A few weeks ago, my bestie started the Keto diet and inspired me to try it out. In case you don’t know what the Keto diet is, it’s where you can only have a limited amount of carbs a day – something like 20g total (for reference, my peppermint mocha I used to order was 60g, so to say this was eye-opening was an understatement). No bread, pasta, grains, lentils, fruits, or sweets. Basically I can’t eat anything that I love. Joking…sort of…I have never craved sweets in my life like I am right now.
I love sugar, but it doesn’t love me. So with a cruise about a month away, it’s time for this Mama to get real with her diet. How long will it last? Who knows. But I have a goal to feel better about myself and how I look by the cruise and I’m going to make it!
One thing that perplexed me at first was what do I make for dinner? I mean, I can snack on boiled eggs and bacon for breakfast and lunch meat and cheese cubes for lunch, but what do I fix the family? What will the kids eat? I hate to say it, but I’ve gotten them really used to having a starch at every meal – rice or bread or whatever is always there. Are there days where they get to eat something that I don’t, sure. But I’m trying to make this a lifestyle and not where I feel like I’m depriving myself at family meals.
The first recipe I tried was this one by PaleoNewbie. It was a smashing success! Try it! And if you aren’t on a diet, rice would go perfectly with it!
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium or large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 6 oz pre-cooked smoked sausage (my favorite is Chappel Hill Sausage)
- 3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
- 3/4 cup medium green bell pepper
- 1/2 of a medium yellow onion, diced
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- salt & pepper to taste
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with some olive oil.
- Season shrimp with Old Bay Seasoning.
- Cook shrimp about 3-4 minutes until opaque – remove the pan and set aside.
- Cook onions and bell peppers in skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil for about 2 minutes.
- Add sausage and zucchini to the skillet and cook another 2 minutes.
- Put cooked shrimp back into the skillet, along with the garlic and chicken stock and cook everything for about 1 minute.
- Add salt, ground pepper,and red pepper flakes to taste (I got the kids’ portions out and then added this for my husband and I)
- Remove from the heat and serve hot
