My go-to shrimp accompaniment is pasta.  But I’m trying to be healthy on weeknights (ugh, kill me) and I’d already had pasta the night before so I felt I’d hit my quota and needed to slow my roll.  Instead, I made a salad, but I jacked it up with lots of Southwestern flava so I wouldn’t feel so healthy and boring.

First, marinate your shrimp in olive oil, garlic, cayenne, chili powder, and paprika while you prep the rest of the salad.

While the shrimp soaks up those Southwestern juices, top a bed of lettuce with black beans (from a can, drained and rinsed), corn (I like the frozen fire roasted kind from Trader Joes), chopped bell pepper, and crumbled goat cheese.  I know what you’re thinking: a Southwestern salad is a place for pepper jack, not goat cheese.  But trust me when I say it works.  You’ve got plenty of spice on the shrimp so it’s nice to have something cool and tangy.

Before the shrimp…

Speaking of shrimp, since the rest of the salad is now ready to go, sauté those babies for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Top with an avocado yogurt dressing.  Feel free to make your own or use this store-bought one, like I did.

…with the shrimp

The finished product is a full meal in a salad.  And we’re talking a 10-15 minute meal, here.  It’s a salad, but it’s packed with protein and flavor.  Usually when I say something like that, it’s terrible for you (case in point: the Quesadilla Explosion Salad from Chili’s, which I shamefully love); but this is actually pretty freakin healthy.  Go me.