Healthy Holidays Appetizer: Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp With Greek Yogurt Sauce

Ah, the holiday appetizer table. Filled with all sorts of goodies that have been passed down for generations - or at least since the 70's. Sausage balls, pigs in a blanket, lil' smokie franks in bbq sauce, crudites, and the ever popular shrimp cocktail. While a vegetable/dip platter and shrimp cocktail might very well be the healthiest thing you eat all season, I've got a serious beef with what people do to shrimp in shrimp cocktail. It's usually overcooked, rubbery, and flavorless. Who knows how long it's been sitting out since it was probably bought preassembled at the grocery store. Don't deny it, I know you've eaten it. I have too, I'm ashamed to say.

It's time to redeem yourself, my friend. Shrimp can be the star of the show if you don't relegate it to that black plastic tray of storebought rubberdom. Throw out that cocktail sauce, or as I like to call "Ketchup Of The Sea". It's worthless. Roll up your sleeves, buy uncooked shrimp, season it right, cook it to perfection, and whip up a tasty homemade sauce. The way it should be done. It's super easy to do and everyone will be thanking you for it.

For A Shrimp, You Sure Pack Big Nutrition

In addition to being easy to prepare and very quick cooking, our friend the shrimp packs alot of healthy nutrition. It's low calorie, high in protein, and according to the FDA is much lower in mercury content than most other seafood. Here are a few pointers on why you should be adding well made shrimp to your holiday appetizer table:

• Lean Protein - a 6 ounce serving of shrimp contains 39 grams of protein and only 202 calories.

• Amino Acids - a serving of shrimp contains all the amino acids that your cells can't synthesize on their own. Amino acids from your diet allow your cells to generate new proteins to repair damaged ones.

• Zinc - 6 ounces of shrimp contains 35% of your recommended daily intake of zinc which gives you energy and boosts your immune system.

• Selenium - a serving of shrimp contains more than your recommended daily intake of selenium which increases muscle metabolism as well as enzymes that fight cancer growth.

• Vitamins A & B12 - 6 ounces of shrimp contains 17 percent of your recommended vitamin A intake as well as all of the B12 you need for the day. These two vitamins are essential for red blood cell health.

Have I made enough of a case for making some delicious shrimp over the holidays? Ok, let's get to it.

Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp With Greek Yogurt Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb medium (26-30) uncooked shrimp, peeled and devained

8 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto

30 fresh sage leaves

1 cup greek yogurt

3 Tbls skim milk

1 clove minced garlic

1 Tbls fresh dill, chopped

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lemon juice

kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soak 30 toothpicks in water for 30 minutes to keep them from charring in the oven. Take a shrimp, place a sage leaf over it, wrap with prosciutto, and secure with a toothpick. Repeat for all the shrimp and place on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Place in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.

To make the sauce, mix together yogurt, milk, garlic, dill, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. It will be better if made in advance and allowed to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to let the flavors mix.

Serves 10 as an appetizer

Nudge measures how healthy you're living with a single health score, the Nudge Factor. Now syncing with your favorite health apps, Nudge is your healthy lifestyle in one place, with one health score. If you'd like to learn more about how to engage your audience and get more brand advocates, contact Nudge.