Keto-Friendly Old Bay Shrimp with Garlic French Beans

You know what’s better than a delicious, easy to make, home-cooked, seafood dinner? A delicious, easy to make, home-cooked, seafood dinner that is low-carb and keto friendly! Enter my Keto-Friendly Old Bay Shrimp with Garlic French Beans! Talk about a win win. Simple dish, only 2 main stars (so no fighting for screen time), and done in under 30 minutes. This is my kind of double feature.

Now I, too, hate when I click on a recipe and have to read through 14 paragraphs of rhetoric before I get to the actual recipe. Especially if I’m really hungry. So here’s the shortcut to the recipe, so you can eat and we can both be happy.

But for those of you who stayed, let’s chat.

So What is Keto?

So you’ve probably hard the term keto floating around over the last few years or so, but what exactly is it? Basically, it’s an eating plan that consists of low carbohydrates, moderate protein, and high fat. So your diet would look like 5% carb (non-starchy leafy greens and veggies) /20% protein (meat, eggs, and cheese) / 75% fat (nuts, oils, avocados, and butters). Not quite what you learned from the god old food pyramid in grade school. It’s not a fad diet as the ketogenic way of eating dates back to the 1920’s when it was used to reduce seizures in pediatric patients who suffered from epilepsy. And even though apparently it’s still used for that purpose today, more commonly it’s known for helping people lean out, increase energy, and lose weight.

This should probably be the part where I insert that I am not a licensed (or non-licensed for that matter) doctor and I am not writing this to provide medical advice. You’ll have to consult your own physician to see if this is a good plan for you. There are pros and cons to this like everything else. But as for me and my household, in addition to my fitness journey, we’ve been kicking it with keto off and on for about a year now. And this Keto-Friendly Old Bay Shrimp with Garlic French Beans is one of my favorite dishes.

But Keto is not really an off and on type of thing. To work well, there are no “cheat” days and you need to be on or off. It’s like a light switch… there is no half way. You’re changing the energy source for your body from sugar/carb fuel to fat fuel. It’s a big deal. So as of late, I’ve been taking it seriously and really tracking my macros and what goes into my body. I’m talking reading ingredient lists and all. Yes, I’ve become that person. I pair it with intermittent fasting and watch videos by Dr. Berg on YouTube. I’m telling you, either you’re in or you’re out. And this recipe is totally in.

Amazing Keto-Friendly Ingredients

So as most of you know, the premise of any good low-carb/keto-friendly meal is great ingredients. Now you should know there are a few different “types” of keto affectionately knows as strict, lazy, and dirty. Today’s recipe falls under the strict category, so we’re eliminating things like grains, sugars, and most sweet fruits.

We’re using jumbo, raw, deveined shrimp and fresh french beans ripe for the eating. You can opt to get your shrimp from the fresh market, or the freezer section like yours truly. And the greens were from a local organic shop the supermarket had on hand, pre-packaged.

Gather your seasonings, thaw out your shrimp under cold running water, and rinse off the beans cause it’s time to cook.

Making the Keto-Friendly Old Bay Shrimp with Garlic French Beans

So now that we have the perfect ingredients, it’s time to cook! Follow the simple steps below and treat your palette to all that is wonderful.

And if you’re looking for a few items to get you started, my Keto & Low-Carb Necessities list on Amazon can get you started.

Ingredients

• 14 Head Off & Deveined Shrimp
• 150 oz French Beans
• 1 tbsp Kerrygold Butter
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil, divided
• Old Bay
• 4 minced cloves of Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lemon

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and garlic over medium heat and add rinsed and drained french beans. Satee until beans have softened slightly and are cooked all way through. Salt and pepper to taste. (You may want to cover for a few minutes to seal in the steam.)
2. In a separate pan, heat the rest of the olive oil and butter over medium heat and add thawed shrimp. Season with Old Bay and flip once pink (3-5 minutes). When shrimp is cooked through, top with squeezed fresh lemon juice and toss and remove from heat.
3. Plate the beans and shrimp and pour any remaining juice over the shrimp and beans. Serve immediately and enjoy!

And that’s it. Are you going to try this recipe? This is a sure winner, whether you’re on keto or not. So if you do decide to try it, leave your comments below. I’d love to hear your experience and how yours turned out!