Down 4 lbs., up a delicious recipe!

First the good news - since starting my weight loss journey (of 7 days and counting) I've lost 4 lbs. At 5'9" and now 279.6 lbs, I'm not celebrating JUST yet, although I'm very happy with my progress so far!
Now for the DELICIOUS news - I recently came across a recipe for Shepherd's Pie that claimed to be good AND good for you. Having never tasted a shepherd's pie, I was interested! Something that my family would eat that I could enjoy with them? Had to try it.
Most of the ingredients I already had, but a few, like lentils, I'd never had nor had I ever cooked with them. (Although I have eaten them!) Below is the recipe I used and the nutrition information. Best of all, the serving was HUGE and I didn't feel like I was missing anything!

Shepherd's Pie

YUM!

2 1/2 lb. baking potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup low-fat milk (or whatever kind you have in the fridge)
2 Tbsp. low-fat sour cream
8 oz. extra-lean ground beef (You can swap this for lean ground turkey or ground chicken if you prefer)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 cup mushrooms, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (I added about 2 Tbsp. because our family loves this stuff!)
1/2 cup cooked lentils
1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1. Place potatoes in a pot, cover with cold, salted water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl and mash with milk and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Warm a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add beef and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add onion, carrot, celery and mushroom and saute for 8 minutes. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle flour on top and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in broth, Worcestershire sauce and lentils, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Stir peas into meat mixture and season with salt and pepper. Spoon meat mixture into baking dish and carefully spread potatoes on top. Bake for 30 minutes. If potatoes are not brown enough, turn broiler on high and broil until potatoes are golden, about 2 minutes. (Make sure you keep an eye on the potatoes if using the broiler - they will brown quickly!) Serve hot.

Serves 6. PER SERVING: 297 calories, 4g fat, 6g fiber, 18g protein, 50g carbs, 459mg sodium.


If anyone has any recipes to share, please do so! I love trying new recipes, and I'd love some ideas from you guys. :)