Shrimp Spring Rolls

When I think of summer meals, I think of light, healthy foods with lots of crunch and color. This meal was just that! The combination of all of the crunchy vegetables was very refreshing and light. The shrimp adds a healthy dose of protein to help keep you full. These spring rolls are a great alternative to traditional Chinese/Asian fare such as egg rolls. Chinese take out is often filled with tons of sodium which can leave you bloated for days! If you are looking to avoid that next time, skip Panda Express and make these instead! Choosing this dish over take out will save you both time and money. This meals comes together in 15 minutes or less which I’m sure is less time than it takes to drive somewhere to pick up takeout and come home.

These rolls are served along a chili-garlic peanut dipping sauce. This dipping sauce is low calorie and doesn’t have any yucky preservatives or chemicals added. It seems like every packaged/bottled/canned food at the traditional market has sugar or high fructose corn sugar added. That drives me crazy! Why does canned tomatoes need sugar? Or salad dressing? The whole 30 really opened my eyes to how many products in the market have added sugar. I always read my labels now even if something claims to be “all natural” or “organic”. For example-  Natural Jif/Natural Skippy Pb still have added sugars and other oils added. This is not natural by my standards.

Sorry for the rant- back to the recipe! I had everything on hand for this meal which made it super simple. The recipe included is for one serving- feel free to double,triple, x7, etc. to fit your needs!

You will need:

9 cooked shrimp (small/med sized)

1/4 avocado

1/3 cup chopped cucumber

1/4-1/3 cup shredded carrots

3 grape tomatoes

3/4 cup chopped lettuce (I used romaine, but generally prefer spring mix)

1/4 cup chopped colored pepper (I used orange)

3 rice paper rolls (check the Oriental aisle at your supermarket!)

Dipping Sauce:

2 tsp Chili Garlic Sauce

2 tbsp PB2

1-1.5 tbsp water

1 tsp honey

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

First, cook the shrimp to your liking. I cooked mine with some all purpose seasoning, garlic, and a dash of cayenne. I allowed them to cool in the pan while I prepared the rest of the dish.

For the spring roll filling, chop all of the vegetables into small chunks. It works best if the chunks are small because it helps to prevent the rice paper rolls from tearing. After everything is chopped, dip a rice paper roll into a bowl of luke warm water. It takes a couple of minutes for the rice paper rolls to become pliable. After the rice paper rolls become soft and bendable, remove it from the water and place on a dry rolling surface (I just used a plate). Assemble all of the vegetables as shown. My ordering was lettuce, carrots, cucumber, peppers, tomato, avocado, and then shrimp.

Next, carefully fold the rice paper over the filling and roll it up like a wrap. It can be tricky at first because the rice paper rolls are very thin and can be difficult to work with. Follow the exact same procedure for the next 2 rolls.

How it looks all rolled up!

After the rolls are finished, make the dipping sauce. This comes together in a pinch! Simply add all of the ingredients into a saucer/ small serving dish and whisk it up.

This is the finished dipping sauce, along with the chili garlic sauce I used in case you are unfamiliar with it.

This meal is light, fresh, and vibrant. It is perfect for a light dinner, lunch, or even a snack. It is only around 250 calories for all 3! That is less than many protein bars, crackers, and other snack foods and is way more filling! I will definitely be making these again!

I just dunked the whole thing right into the sauce! Cutting the rolls make them much more likely to tear, so I just left them whole. I love how versatile rice paper rolls are and I will definitely be making more variations soon!

Have you ever had spring rolls before?? What is your favorite light dinner/lunch?? Let me know in the comments!

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