It Feels Like Balinese Nasi Campur (Buffalo Shrimp + Balsamic Cucumber Salad)

Nasi Campur is a dish we ordered many times in Bali. Each time it would be different and each time J and I would discuss how we should start eating that way.

You wouldn't exactly know what you would get with each order, but you knew you would get to try a lot of different Balinese dishes in one sitting. The meal always seemed like you would have a piece of meat of some kind and a whole lot of sides - almost like families would make ten different dishes on Sundays and would pick away at each dish throughout the week, a little bit from each one - the opposite from what we typically do here in North America.

As I've mentioned, I'm trying to limit our intake of rice, potatoes, bread and pasta (says the girl who just caved and had a sub). Last night proved to be difficult. I made our shrimp. I made our salad.I just stared at the plate, upset about how bare it looked. I, then, added on the avocado+spinach+blueberry salad and then, again, felt it still looked bare and cooked up a few hard boiled eggs for us.

There you have it. Shrimp. Cucumber Salad. Spinach Salad. Egg. Success.

It filled us up and tasted delicious. Only problem is that we end up craving snacks two hours after eating, but that's not a bad thing if we stick to a celery and almond butter kind of snackk! As I just said above, I just caved with a sub. Shameful, yet laughable. Katie tells me I need to be incorporating more fats to keep the hunger away...so for the future, I'll have lots of almonds (or maybe I'll make a trail mix) at work and more avocado (heck yes). Going on four dinners without the typical "fillers" we usually have is still a positive in my books. What an interesting process... I can't imagine what those of you out there go through who kick this stuff cold turkey - It was hard enough when I made my changes, but I had a transition plan in place that took about 4 months. :)

Buffalo Shrimp
If you haven't stumbled over to The Foodie Physician, then you should. I follow her on Facebook and Pinterest as well. I had pinned this recipe awhile ago and finally got around to it.

I used about 24 large shrimp (not jumbo) and used coconut oil instead of butter. I also didn't grill the shrimp. I used cooked shrimp (tails on), tossed them with the lemon and s/p. I warmed them up in a pan and tossed them with the Frank's hot sauce (original - very important) and coconut oil. Would definitely be good marinated and grilled.

Cucumber Balsamic Salad
There's no need to change anything in this salad - I followed it ingredient by ingredient. Very easy and something a little different for the table. We often have cucumber slices drizzled with a bit of balsamic anyhow for our treats, so the flavor combination was right up our "alley".

Spinach Salad
I love the taste of avocado and blueberries so much that I just added those two things and drizzled the salad with a bit of lemon juice - no dressing.

That's it! Updates on progress, new ideas and changes will keep coming. It's our long weekend - and the best weekend of the year - this week so we'll be having a feast of surf n' turf and lots more "surf" on the side. Can't wait!