Keto Shrimp Scampi with Brussels Sprouts

A friend of mine at work, Susan, told me that she sometimes does sprouts in her scampi. This sounded amazing, and I immediately bought some shrimp so I could make this at home. This was completely surprising, I had never thought to add sprouts to scampi! It's keto friendly and low carb, though Brussels sprouts do have some carbs.

Fun fact: They are actually called Brussels sprouts, not "brussel sprouts" as they are incredibly popular in in Brussels, Belgium, and may have originated and gained its name there. The predecessor to modern Brussels sprouts were likely cultivated in Ancient Rome, and the first written reference dates back to 1587!

Another fun fact: As a child, I was a very picky eater, and I carried that into adulthood. Once I was in my mid-20s, I started trying a bunch of foods that I either had never eaten, or hadn't had since I decided I hated them as a kid. I have expanded my horizons A TON and in fact, only tried Brussel sprouts for the first time 2 weeks ago and am now obsessed. Also, almonds. I only discovered I like almonds after I started the keto/low carb lifestyle, when I was in search for new snacks.

This recipe turned out to be incredibly delicious and filling, without feeling heavy at all. For those who don't know, the keto diet is a low carb/high fat diet (LCHF) in which you attempt to stay under 20 grams of net carbs per day. So you basically are cutting out not only breads, but starches like potatoes, and grains like rice. Some people have a hard time with what to eat, at first.

But basically, you eat meats, most veggies, cheese, and eggs. I love eggs, so I am 100% fine with this. Also cheese is basically my main food group. Bacon is highly encouraged (fat AND protein!) and full-fat butter is the way to go on this food journey! For me, it's not as much about weight loss (which is heavily documented and proven on a low carb diet), but is more about being healthy. Both of my bio parents have diabetes, and my dad was originally diagnosed when he wasn't much older than I am now. I want to be healthy and diabetes-free for as long as possible. In fact, my diabetic parents are both on a similar diet to this, as well! Though theirs is more regulated, as they are testing their sugars and I am not.

On to the recipe! I love cooking, so I kind of just threw together stuff that I knew make up a scampi-like sauce, and tasted as we went along. The amounts are approximate, so taste as you go!

That thing at the top is not a cookie, it is low carb tahini bread from: http://www.forestandfauna.com/paleo-hamburger-bun-keto-low-carb-nut-free/

Recipe: Shrimp Scampi with Brussels Sprouts
Author: Jyssica Schwartz
Makes about 3-4 servings, depending on how much you eat!

Ingredients:
-1 pound cleaned, peeled, and de-veined shrimp.
-2 cups raw Brussels sprouts
-2-4 tbsp butter
-1-2 tbsp heavy cream
-2-3 tbsp white wine (cooking wine has very few carbs!)
-1 tsp lemon juice (to taste)
-salt, pepper, garlic

Directions:
1. Over medium heat, put 2 tablespoons of butter into a pan, allow it to melt down and start to bubble, then add your clean shrimp. They cook super super fast, so go ahead and immediately season them.

2. While your shrimp are cooking, add the white wine and lemon juice, add butter as needed/wanted (I added about another tablespoon of butter at this point, to add to the sauce and melt in). I find lemon juice to sometimes be overwhelming, so I used probably right at or less than a teaspoon.

3. Add in the cream last, start with 1 tablespoon, and mix, as the cream will thicken the scampi sauce a bit and will also add to the richness of the dish. You can add additional cream to your taste. I ended up adding a bit more after the shrimp was out and the Brussels sprouts were in.

4. Once shrimp is pink all the way through, usually 2-3 minutes, they are done. Remove from the heat and leave the sauce in the pan. Taste a shrimp (important! Chef's prerogative).

5. Add chopped raw Brussels sprouts to the pan and sauce. For the sprouts, I chopped off the ends and removed yellow leaves (as always), then cute them in half and chopped each half the small chunks. It is a bit time intensive and it has been suggested by a commenter who made the dish that a food processor would be a lot easier and faster!

6. Salt, pepper, garlic to taste. The Brussels sprouts will soak up most of the sauce, so if they are dry, add more butter/wine/cream. Taste the sprouts and remove from heat when done. They took about 4 minutes for me, over medium heat, and I cut mine in fairly small chunks, though not shredded.

Serve and eat happily! I sprinkled some parmigiano on top. :)

Nutritional Info (based on 4 servings):
223 calories
3.28 g net carbs (mostly from the Brussels sprouts!)
28.21 g protein

A Reddit commenter, r/Sloth_speed made this recipe after I posted it, and his came out awesome!
Here is a pic! They also sautéed some baby bella mushrooms and half an onion in butter and topped it with that and the Parmesan cheese. I love it when people make a recipe their own!

Sorry I don't have more pics, I wasn't documenting it for a recipe post, it was just something thrown together. But it turned out so delicious, and then the reddit commenters liked it so much, that I had to post!