HALLELUJAH! Spring has finally arrived. March also springs more social gatherings, as there are a few more hours of bright sunshine.

Why not serve a light refreshing appetizer with your favorite cocktail, such as a heart-healthy chilled ceviche at your spring gatherings?

Ceviche is a South American seafood dish often made with raw white fish and citrus juices. If you don’t like raw fish, substitute shrimp, as featured in this week’s recipe, Avocado Shrimp Ceviche.

Here is the low fat, low cholesterol recipe of avocado shrimp ceviche:

Avocado Shrimp Ceviche

Fresh Cilantro are the leaves from the coriander plant. Cilantro is the key ingredient to add just enough zest to your ceviche.

Yield: 16 servings ( 1 serving = 1/8 cup)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of cooked shrimp (peeled, stemmed and chopped)
• 2 avocados (about 1 cup)
• ½ red onion, chopped
• ¼ cup of fresh cilantro, minced
• ¼ cup of lime juice
• ½ tsp of ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp of salt

Directions:

Mix all the ceviche ingredients together in a large bowl. Chill the ceviche in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove ceviche from the refrigerator when you are ready to serve to ceviche. Serve ceviche with sliced bell peppers/cucumbers, pita chips, and/or whole wheat crackers.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Calories: 55 kcal
Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 43 mg
Carbohydrate: 2g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Protein 6 g
Sodium: 80 mg