One of the easiest ways to make takeout-style meals work for your grocery budget is learning how to swap ingredients. Instead of buying a bottle of sweet and sour sauce full of ingredients I can't pronounce, I'm using things I already keep in my pantry. The sauce is easy to replicate with items like ketchup, coconut aminos, honey, and pineapple juice. You can get the same sweet and tangy flavor, but made with ingredients that I am more comfortable feeding my family.
Eating Seasonally
We tend to eat meals seasonally based on when things are fresh and find ourselves eating shrimp mostly in the summer time. This dish is also packed with fresh vegetables you can get in the summertime such as pineapple, peppers, green beans, and snap peas. Eating vegetables when they are in season allows you to enjoy them at peak freshness and the lowest cost.
Since we usually eat shrimp in the summer time, in the fall when I do a freezer inventory I make sure to have a plan for using up any shrimp that we have left so it doesn’t sit throughout the winter. We also try to finish hamburger and hot dog buns that we don’t eat as often in the winter. If you’d like to learn more about my freezer organization system, check out this video.
Keeping Produce Fresh
The green beans and snap peas in this recipe are an item that have to be washed differently than most produce items. For these, they are still washed in a vinegar wash but for just one minute as opposed to two. Once they are dry they can be stored in a glass container in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
Stirfrys are a great way to use veggies left in your fridge, especially if they are getting close to going bad. You don’t have to measure quantities and can use whatever you have on hand. I also keep fresh veggies chopped and prepped in jars together in my fridge in a ‘salad basket.’ This allows us to always have what we need for salads or healthy snacks. I often snack on them in the afternoon with a high protein shop like this avocado ranch or spinach dip.
If you want to learn more about washing produce, check out my Zero Waste Produce Guide. It has step by step directions for washing and storing 75 produce items as well as 40 recipes! You’ll be able to keep your produce fresh longer and have new recipes for ways to enjoy it. It is available on Amazon and in The Cross Legacy shop.
Easy Meal Ideas
Keeping frozen shrimp on hand is one of my favorite ways to make quick, wholesome meals. Since the shrimp are individually frozen, I can leave them in the original bag and thaw what I need for dinner. That means no extra prep when I get home from shopping and no wasted shrimp from freezer burn. Combined with plenty of seasonal vegetables and a protein-rich base like red lentils. One pound of shrimp easily stretches into a meal with four satisfying servings with the veggies. I also use frozen shrimp them in my coconut shrimp which you can find the recipe here in this blog.
Allergy Friendly Recipes
We have a variety of food allergies in our family I make most sauces from scratch. This allows me to ensure that they are safe for everyone to enjoy. This sweet and sour sauce is made with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. It also uses honey instead of added sugar which is helpful if you are avoiding added sugar.
If you're looking for other allergy friendly recipes check out my allergy friendly teriyaki sauce and yakisoba.
Recipe Video
Sweet & Sour Shrimp
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 T avocado oil
- 1 lime, juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetables
- 1 onion
- 2 peppers
- 1 ½ cups green beans
- 1 ½ cups snap peas
- 2 cups pineapple
Sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 T coconut aminos
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 T honey
- 1 T arrowroot powder
- 2 T cold water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T fresh ginger, grated
Instructions
- Mix the pineapple juice, ketchup, coconut aminos, vinegar, honey, garlic, and ginger in a bowl.
- In a small cup, whisk together the arrowroot and cold water. Set aside.
- Squeeze juice of one lime on shrimp before cooking
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add avocado oil and cook shrimp for 1–2 minutes per side until just pink and curled into a c shape. Remove and set aside.
- In the same skillet, cook onions and peppers for 4–5 minutes until slightly tender but still crisp.
- Add pineapple chunks and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Return shrimp to the pan
- Pour in the sauce mixture and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Stir the arrowroot slurry again and add it to the skillet. Simmer for 1–2 minutes until thickened.
- Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, or a rice/lentil blend.
Leave a Comment