Last night I needed to have a quick dinner before trekking to book club. I knew I would snack a lot at book club, so I wanted to have something healthy and light.

Even though I hate Lean Cuisines because of their preservative-y taste , I kind of wished I had something I could just shove in the microwave and gobble down.

Then I thought – why not make my own Lean Cuisine?

I bought shrimp from Whole Foods on Monday for my protein source this week because I am currently too lazy to make chicken. I like to buy the already peeled, deveined, and cooked ones because I get grossed out by ripping out the shrimp poop.

All you have to do with these guys is thaw them by rinsing them under cold water for about 7 minutes in a cute purple strainer and they’re ready to eat.

I heated up some frozen organic broccoli in the microwave for 3 minutes and tossed it into a bowl with the shrimp, olive oil, salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes.

The steaming broccoli warmed up the cold shrimp nicely. It was a pretty sweet quick meal for a Thursday night.

There you have it – a plain Lean Cuisine without the preservative-y taste. Though I don’t really understand why frozen shrimp and veggies are still preserved but don’t have that nasty flavor and prepacked meals often do. Whatever.

It only took nine minutes to make, so I enjoyed my homemade Lean Cuisine on the balcony before heading off to book club.

 The book we chose last night for August’s book club read is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Here’s the book description from Amazon:

“On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.”

Since I just finished Born to Run, I can’t decided whether to start this one, finish Fifty Shades Darker, or keep up the running reading with Scott Jurek’s Eat and Run.

I’ll probably just work on all three and take turns depending on my mood. 🙂

*****

I need to live at the gym this weekend since I haven’t had a sweat-filled workout since Monday.

In order to get my butt off the pool lounge chair and on to  the treadmill and weight machines, I need a little extra workout inspiration for the weekend.

Was that good for you, too?