a couple of weeks. Besides adding some new exercises, she always gives me interesting handouts about health, exercise and eating right. I really liked the recipe she gave me from Bob Greene that combined three things that I love – grapefruit, salad and SHRIMP! Then I looked at the nutritional info and did the Weight Watchers POINTS. Uh oh.

At 11 POINTS per serving, this was a really bad recipe for those trying to lose weight. To lower the POINTS total I give some tips below the original recipe. You can make the original recipe for all those skinny people in your life then make a version for yourself and any others at your table who are trying to lose weight or stay trim.

Grapefruit Salad with Seared Shrimp

The funny thing about searching for this salad recipe online was that I found it both at the Bob Greene site as California Grapefruit Salad with Seared Shrimp and on FloridaJuice.com’s site as Florida Grapefruit Salad with Seared Shrimp.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

8 baby potatoes
3 grapefruits
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1/2 whole cucumber
1 avocado
1 persimmon
4 Tablespoons fresh pomegranate seeds
2 sprigs tarragon
1 head radicchio
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
12 jumbo shrimp (peeled and de-veined)

Directions:

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until very tender.
While the potatoes are cooking, whisk the ingredients for the vinaigrette together in a medium bowl. Cut the cooked potatoes into quarters and put them directly into the vinaigrette while they are hot to infuse flavor.
Zest 2-3 tablespoons of grapefruit peel. Then, peel and segment the grapefruit and place in a strainer over a bowl to save juice for seared shrimp.
Thinly slice the fennel and cucumber. Peel and cube the avocado and persimmon. Seed the pomegranate. Pluck individual tarragon leaves from the stem. Tear the radicchio into medium-sized pieces. Set all ingredients aside.
In a hot saute pan, sear shrimp in one tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the shrimp approximately one or two minutes on each side.
Add grapefruit zest and reserved juice to pan. Combine shrimp and remaining salad ingredients together, toss and serve.
Add a slice of whole grain bread to round this out.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 508
Protein: 29g
Fiber: 11g
Fat: 19g

Weight Watchers POINTS 11 – UGH! Who are these people kidding?

Tips to Lower Your POINTS Total

Leave out the potatoes.
Forget the persimmon – they’re yummy but a total pain to cut and clean. Plus they ain’t cheap.
Substitute a favorite low or no fat dressing for the vinaigrette. Or make your own with a vinegar you like and some olive oil.
Add more salad. Use a pre-cleaned spring mix or European mix bag of lettuce from your grocery store. If you can afford it, use organic lettuce.
If you have the POINTS to use, add some avocado. It’s full of healthy stuff and oh so yummy.
Shrimp are very low in POINTS and a great source of lean protein. I love the idea of cooking them in grapefruit zest and juice along with the olive oil.
Don’t add the whole grain bread unless you have the POINTS to spare.