Tuscan White Beans with Spinach, Shrimp and Feta

I mean, it's over a year away, but still, I have to think about my wedding!  I am still planning the whos/whats/whens/wheres (okay I guess I know the who!) and it won't be until 2014, but I was not liking the way I looked in my clothing yesterday.  That's when I decided to pull up my favorite low fat blog, Skinny Taste, and search for something healthy (my family was begging for scalloped potatotes, and with all that cream, it's probably a good thing that Delilah ate the entire spiral ham from the refrigerator!).  I had already bought most of the ingredients for Tuscan white beans with spinach, shimp and feta, and I knew that Rachael was going to try out her new sushi kit, so I figured it was a perfect night to try out a new seafood recipe.

The first problem I ran into was that Kenzie had picked up shrimp for me, but it was frozen cooked shrimp.  I needed raw shrimp in order to cook it!  So I just thawed it out and threw it in the pan to mostly just heat it up.  They never looked quite shrimp-like and pink and plump and pretty; they kind of stayed white and sort of ugly, so I was a little afraid.  Then I didn't have cannellini beans, but I had "small white beans" which I figured had to be close enough even if they were a little smaller.  Oh, and when it calls for 5 cups of baby spinach and you pour it into the pan and start to pani

The interesting thing about this recipe is that it calls for no salt.  Gina from Skinny Taste adapted the recipe from a salt-free cookbook.  Anyone who knows me or my sisters knows how much we love salt, and pour it on anything.  So it is extremely impressive if I tell you that I did not salt this dish while I was cooking it, and I didn't salt it when I ate it either.  The meal is flavorful enough, with a sauce of balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, garlic, onion, and fresh sage.  There are plenty of things going on in that mixture of flavors, and you don't even notice that the salt is gone.  I promise!

I really liked this meal, and so did my mom and Kenzie and Alex (no one else would eat shrimp).  I do recommend serving it over rice, which I know makes it a little less healthy, but it needed it.  And don't neglect to sprinkle the feta on top; it adds just the right amount of salt :)

Recipe:

Tuscan white beans with spinach, shrimp and feta

from Skinny Taste, adapted from The Salt Solution Cookbook

Servings: 4 • Size: 1/4th • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 282 • Fat: 6.9 g • Carb: 22.2 g • Fiber: 6.2 g • Protein: 32.5 g • Sugar: 0.2 g
Sodium: 390 mg

Ingredients:2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after peeled)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup low sodium, fat-free chicken broth
15 oz can no-salt added cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
5 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 oz crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Directions:

1) Heat 1 tsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp until just opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2) Heat remaining oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and add onion, garlic and sage; cook 4 minutes stirring occasionally until golden. Stir in vinegar and cook 30 seconds.

3) Add broth, bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Stir in beans and spinach and cook until the spinach wilts, about 2 to 3 minutes.

4) Remove from heat and stir in shrimp. Top with feta cheese and divide in 4 bowls (and I recommend serving over rice!).