EPIC SHRIMP PEELING SKILLS

Peeling and deveining shrimp yourself both saves you money and is much fresher and more delicious to the pre-peeled shrimp but watching professional shrimps cleaner doing his job is an amazing venture. Plus it's super easy to do so it's definitely worth giving a try next time you work with shrimp.
If you're a shrimp lover, you may assign it to the “awesome appetizer” food group, whether it's sizzling on a skewer or served cold with cocktail dipping sauce on the side. Then again, you may assign it to the “enticing entree” food group, especially if it's been sauteed with olive oil and garlic and served on a bed of angel hair pasta. But if you want to get technical about this crustacean, shrimp belongs to the protein food group – and so says the United States Department of Agriculture, for good reason.

Shrimp on Your Plate
In an effort to guide Americans to healthier eating choices, the USDA developed the ChooseMyPlate initiative at the same time it released the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

In doing so, it retired the sometimes confusing food pyramid for a familiar image – a dinner plate – and divided it into four quadrants: fruits, vegetables, grains and protein, with a cup of dairy on the side.

Protein is a broad category that includes “all foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts and seeds,” the USDA says.

Shrimp by the Day
Once you know which food group shrimp belongs in (besides “awesome appetizer”), it helps to know how much protein you should consume each day. And this number depends on your gender and age:

Women ages 31 and up should have 5 ounces per day. Men ages 31 to 50 should have 6 ounces per day. Men ages 51 and up should have 5 1/2 ounces per day.
Included in these amounts should be “at least 8 ounces of cooked seafood per week,” the USDA says.

Shrimp on the Scale
As a shrimp lover, you already know that you can gobble up 8 ounces of shrimp – equal to one-half pound – in no time. But those are calories well-spent on a nutritional food item because that serving size contains:

240 calories* 46 grams of protein
3.92 grams of fat* 2 grams of carbohydrates
Shrimp also is a good source of vitamin A and C and calcium. On the downside, shrimp is high in cholesterol. That 8-ounce serving contains 345 milligrams, and the American Heart Association recommends no more than 300 milligrams per day.

Shrimp as a Healthy Choice
Like all types of food, it helps to take a holistic view of shrimp. And overall, the USDA notes that it's “important” to eat 8 ounces of seafood per week because it:

Supplies the omega-3 fatty acids that can help prevent cardiovascular disease.* Includes nutrients such as iron, zinc and magnesium that bolster the immune system.
Teems with the B vitamins that serve myriad purposes, especially as a “helper” in building tissue and forming red blood cells and releasing energy.* Helps build strong cartilage, skin, bones and muscles – all of which can be traced back to the protein content that may have led you to place it on your plate in the first place.