Are you busy and struggling to find healthy meals to feed your family? Yea, me too. But don’t worry I’ve gotcha covered with this 20 MINUTE sweet potato pasta and sauteed shrimp dinner. Oh, and that 20 minutes includes thawing out the shrimp! The entire family loved it (kids included) so you’ll definitely want to add this to the weekly rotation.

Time Hacks for Busy People

Plan meals ahead. You know how you have nothing planned for dinner so you drive though somewhere? Yea. Been there. You’ve got to start planning at least a day in advance.
Buy raw wild caught shrimp that is already deveined and peeled for you. I get mine at Trader Joe’s and this saves me a solid 20 minutes.
Buy premade sweet potato noodles. I get mine at Trader Joe’s in the refrigerated section. Yea they are more expensive but time is money and this saves me another 20 minutes.
Buy organic prewashed spinach so you can just throw it in there.
Make a double serving and serve the leftovers the next day for lunch or dinner.

Now, if you have more time you could of course spiralize or slice your own sweet potato noodles, wash and trim your spinach and devein and peel your shrimp. But I don’t so I went quick and easy.

Why I Choose Wild Caught Shrimp

This one is a bit controversial. On one hand over-fishing is a problem. We can drain our oceans and rivers too quickly disrupting the ecosystem. But on the other hand, farmed fish is full of terrible things: crowded living conditions, food dyes to make it look fresh, and antibiotics to keep them from getting sick. They are frequently soaked in a preservative that makes them look fresh and glossy. Some are even genetically modified. They are more prone to parasites. They don’t have a diverse diet which in turn makes the seafood significantly less nutrient dense.

If you want to know more, take a look at this blog post, I go into a bit more detail as to why at this time I choose wild caught shrimp. I know some companies are coming out with healthier sustainable fairly raised seafood and I hope that one day I will be able to have the confidence to buy more sustainable fish. But for now, I choose wild caught fish and I stick to ones on the Low Mercury List from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Okay. You’ve got your shrimp. You’ve got your produce. Let’s get cookin’

20 Minute Sweet Potato Pasta with Sauteed Shrimp

20 minutes start to finish including dethawing the shrimp! It's healthy, delicious, and guaranteed to make the whole family happy.

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Course Main Course

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

1 lb raw wild caught shrimp save time by buying deveined and peeled
2 sweet potatoes, spiralized or cut into thin pasta "strips" save time by buying precut sweet potato noodles in the refrigerated section at your local health food store
1 small package organic spinach 4-6 cups
1/2 cup shredded parmesan or other italian cheese omit if AIP or Whole 30
2 tbs butter omit if AIP or Whole 30
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp your favorite seasoning blend or old bay seasoning

Instructions

De-thaw shrimp overnight or in a colander with running cold water.
Cook sweet potato noodles. Add 1tbs butter and olive oil in a large stock pot. Sautee until soft, about 10 minutes.
When pasta is done, throw in spincha and cook until slightly wilted.
Meanwhile, sautee shrimp in a small sautee pan with leftover butter and olive oil. Season with a bit of salt or seafood seasoning. Cook about 5 minutes or until curled up and done.
Serve pasta with cheese sprinkled on top and top with shrimp. That's it!