A coconut covered shrimp recipe is a beach time favorite.Photo by Augusta Statz

By Augusta Statz

If this healthful meal doesn’t make you want to hop in your car and get to the beach, I don’t know what will. The smell of coconut instantly reminds me of the beach, and when I’m at the beach, eating seafood is a must. Costal Living Magazine’s recipe for coconut shrimp is the perfect combination of beachy ingredients.

If you’ve had coconut shrimp before, it was probably fried. Don’t get me wrong, fried shrimp is delicious, but this recipe for coconut shrimp does not require frying, and thus, according to Coastal Living Magazine, is 231 calories less than fried coconut shrimp. So, for only 336 calories, you can have delicious coconut covered shrimp.

I recently tried this recipe and found that it was easy to follow, and it didn’t take very long to make. The recipe said that prep time would be 18 minutes and cook time would be only five minutes, and I found this to be accurate.

In under 25 minutes, the coconut shrimp was ready. And boy, was it delicious. It was a great combination of sweet and spicy because the coconut was the perfect balance for the ground red pepper that the recipe called for. I even added about a tablespoon of brown sugar to the coconut and breadcrumb mixture for an extra bit of sweetness.

To go along with the shrimp, I prepared a salad topped with some of my favorite summer fruits. I added peaches, blueberries and strawberries to a traditional salad which, for me, consists of a bed of lettuce, cucumbers, shredded cheese and chopped pecans. Top this salad with a vinaigrette, or in my case, ranch dressing, and you have a perfect salad to go along with the coconut shrimp.

This meal not only screams summer, but also has a tropical twist. It is a delicious and nutritious way to enjoy summer fruit and some beach favorites: coconut and shrimp. This meal will take your taste buds on a trip to the beach!
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