KetoNick's Zoodles and Shrimp with an Avocado Cream Sauce

This one is all about the deliciously creamy avocado sauce. Avocados are an amazing keto food - they're really high in fat, but only have a few net carbs, with a lot of potassium and vitamins B6 and C. With the exception of guacamole, most people think they're only good for the occasional sushi roll or slicing and dicing and topping various other foods, but this recipe puts the avocado flavor center stage. And if you haven't made zucchini noodles you should give them a try! No, you won't be fooled into thinking it's pasta (despite what some people might tell you), but zoodles are awesome in their own right. A warning - this dish should not be made in larger batches unless you're feeding a number of people. The avocado sauce will go brown and gross after a few days, so you only want AT MOST one serving of leftovers. This recipe makes two servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium to small zucchinis
• 1/2 pound of raw shrimp (I prefer 31-35 count, more shrimp per weight)
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 jalapeno (you can seed the jalapeno, or use less if you don't want it too spicy)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• salt

Procedure:

1) Cut your zoodles using a mandolin, V-slicer, or veggie peeler with a julienne blade. You could also do it by hand, but I imagine it would be pretty tedious to do it with a knife. BUT - better than all of those, I recommend a Spiral Vegetable Slicer - this is the one I have. It lets you make two sizes of pasta, a thinner spaghetti shape or a wider linguine shape. It's only $13 and comes with free 2 day shipping with Amazon Prime. I have found it to be a crucial part of a keto kitchen, I use mine at least once a week.

2) Once the zucchini is sliced, lightly toss with about a half teaspoon of salt and set aside. If you like raw crunchy zucchini (like I do), skip to the next step. If you'd like, at this point you can cook your zoodles in one of a few different ways. When I cook them, I usually just microwave them, covered, for about two minutes. Once they cool down, I gently wring them out in a dish towel to get rid of all of the trapped moisture. Alternately, you can sauté the zoodles in a bit of olive oil, but I think it's more effort than it's worth.

3) Peel and steam the shrimp. Save the shells in a freezer bag - once it's full you can make shrimp stock. Usually I would sauté the shrimp after marinating for a little while, or with a variety of herbs, spices, and flavors, but for this dish I prefer the pure shrimp flavor so that it won't overwhelm the avocado, the real star of the dish. Cool the shrimp in an ice bath or cold running water.

4) Place the diced avocado, japaleno, cream, and HALF of the lemon juice in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Salt to taste.

5) If you didn't cook the zoodles, now is the time to gently wring them out after giving the salt time to pull out some of the moisture. Then GENTLY combine the ingredients. Don't go mashing up those noodles!

6) If you have any leftovers, place them into a tall, narrow container to minimize the exposed surface area. Pour the remaining lemon juice on top and it should last a few days before it browns too badly. When you eat the leftovers, pour off the excess lemon juice.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving (according to SparkRecipes Recipe Calculator)

Zoodles and Shrimp with Avocado Cream Sauce