Say Goodbye to Boring Salads with Litehouse, NatureSweet®, and Fresh Express®...Featuring Chopped Shrimp Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette #iheartsaladpromo #byebyeboring #salad #bigflavor

Signs of Spring are all around us here in Texas these days! The bluebonnets are blooming like crazy, it's staying lighter a bit longer in the evenings, and temps are slowly warming into the 70s a few afternoons per week. This is the time we naturally begin gravitating toward lighter meals -- including light, yet filling main dish salads. Today, I'm partnering with my friends at NatureSweet®, Fresh Express®, and Litehouse Foods to say "Bye Bye to Boring Salads!" Today, I'm sharing a delicious main dish salad that's bursting with all sorts of fun flavors and textures -- definitely not boring. My Chopped Shrimp Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette is light, but it's plenty filling thanks to all of the chunky ingredients incorporated!

Thanks to using tangy Litehouse Italian Marinade and Dressing, Fresh Express® Sweet Heart™ ready-to-use salad greens (hearts of crunchy romaine and tender butter lettuce), and delicious NatureSweet® Cherubs® tomatoes? This pretty and tasty salad is ready to eat in about 30 minutes. An added bonus: with the Lenten season here, this big-flavor salad is also an ideal Friday night Supper

This Chopped Shrimp Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette features grilled shrimp, creamy avocado, crumbled goat cheese (or feta if you prefer), sweet Cherubs® tomatoes, grilled zucchini, and a couple of fun crunchy components. Just before serving, everything is tossed in a sweet-tart vinaigrette. 

Chopped Shrimp Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette

a Weekend Gourmet Original

Ingredients (makes 3 servings):
Weight Watchers Freestyle Smart Points: 10

• 1 bag Fresh Express® Sweet Hearts™ salad greens
• 1 medium zucchini, halved and cut into half moons
• 12 NatureSweet® Cherubs® tomatoes, cut lengthwise into quarters 
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese  [NOTE: can sub feta]
•  6 tbs. ready-to-use wonton strips
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1 lb. large shrimp (16-20/lb.) peeled and deveined
• 1 tbs. + 1 tbs. Creole seafood seasoning blend
• 1 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup Litehouse Italian Dressing and Marinade
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tsp. honey or agave (can add 1 packet non-caloric sweetener if you don't prefer a tart dressing0
  
• 1 tsp. dried cilantro 
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Step 1: Evenly coat a cast-iron grill pan with the olive oil. Heat the grill pan over med-high heat for 5 minutes, until hot. Sprinkle the zucchini slices with half of the Cajun spice. Grill the zucchini until they are cooked and have grill marks on both sides. On my grill pan, this took approx. 5 minutes per side. While the zucchini cooks, sprinkle the remaining Cajun seasoning on the shrimp and toss to evenly coat.

Step 2: After the zucchini has cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and sear the shrimp on 2-3 minutes per side, until cooked through. Remove shrimp to a cutting board and chop into bite-sized pieces. While the shrimp cook, you'll have a pocket of time to chop the green onions, Cherubs® tomatoes, and avocado.

Step 3: Make the dressing by adding the Litehouse Italian Dressing and Marinade, lime juice, cilantro, honey, and salt & pepper to a small cup. Whisk until the honey is completely incorporated.

Step 4: To assemble the salad, add the chopped Fresh Express salad greens to a large, shallow serving bowl. Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette. Place the chopped shrimp in the center of the greens, in a circular pattern. Arrange the almonds, wonton strips, avocado, Cherub® tomatoes, green onions, goat or feta cheese, and zucchini around the perimeter of the bowl. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette on top of the salad. Just before serving, toss to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.

This salad is bursting with big flavors, definitely not boring! The creamy cheese and avocado, crunchy almonds and wonton strips, and spiced shrimp combine for a fantastic main dish salad. The dressing was perfection: light and sweetly tart. Your family is allergic to – or doesn’t eat – seafood? No problem! Use bite-sized cubes of chicken. To make this salad veg-friendly, sub cubed tofu or roasted chickpeas for the shrimp. You really can’t go wrong! I absolutely love this salad and plan to enjoy well into the coming Summer season! I hope you'll give it a try and let me know what you think...

Disclosure: Litehouse, Fresh Express®, and NatureSweet® provided me with coupons for free product to facilitate recipe development for this post. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

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