Baked Coconut Shrimp With Apricot Chili Sauce

When we dine out, we often go to seafood restaurants as seafood is so fresh and plentiful here in Florida. Although I usually do try and choose healthy options from the menu, once in a while I do choose coconut shrimp, one of my all time favorite appetizers. Unfortunately, the coconut shrimp served in local restaurants are always deep fried, so I wanted to try my hand at making this shrimp dish at home, but a healthier version of it. I coated the shrimp in a Panko breadcrumb and coconut combination after dipping them in frothy egg whites. After baking, the shrimp were delicious, and although not as crispy as the deep fried version, the flavor was very similar.

I like the apricot dipping sauce served with coconut shrimp at one restaurant, and the sweet and spicy chili sauce served at another, so I combined both for my shrimp dish, using a sugar free apricot jam. The sauce was sweet and spicy, and really complimented the coconut shrimp.

• Shrimp are supercharged with vitamin B12 and selenium, and are a low calorie source of protein. Shrimp also provide a fair amount of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B6, iron, magnesium, sodium (salt), zinc and copper, and surprisingly, they also contain some vitamin C.

• Baking the shrimp rather than deep frying them is a much healthier alternative.