Herby Shrimp and White Bean Skillet

It’s never been a secret that I have a strong affinity for shrimp dishes of all kinds. I am, after all, a Maryland girl at heart and will live and die by my seafood adoration. Yes, even if I am aware that it is maybe not the healthiest thing for our Mother Earth and all. But, for the most part, every shrimp dish I have created was built around shrimp being the topper for something–either rice, pasta, or a warm tortilla–to be exact. This recipe, though, for Herby Shrimp and White Bean Skillet, is really meant to stand completely alone. Meaning that I eat it as is, not on or in anything else.

There is a reason behind this subtle shift, for sure.

For years I have been a carb-loving borderline vegan. As a creature of habit, I was conditioned to eat my oatmeal every morning, a barely-there lunch, and for dinner, probably pasta or rice-based. I was happy with this. It worked for me. And I would have told anyone that even hinted at a carb cutback to go ahead and try to pry the pasta out of my cold, dead hands. That’s not even me being overly dramatic, I was that into carbs. However, I started noticing some things that were troubling me and it became increasingly clear that something had to give.

But let me back up a bit…

My entire family got COVID in January, like many others. We all had various degrees of illness–the kids feeling sorta bad for a day and then bouncing back, Jeff and I struggling a bit longer. We did recover, though, and felt blessed and lucky that we did not have severe cases. However, unlike the rest of my family who escaped Scot Free, I began to experience some really strange symptoms I could not shake. Symptoms like:

• Headaches: I went from someone who rarely, if ever, got headaches, to at least 2 but more often 3 debilitating headaches a week.
• Exhaustion: Though I love me some couch napping, I also am a very high-energy, productive person. But post-COVID I could not rebuild my energy. I was exhausted all the time, taking naps almost every day.
• Brain Fog: I tied this in with exhaustion at first, but it wasn’t quite exhaustion. It was more “stare at the computer for an hour not really knowing what I was supposed to be doing there,” type of vague fog I dealt with daily.
• Lowered Immunity: I went from rarely sick to sick at least every other week with some small but terrible post-COVID virus or another.
• Weight Gain: After recovering from COVID, the only thing I really wanted to eat was oatmeal. I never lost my sense of taste, just my overall desire to eat. So oatmeal was often my go-to for two of the three meals of my day. So I thought this might be the weight gain, but I wasn’t sure.I just knew it was something that didn’t seem to be necessarily related to my eating or workout habits. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin.
• “Female” Problems: Not going into detail on this one, just know they were there and you can for sure DM me if you have questions.

I went on like this for a few months, thinking it was just the COVID leaving my body and soon I would recover and feel like myself again. Until it didn’t and I didn’t and I knew something had to be done. Cue the doctor’s visits and the blood tests and all the things.

And this is what I found. I’m mildly anemic (I have been for years, so no shocker there) and my estrogen is SKY HIGH compared to my progesterone. Now, I won’t go into all of the nitty-gritty of this diagnosis, just know that this is the main culprit of all of those nasty little symptoms I’ve been experiencing for months. Not COVID (though it’s possible that it set the imbalance off), not a brain tumor (as I recently diagnoses myself with), and not anything other than those powerful little hormones we love to hate wreaking havoc on my body with all of their nonsense.

{cue the song “I Enjoy Being A Girl” but, like, not at all.}

There are medical reasons why I need to rectify this imbalance quickly, mostly that if I don’t I will probably end up needing a major surgery in a few years. No Bueno! But I also am very hesitant to go on hormone replacements or birth control, which do work to right imbalances but don’t work well with my mental health. So I talked with my doctor and we decided to take a three-pronged natural approach to help guide my body back to homeostasis. Those three prongs are:

• Exercise–which I already do so no biggie.
• Supplements–I’ll talk more about those below
• Diet–this is the hard one

The supplements she recommended are from a doctor named Dr. Jolene Bright, who is a very well-known doctor who treats women with hormonal imbalances. I purchased her Period Problems kit (not a sponsor) which is designed to aid all kinds of hormonal imbalances. And while I’m not quite a month in, I am seeing some benefits already. I’ll post more once I’ve been on them longer and can get a clearer picture.

The exercise, well I either walk or do yoga every day so there’s that.

But the diet has been the hardest adjustment because what my doctor recommended was a low-carb Mediterranean-ish diet that focuses mainly on proteins and veggies because carbs create a big spike in estrogen as they metabolize. Normally, this isn’t a problem and our bodies can normalize quickly, but given that I am already all out of whack (technical term), the carbs send me into overdrive and estrogen dominance. Which then causes all of the symptoms I have been experiencing this year. Good times.

Making this switch hasn’t been easy given that it is the exact opposite of my normal culinary habits for the better part of the past four years. But it also hasn’t been awful or impossible. In fact, there are parts that are enjoyable, like the lack of an afternoon energy dip and carb coma. Refocusing on this as a lifestyle change because of health reasons rather than a weight-loss tactic has helped take some of the pressure off of myself to be all or nothing. And with less pressure, I find that I am less likely to feel restricted and therefore cheat on my “diet.”

A little mental gymnastics to get there, but whatever, almost a month in, and it’s working so far so I’m gonna run with it.

The reason why I’m sharing this semi-private health breakdown with you is simple, I don’t think I’m that uncommon. As women near their mid-forties and that dreaded word, menopause, their hormones can go haywire. In fact, sometimes this can start as early as your 30s. And messed-up hormones mess up lots of other things, so it’s definitely something to consider if you’re having unexplained symptoms.

If you are having any of the same symptoms I mentioned above, as your doctor to test you for the fab-five hormones–estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicular stimulating hormone. It’s a simple test that requires no fasting and just might give you the answers you’ve been looking for.

Have any questions? DM me! I’ll answer them the best I can!

Herby Shrimp and White Bean Skillet

This recipe for Herby Shrimp and White Bean Skillet was one of the first creations sparked from my newfound low-carb diet experience. I have a great recipe for Basil Tomato Shrimp that we all adore, but it’s not filling enough on its own so I would normally pair it with pita bread or put it over rice or pasta. Adding in white beans provides just enough extra fiber and protein to make the dish a stand-alone dish that satisfies, while also making the dish more budget-friendly because you need less shrimp (the expensive ingredient) due to the presence of the beans (the non-expensive one).

I have already made this about 5 times for my family and every time I do, Jeff and I end up hogging the whole skillet to ourselves while the kids get a few shrimp they can wrestle away from us and then are stuck with PB& J for the rest of the night. #parentingwin There are a few tips about this recipe, though, so follow those and you’re sure to have an incredibly filling and healthy low-carb meal you will LOVE.

• Use any combo of fresh herbs you have on hand but do your best to use only fresh ones. They make this dish.
• You can take the tails off the shrimp if you don’t want to be messing with them during eating, I usually leave them on because I’m lazy and rumor has it they add more flavor when cooking.
• The longer you cook this, the more the tomatoes and beans will break down to create a sauce. I love it this way, but Jeff prefers the texture of the actual beans. You can easily adjust this to your desires.
• Jeff eats it over rice but I eat it alone. If you create a sauce by cooking it longer, you can add cooked pasta with a splash of pasta water to really coat the noodles. I bet that would be incredible.

No matter how you make it, this is a winner. I hope you fall in love. And if you have any questions about my current health journey, please just drop me a line. I’m no expert but I can tell you more about it and maybe send you to some great resources.

Peace, love, and carbs,

Meg

Herby Shrimp and White Bean Skillet

April 29, 2022

Print This

By: Meaghan Dawson

Ingredients

• 12 ounces large shrimp, peeled with tails on (or off if preferred)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup mixture of fresh herbs, chopped and divided (I used rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, and Italian parsley)
• 1 can canneillini beans, rinsed and drained
• glug of dry white wine (optional)

Directions

• Step 1 Pat shrimp completely dry with paper towels, generously sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Step 2 Heat a drizzle of oil in a large skillet until the pan is very hot.
• Step 3 Add shrimp in a single layer and DO NOT TOUCH for 1-2 minutes or until pink is showing on the underside and it’s nearly cooked through.
• Step 4 Stir and cook until completely browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Step 5 Without wiping out the pan, add another drizzle of oil and add the tomatoes, seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Step 6 Cook, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes.
• Step 7 Add garlic and all but 1 tablespoon of the herbs. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Step 8 Add in beans, cooking until just heated through.
• Step 9 Deglaze the pan with wine, if using. Otherwise add a splash of water if it seems dry and then return shrimp to pan, stirring to combine.
• Step 10 Serve over rice, with pita, or alone.

Sharing is Caring

Facebook

Google

Twitter

Linkedin

Stumbleupon

Yummly