Thursday, September 01, 2022

Recipe: Low Carb Lettuce Boats

 
I made these for dinner with a side of crab legs for dinner the other night. They were so good so I thought I would share the recipe in case anyone else wanted to try them. 

You will need:

Several lettuce leaves- I used Romaine
12 large shrimp- cleaned and deveined
2 slices of bacon- cooked
1/2 tomato- diced
1 small avocado- diced
1 green onion- diced
1 small carrot- julienned (Sliced very thin)
A small handful of cilantro- diced
The juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. McCormick Herb and Garlic seasoning
1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

What to do: 

Cook your bacon and save grease in the pan. Add cleaned shrimp to bacon grease pan, season shrimp with whatever seasoning you like. I used Old Bay and McCormick Herb and Garlic seasoning. Fry on both sides until it turns pink. Remove from pan and cut each shrimp in half so they are bite size pieces. 

Mix together lemon juice, garlic powder, paprika, Herb and Garlic seasoning and old Bay. Mix well and set aside.

In a bowl add the Tomato, bacon, avocado, green onion, carrot, and cilantro. Add the lemon juice mixture to the bowl and mix well. Add shrimp and toss well. Add this mixture to whatever lettuce leaves you like and enjoy. 

Makes 6 small lettuce boats.

We had ours with some crab legs. 

So, why low carb? Well saw my doctor a couple of weeks ago and my A1c and blood pressure is really high. I have diabetes (for several years) and just haven't been sticking to the low carb diet and my blood glucose levels are starting to show it. A1c shows what your average glucose levels have been for the past several months. For anyone curious my A1c was 10.1 and that's high. My glucose levels have been averaging 350 during the day when they should be around 100. My blood pressure was 198/101 the last couple of times she came out and took it. Normal range is 120/80. She's afraid I might have a stroke if I don't change my diet and bring these numbers down. So that's why salt wasn't an addition to my spices and I used a bunch of other spices to make up for the lack of salt. The bacon has enough salt for this meal all by itself but distributed into 6 lettuce boats, I don't think it was that much.

So I will be sharing a few of my low carb recipes with you as I make them and try to bring all these numbers down. 

25 comments:

  1. Well done you for fighting to get those high numbers under control. The low carb way seems to be a successful fix for lots of people. Good luck.

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  2. I bet it would work just as well with chicken instead of shrimp.
    So is it the sugar part of the carbs that you need to bring down?

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    1. Oh definitely. I've tried chicken breast as well.

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    2. That's a good question. I'm not sure. She told me to stay away from anything white ie bread, rice, potatoes and anything processed that comes from a box. She wants me to eat more protein and vegetables.

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  3. 198/101 is alarming. I recently read on a blogger's site that a few drops of vinegar is a good substitute for salt. Skeptical at first, I've been working with that premise and so far find it to be true. Some meals I've had to bump up the flavor with less than a pinch of salt, but vinegar is working on most meals.

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    1. It was definitely a wake up call. I am on a blood pressure med now too. I will try the vinegar.

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  4. These lettuce wraps are a great idea. Sort of like a BLT without the bread. I understand about cutting back on sugar and salt. My numbers are always higher than they should be, but getting the kidney stone last year was a wake up call (both sugar and salt can contribute to forming them). I’ve been really trying to change my diet. I hope your numbers start to reflect your changes in diet.

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    1. Changing your diet is hard but I'm trying.

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  5. good luck with your health issues Mary these look yummy with either of the shellfish Yum

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  6. This looks so good and I am so glad that you have a good recipe. I am not into seafood but I might try this and just replace it with chicken.

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    1. I did this same recipe with chicken and it came out really good.

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  7. Looks yummy, Mary, and good luck getting your numbers down. You can do it.

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  8. That sounds terrific to me. I just found out I have a dairy protein allergy so finding things to eat has been a temporary challenge.

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    1. Sorry to hear that. I found all kinds of good meal ideas online.

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  9. I followed the Atkins diet for several years and felt better than I ever have. I only stopped when all the other members of the household were diagnosed with food allergies and I just couldn't juggle 2 special meals. I need to get back to it myself. These look really good!

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    1. Food allergies could make meal time a challenge.

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  10. I love lettuce wraps. These look yummy. Good luck with the low carb cooking!

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  11. Salt tweaks my blood pressure, too. Have you tried taking magnesium. I started taking it for something else and it lowered my blood pressure. 😌

    This sounds yummy. 😊

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    1. No, I will ask my doctor about that,

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