Repost- Shrimp Fajita Salad

*Delicious salad recipe from the old site*

I made some paleo fajitas a couple weeks ago, and it was pretty delish, but the pile of meat and onions just felt…incomplete. So the other day I figured I’d incorporate some raw veggies and make it into a salad, and it was even better! I did use bottled dressing for this (Honey Lime Vinaigrette); in a perfect world, I’d make my own, but we gotta choose our battles! I didn’t feel too bad about this because with all the guacamole, I only needed a couple little sprinkles of the dressing.

I feel good about eating this because not only is it super tasty, but it’s full of protein, healthy fats, and some fiber. I absolutely love avocados- I've been known to eat several in a week, and guac is so good on salads. This salad also has lots of cilantro, which is believed to help us detox heavy metals; I recently read that drinking cilantro broth can help with mercury poisoning, pretty neat huh? I know, this recipe looks super long and complicated for a salad; it’s really not! It has a few steps, but it’s super easy, I promise! *The salad filling also makes a wonderful wrap in a collard leaf*

Makes 2 servings

For salad:
½ lb raw shrimp (or some high quality steak, chicken, or a combo if you’re feeling sassy)
½ medium onion, sliced
Handful of mushrooms- I used a few slices of portabella and chopped them up (Fajitas typically have peppers, but I just can’t stand em!)
1 head romaine lettuce
1 medium tomato
Handful of cilantro, chopped

Guacamole:
1 avocado
Juice of ½ a lime
2 TBS chopped cilantro
1 small clove of garlic, chopped super fine

Marinade
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (I like Colavita organic)
2 limes
2 huge cloves of garlic, smashed
A couple shakes of cayenne and cumin
Handful of cilantro, chopped

First, cut your 2 limes into quarters, squeeze the juice into a bowl, and drop the limes in. Add the rest of the marinade ingredients; just do this an hour or two before you want to start cooking or the lime juice will turn your shrimp into ceviche (if using meat, marinate for a few hours or overnight). Then add your shrimp, and pop into the fridge.

When the shrimp are almost marinated to your satisfaction, make the guacamole:
-Cut the avocado in half, lengthwise, remove the pit
-Scrape the avocado into a bowl (I like to score it into cubes while in the peel- makes the mashing phase easier)
-Add garlic and cilantro, squeeze in ½ of a lime
-Mash with a fork to desired consistency (I like mine chunky!)
-Stick in the fridge until ready to serve (about half an hour so the flavors can marry)

After that, prepare the salad:
-Wash lettuce and tear up into pieces
-Chop tomato and remaining cilantro
-Toss together with a little dressing (if you don’t want to use bottled, I’d just whisk together a little lime juice, a tablespoon of honey, and a couple tablespoons of good olive oil)

You’re almost done! Time to cook; ideally I would grill this stuff, but I live in an apartment and didn’t feel like cleaning the Foreman:
-Heat up a couple TBS of oil to medium/high heat (I like to use coconut oil; I believe it has a higher smoke point than olive oil, and I think the flavor is nice in this recipe)
-Add the sliced onions, cook for a few minutes until they are starting get some color. If using peppers, I would add them at this time
-Add the marinated shrimp, and mushrooms if you are using them
-Cook everything for about two or three minutes, until shrimp are opaque

Put it all together:
-Pretty self explanatory; plop some salad on your plate, add shrimp/veggie mixture, and top with a heaping helping of guacamole. Olé!