Jay McAfee cooked in a competition this summer called Recipe Remix at the Green Leaf Grill in Little Rock, Arkansas. The event was held by the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Insurance Company.

The purpose of the event is to promote healthy eating. The contestants, who are employed by a restaurant as a chef, take a dish on their menu and remix it into a healthy option with 600 calories or less. The first place chef wins $5,000. Second place wins $1,000, and third place wins $500.

There were three judges that tasted each dish, one of which was employed by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Insurance Company. The contestants had 40 minutes to cook the dish. There were a total of 3 contestants, so we were hopeful to win at least $500!

Jay decided to remix shrimp and grits. This is his recipe:

RECIPE REMIX

Shrimp:

4 shrimp 16/20 peeled and deveined

I season with a tablespoon of kpauls seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon of house seasoning, get a black iron skillet very warm and use 1 teaspoon olive oil on skillet and place shrimp on the pan and turn off. After 2 mins I flip then turn heat on medium for 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

Quinoa:

3 ounces red Quinoa cooked in 3 ounces water and 3 ounces low sodium chicken stock with 1/4 teaspoon of house seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon of Kpauls seasoning.  Bring to boil with all ingredients then let simmer 20 mins with top on pan. After done sauté with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and 2 ounces organic 5 way veggies then add 1/8 teaspoon of house seasoning and 3 ounces quinoa.

Vegetables:

Sauté veggies

All sautéed with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil in warm skillet and 1/8 teaspoon house seasoning. Add 1/4 teaspoon low sodium chicken stock to skillet and remove heat.

1 cup fresh spinach by itself

2 mushrooms by itself

3 asparagus spears by itself

I put 2 raw heirloom cherry tomatoes on plate cut in half

Pico de gallo:

1 large tomato small diced

1/2 small red onion small diced

1 jalapeño small diced

1 bunch of cilantro desteamed and chopped

2 limes squeezed

1 teaspoon house seasoning

Cut and mix all together and set aside for plating

Sauce:

Sauce was 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice,

1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 2 teaspoon water, 1/4 teaspoon house seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon fresh minced garlic.

Mix water and cornstarch together. Then in a warm skillet add all other ingredients until warm then add cornstarch slurry and heat until thick.

Garnish three cilantro leaves

Shrimp

Calories: 161.46

Sodium: 160.53

Fat: 6.52

Saturated fat: 0.629

Quinoa

Calories: 293.46

Sodium: 52.53

Fat: 6.77

Saturated fat: 0.319

Vegetables

Calories: 46.46

Sodium: 63.53

Fat: 1.61

Saturated fat: 0.251

Pico

Calories: 6.03

Sodium: 29.53

Fat: 0.73

Saturated fat: 0.113

Sauce

Calories: 25.62

Sodium: 36.78

Fat: 0.17125

Saturated fat: 0.032

NUTRITIONAL FACTS FOR RECIPE REMIX

533.03 calories

342.9 milligrams of sodium

15.8 grams of fat

4.34 grams of saturated fat

Jay won third place. In the history of the event, no one outside Little Rock has won the competition.

There’s always next year!