Beat the Heat, Part 2....

So last night's dinner was as cooooool as yesterday's lunch:)  And it involved a little of this....

And a lot of that....

We made fresh Spring Rolls with a 'Thai inspired' cole slaw!  Cool & Summery! :)

I started the rolls with the only real 'cooking' of the entire evening...I sauteed about 20 shrimps, coated in sesame seeds, in a little olive oil until they were pink.  (about 6 minutes)

Next, it was time to break out my wrappers...which were honestly one of the weirdest ingredients I've ever worked with!  They looked like a doily!! :)  But soaked in a plate of water for about 30 seconds softened these up and made them ready to roll!

Side note:  Me and the lovely gentleman at the "Whole Foods" had a 10 minute discussion in the aisles about how anyone could possibly justify the calorie count in these sheets of AIR!  However, after some head scratching and small calculations, we figured out that they were 340 calories for about 2 1/2 sheets worth.  Phew, OK...much better!

Anyway, I digress:)  So I laid out all of my ingredients (and that plate of water in the top right for 'soaking the sheets') and got ready to roll!;)

I wrapped up these babies with romaine/(leftover) arugula, avocado, carrots, scallions & the sesame shrimp.  Most recipes I read  for spring rolls called for rice/cellophane noodles, but I just couldn't bring myself to use them this time.  (cold stringy noodles, for the most part, scare me;)  Maybe next time...;)

I rolled, rolled, and rolled on a river! :)  These were so pretty when they were all done!

And sooooooooooo good!  I must say, I was sorta skeptical about these since I'm normally NOT a fan of "cold" dinners, but I realllllly LOVED these!  They were light as air, but heavy on delicious flavors!  Me thinks these will be QUITE a summer staple this year!

And the dipping sauce really added even MORE flavor.  I mixed (the above mentioned) Thai Peanut Sauce with a little Soy sauce and a teaspoon of crunchy almond butter.  It was coool, but with a KICK!  HIIIII-YA! (insert karate chop:)

And I also used the Thai Sauce in my 'slaw.  I mixed  the sauce with cole slaw cabbage mix, a diced red pepper, 4 diced green onions & a handful of chopped peanuts.  The perfect cool (and slightly spicy) side dish! 

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this dinner!  I already can't wait to have it again! :)  And those rolls are so versatile, the possibilities are endless!  (maybe with the noodles next time??  maybe...;)

So, what would a night be if I didn't talk about ice cream or some sort of ice cream product?  You guessed completely correct if you assumed we currently have ZERO space in our freezer;) 

Again, I will repeat: I do NOT eat "light" products if they are not good!  I am FAR from the person who lives & dies by them...butttttttttttt, when they are low cal AND good...well, then we have a winner!  And here is one:

These bars were smooth and SUPER creamy!  And they weren't even lyin with the claim on the box, as there are actually distinguishable pieces of strawberry in these babies!

And who could not love a dessert where the "suggested serving size" is actually 2 bars???

hahahahahah...I managed to keep it to one bar, and who could complain about THAT for 60 calories??  Not me!!  Sweet!

Ahhhh...we're getting closer to Friday!  Is it bad that I'm mentally already ready for NEXT Friday???  So nice when a 3 day weekend is in the not-too-distant future! ;)  Have a good Thursday!