Seared Shrimp and Tortellini Salad

I'm feeling sluggish. Maybe it's because I have been minimizing the amount of meat in my diet, maybe it's due to the fact I consider exercising once a week "regularly" working out or maybe because I haven't been eating the healthiest things. I've been pretty busy with various things over the past few weeks and, when that happens, the first thing that usually suffers is my desire to cook. As you can tell from my lack of posting, that's what's been going on with me. I do love to cook - don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's so easy to fall into the habit of picking up something quick. Picking up something quick usually doesn't involve a well-rounded meal featuring all the food groups. So, to fight this sluggish feeling, I decided I needed a fresh spinach salad. Ever watch Popeye cartoons? All on his own, Popeye could do quite a lot. He could walk and talk and sing and smoke his pipe. But when it came time to deal with his nemesis, Brutus, Popeye just wasn't up to the task...not until he ate his spinach. Yes, I do take health lessons from cartoons. But I have to think there's some truth in it!

My mom described a spinach salad a few months ago that she had at a friend's house. The basic concept was a spinach base topped with chicken and/or seafood, nuts, cheese, fruits (i.e. strawberries, tangerines) and chilled tortellini. I decided to top the salad with sautéed shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper, walnuts, feta cheese, strawberries, orange slices and basil mozzarella tortellini. I don't know if the toppings kind of negated the amazing power of the spinach but I did feel a tiny bit healthier and pleasantly full. I highly recommend the salad - it has a nice balance of sweet and salty and the tortellini helps the salad become a full satisfying meal.