The weather is getting (a little) warmer where I am, making me dream of delicious summer time foods! This ceviche is easy, super limey, and filled with tasty fresh vegetables that will help you get in those daily servings. Being both Paleo and Whole30, this high protein recipe is a great way to feel full without eating a heavy meal. Enjoy this ceviche with paleo tortilla chips, or with some vegetables! Or honestly, just grab a spoon. It’s that good.

Ceviche is a great recipe not only because of the health benefits, but because of how easily it comes together. It’s really just chop, juice, and throw everything in a container overnight! If you’re worried about consuming raw fish, you can certainly cook your shrimp beforehand (or buy it already cooked) and add that to your mixture. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for a bit for the acidic juices to “cook” your shrimp.

Before we get into the ins and outs of making ceviche, let’s dive into a topic near and dear to my heart- sustainability in seafood!

Where does your shrimp come from?

I. Love. Shrimp. I have always loved it, and I’m sure I always will. A few years ago, I told someone that all I wanted in life was to be able to buy shrimp every single day and eat all the delicious foods. I’m not certain that I still don’t feel that way, honestly, but the health benefits of shrimp make me think that maybe I was onto something more than just the taste.

Okay, so firstly, there are lots of different types of shrimp that you can use to cook with. Some of the types of shrimp are determined by how they came to be in your grocery store – wild caught or farmed – and others might be referred to as “prawns” or “shrimp.” So what’s the deal?

This is a great article about how to choose the right type of shrimp for your ceviche (or any recipe), but I honestly usually buy the white or pink shrimp for the majority of my recipes. They are usually readily available in grocery stores, frozen or not, and have a sweeter taste that we all are familiar with.

The health of our environment is near and dear to my heart. Many of the seafood that winds up on our plates comes from unsustainable practices that lead to overfishing and techniques that damage the environment. Overfishing is exactly what it sounds like – literally catching so many fish of a particular species that they wind up on the endangered species list. The National Geographic article cited above is a great example of overfishing. A Chilean sea bass can take up to 50 years to fully mature, and without conscientious fishing practices, the Chilean sea bass would have gone extinct years ago. Despite many regulations and attempts to curb the over fishing of many types of fish, illegal fishing continues to affect ecosystems, and even has lead to organized crime and human rights violations.

Buying sustainably sourced seafood is important not for the environment, but for human life as well.

Photo by Jonathan Noack on Unsplash

As scary as it might be, there are organizations that have worked towards finding the balance between fishing sustainably and allowing fish populations to rebound. And while there are a number of fish that you can find in restaurants and grocery stores in the US that are still on the endangered species list, the real change comes when you, as a human, decide to buy sustainable seafood. If you’re unsure whether or not the seafood you are consuming is considered sustainable, you can check out Seafood Watch’s guide to help you make an informed decision.

Seafood is delicious, but knowing that you can make better decisions for our environment is a guaranteed way to be sure that your seafood will remain available and delicious for years to come. We could go into the infinite benefits of the many types of seafood, but that will just have to wait for another post!

How to make Shrimp Ceviche with Avocado

The recipe is so simple that it’s almost odd to type it up in a blog post. You can pick and choose ingredients to add to ceviche, much like you would with salsa. Ones that I always include in my ceviche are:

I’m a fan of all the limes in my ceviche! You can add some lime juice on top right before serving for some extra limey taste!

shrimp
lime juice
lemon juice
cumin
tomato
avocado
red onion
cilantro
jalapeño peppers
salt and pepper to taste

Other ingredients that you might want to use up in your fridge, or might want to add for some flair that I sometimes add:

chili powder
habanero peppers
green peppers
sweet peppers
shallots (sub for red onion for a milder taste)
orange juice

There really is no way to go wrong with this one! Just follow your heart on what sounds delicious!

Use kitchen shears to cut up the shrimp for an even easier prep!

To make the ceviche, you first must de-shell and de-vein the shrimp. You can use any size shrimp for ceviche, but I usually usually use medium or large shrimp. Cut up the de-shelled and de-veined shrimp up into small pieces, and place in a large bowl. Then, add the juice of some fresh limes and lemons. If you are using orange juice to add some extra flavors, also add it at this time. You can use lemon and lime juice from concentrate, but I honestly just love the taste of fresh lemon juice and lime juice so much that I don’t even keep the concentrated version in my house. Add in the cumin, salt, pepper, and chili powder if you are using it to the shrimp and citrus juice, and stir.

While the shrimp is soaking in the citrus juice, chop up your vegetables. Cut up the tomatoes, avocado, jalapeños, and red onion up and add them to my shrimp mixture. Add in chopped cilantro and any other vegetables that you’d like to include in your ceviche. Stir and cover the bowl. Store in the fridge until the raw shrimp is “cooked” by the acidity of the citrus, about 2-4 hours depending on how much citrus you use. The shrimp is cooked when it is pink or white, and opaque. It is also firmer to the touch. Serve cold.

If you are using cooked shrimp, feel free to eat your ceviche immediately!

And that’s it! Enjoy your ceviche on a warm day or for a lighter lunch!