Recipes

I have a deep seated fear of missing out. Did you know that’s a real thing? There is even a term for it, FOMO. I don’t know if I can fully support it having it’s own abbreviated name, but I am just going to try and embrace it. Sometimes it is nice to have a name for something you know you have. Anyway, normally my fear of missing out is a good thing. It pushes me out of my shell and creates adventure and adventures are always a good thing. But sometimes it isn’t such a good thing. Like in second grade when all I wanted was the chicken pox because everyone else had. In fact I was so afraid of missing out on this that I remember specifically trying to catch it from my neighbor. Which I did, of course.

Anyway I feel like I have been missing out on mussels. I cooked them for the first time last night and they are so incredibly easy and delicious. Not to mention a bargain at $3.99 a pound. Paired with tomatoes, fennel, and a little spice they make a perfect meal on their own, over pasta or spaghetti squash, or eaten with a big piece of crusty bread. Yum. Last night I ate mine right out of the pot by the spoonful. If you serve this over pasta or another starch, you can definitely stretch the serving size to 4.

But there is a catch and I would love your help. The nutritional info on mussels is a little hard to come by. According to Weight Watchers e-tools, 1 lb of mussels in the shell is 9 points. However, when I check on nutritional websites to calculate the calorie count, one pound of mussels in the shell have 195 calories, 5 g of fat, 27 g of protein, and 8.4 of carbs which is only 5 points. With further research, it looks like 1 mussel, out of the shell has about 7 calories, and with 20-30 mussels per pound, the 195 calorie number seems right to me. What do you think? How many points would you call this recipe?

Mussels and Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Broth
Servings: 2
Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
Nutritional Information: 242.7 calories, 7.2g of fat, 12.2g of carbohydrates, 2.2g of fiber, 32g of protein * 6 P+

Ingredients

• .5 tbsp butter
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 medium-large fennel bulb
• 1 tbsp fennel fronds
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved*
• 2 cups chicken broth**
• 1 lb mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 1/2 pound shrimp
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, fennel, red pepper, bay leaf, and fennel fronds. Saute for about 2 minutes.
2. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring to make sure they don’t burn.
3. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down.
4. Add an additional cup of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and turn down to low heat.
5. Add the mussels and cook for 5 minutes or until the mussels open up. Then remove the mussels and set aside.
6. Add the shrimp to the pot and cook for 2 minutes until cook through.
7. Add the mussels back to the pot with the basil and stir together. Serve on it’s own, with crusty bread, over rice, or over pasta. Anything you serve it with will be delicious!

*You can replace the tomatoes with one can of diced tomatoes.
**You can replace one cup of chicken broth with white wine or beer to enhance the flavor