Is Shrimp Scampi Good or Bad for You?
Shrimp scampi is a delectable meal many love to enjoy. With the creamy sauce and flat noodles, who wouldn’t want to have shrimp scampi for dinner? It is delicious and easy to make, but the question is: is it good for you?
In moderate amounts, shrimp scampi isn’t unhealthy. Health experts recommend limiting one’s intake of shrimp to 2 to 3 servings per week, with each serving amounting to 8 to 12 ounces. As with the white wine-containing shrimp scampi sauce, only 5% to 40% of alcohol remains after cooking with wine.
Many alternative recipes can make your shrimp scampi healthier and better for your body. Here are some ways that you can keep that taste while getting the benefits of a healthy meal.
Is Shrimp Scampi Good For You?
Shrimp scampi isn’t necessarily bad for you. In moderation, you can live a healthy lifestyle and eat shrimp scampi with all the original ingredients. When you are highly active, carbs (from the pasta) are a wonderful source of energy.
The Benefits Of Shrimp
Many benefits come with eating shrimp instead of chicken, beef, or pork. It is one of the healthier options in the meat selection.
Here are some of the benefits you will find by picking shrimp:
- Shrimp contains antioxidants.
- It is high in cholesterol (the good kind).
- It is low in calories.
- Shrimp is jam-packed with nutrients.
- It contains healthy fatty acids.
- It is a great source of protein.
If you have to choose between a meal with beef or shrimp scampi, shrimp is healthier. It has high protein, so you won’t be missing out, and it has plenty of antioxidants as well as fatty acids to promote brain health.
With this food not only being low in calories, it will provide you with many of the nutrients your body needs. You don’t have to worry about consuming empty calories.
Read Also: How to Steam Frozen Shrimp
Healthy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Consuming shrimp scampi in moderation is a healthy way to add it to your diet. But the good news is that the dish can be cooked in a healthier fashion by using Greek yogurt instead of butter. What makes Greek yogurt healthier than butter is that it contains significantly fewer calories and fat, but still packs a lot of protein.
Here’s an easy shrimp scampi recipe with a healthy sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of raw shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
- 1 shallot (peeled and thinly sliced)
- 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup of chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons of white wine
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper (finely ground)
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (crushed)
In a pan, heat olive oil and saute garlic and shallot over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
Add shrimp and Greek yogurt and season with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Continue sauteing shrimp with seasonings for 3 to 4 minutes or until both sides are pink and no longer opaque.
Pour in white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir and allow to boil for about 1 minute.
FAQ
How Healthy is Shrimp?
Shrimp is one of the healthiest foods. It packs good amounts of high-quality protein — 12 grams per 3-ounce serving. The seafood is also low in carbohydrates and saturated fat, plus it has choline, selenium, zinc and vitamins E and B. However, shrimp is high in cholesterol — a little over 160 milligrams per serving.
Why is Shrimp Good for You?
One of the reasons why shrimp is good for the health is that it supplies the body with muscle-building protein. Protein is also important for repairing the body and boosting the immune system. Shrimp contains antioxidants, too, which protect the cells from free radical damage. Some antioxidants in shrimp help prevent skin aging.
Is Shrimp Scampi Healthy?
Eating shrimp scampi in moderation is considered healthy. In order to keep the heart out of harm’s way by limiting the amount of cholesterol consumed, one should enjoy the dish no more than 2 to 3 times a week. But it’s important for figure-conscious people to note that there are over 500 calories in a serving of shrimp scampi.
Shrimp Scampi Benefits
There are many health benefits one can get from moderate consumption of shrimp scampi. Leading the list is that it can promote healthy weight loss and lean muscle building. Despite having cholesterol, it also has healthy fats that may decrease heart disease risk. Many other health perks are offered by shrimp scampi such as:
- Reduced hunger. Protein and fats in a serving of shrimp scampi can be extremely satiating, which can help figure-conscious individuals fight off hunger pangs and overeating so much better.
- Delayed skin aging. One of the nutrients in shrimp scampi is vitamin E. Because of its antioxidant properties, vitamin E can protect the skin from UV damage, thus keeping wrinkles and other aging signs at bay.
- Increased energy. Shrimp in the Italian dish is packed with B vitamins, which help convert the food you eat to energy. B vitamins, by the way, help the body create new cells, including red blood cells (RBCs).
- Boosted immunity. Every serving of shrimp scampi supplies the body with zinc. The said mineral is important for keeping the immune system in tip-top shape. Zinc also partakes in cellular repair.
Is Scampi Bad for You?
Shrimp scampi is bad for the health and weight if it’s consumed in excessive amounts. The same is true if it’s served with lots of pasta and thick slices of bread, which can cause the carbohydrate and caloric content of shrimp scampi to skyrocket. As with most other delicious food, eating in moderation is the key.
Is Shrimp or Chicken Healthier?
Calorie-wise, shrimp has fewer calories than chicken per serving — a large shrimp has less than 15 calories, while chicken breast about the size of a deck of cards already has over 80 calories. However, shrimp has more cholesterol than chicken. Per 3-ounce serving, shrimp has over 160 milligrams of cholesterol, while chicken has 75 milligrams only.
Is Shrimp Fattening?
Alone, shrimp is not fattening. Besides having virtually no carbohydrates and being low in calories, shrimp is packed with protein that helps accelerate the metabolism and promotes satiety, which helps prevent overeating. However, cooking shrimp with ingredients that are high in calories and fat can make it fattening.
Is Shrimp Scampi Good for Weight Loss?
Because shrimp scampi contains ingredients packed with calories and fat, it should be consumed in great moderation by individuals who are trying to shed off excess pounds or maintain their current weight. Substituting low-calorie and low-fat ingredients may be done in order to make shrimp scampi friendly to the figure.
Is Shrimp Good for You on a Diet?
Those who are trying to slim down may replace butter with light butter, which typically has half the amount of calories and fat in regular butter, when cooking shrimp scampi to be able to add the rich Italian dish to their diet.
Healthy butter substitutes like ghee, pressed avocado oil and yogurt may be used, although it will alter the taste.
Is Breaded Scampi Heavy?
Breaded scampi, when consumed in moderation, isn’t a health threat. However, it’s important to note that breading can cause the number of calories per serving of scampi to increase.
For instance, according to nutritionists, 7 pieces of medium-sized breaded scampi contains 216 calories. They also have 18 grams of carbs and 10.5 grams of fat.
How to Eat Shrimp Scampi
At fancy restaurants, shrimp scampi is eaten with a seafood fork. It’s not uncommon for shrimp scampi to be served as a topping for pasta, which can range anywhere from spaghetti, angel hair to fettuccine. In some instances, shrimp scampi is served with thick slices of bread, which are dipped into the rich, butter sauce.
What to Eat With Scampi
There are many things that shrimp scampi can be served with. Leading the list are pasta and rice, which can be anything from plain, garlic rice to vegetable fried rice. Some people love eating it with mashed potatoes, bean casseroles and steamed vegetables. Individuals who have no time to cook may enjoy shrimp scampi with crusty bread.
Which type of wine goes best with shrimp scampi?
Shrimp scampi following a traditional recipe pairs very well with dry, crisp white wine. Some popular examples include pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc. Unoaked chardonnay is also a wonderful option. White wine used for cooking shrimp scampi sauce may be served with the dish.
Conclusion
Shrimp scampi is surprisingly so easy to make. So much so that you can actually whip it up every single day. But don’t do that — it’s no secret that shrimp is high in cholesterol, which is why you should limit their consumption to no more than 2 to 3 times a week, especially if you are at risk of heart disease.
When taken in moderation, your overall health and figure, too, should be fine. You may also consider substituting shrimp scampi ingredients you have doubts about with something that you feel more comfortable with.
Read Next: 16 Best Shrimp Substitutes