Midweek Snack // Fish

My favorite thing to say between 1985 and about 2001 was Nothing from the sea. That's one hell of an "I am" boundary! When I was a kid, I got sick from eating Long John Silver's fish followed by probably a quart of ice cream. No shit sherlock... Of course, I would never blame the innocent ice cream, I just couldn't get the nasty taste of the fish out of my head and so Long John Silver's never got another dime of my money ever again. And neither did any other seafood establishment or distribution company for another 15 years.

For fifteen years. No fish n chips. No Chilean sea bass. No salmon salad from Open Road. No sushi. I'd feel quite emotional if you told me I couldn't have those things now.

Then, when I was dating my ex-husband, he insisted that I try some basic tilapia. He was an amazing cook. He made sure to keep it basic with some butter, lemon, salt, and pepper (still my most preferred way to have a nice white flaky filet) and I thought it was so good. It grew on me, and the many other ways he had me venture into trying it. And then came stronger tasting seafood like salmon, shrimp, and scallops. And then, the ultimate... sushi. I only acquired the taste for straight sashimi a few years ago, actually. It was quite the process. But now, there is very little in the seafood world that I shy away from. The baby octopus in calamari dishes make me squirm a little, but if I closed my eyes I could still pop one and be just fine.

I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to expand my palate for this amazing wonder food. Fish is high in protein, zero carbohydrates, very low in saturated fat, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and contains agents to reduce cholesterol. The protein delivered by fish is also unique in that it is super simple to digest. The easier it is for the body to break down a food, the more nutrients it is able to derive and utilize. Just because you are consuming 20g of protein does not mean you are synthesizing 20g of protein. Simpler foods, like fish, and whey protein isolates that I include in my morning protein shakes, that are easy to digest, give more benefit and leave less to waste.

Fish is also the easiest thing to throw together in a matter of minutes- cook time, even from a frozen state, only 10 minutes. It's the only thing that Rachael Ray ever made on 30 minute meals that would actually take a normal human being less than 30 minutes to make. Didn't it always irritate you that she would easily make a 3 course dinner on a 30 minute show, call it 30 minute meals, but always have all the produce washing, chopping, and marinating already done for her prior to the start? Anyways...

There are a ton of ways to prepare fish, but I prefer the simplest fish and the simplest prep method. As mentioned above, my favorite "recipe" is to take a simple white fish such as tilapia or cod, drizzle with olive oil or a tiny bit of melted butter (or ghee for paleo folks), sprinkle salt and pepper over them, *broil* at 450 for 8-10 minutes until the edges start to separate and get flaky, and then a little squeeze of lemon right before serving.

The cook time will vary depending on

1. How many filets you are making at once

2. How big the filets are, and

3. Whether you care broiling them from a refrigerator temperature or frozen state

8 minutes is my magic number for 4 x 6oz filets that are de-thawed. So, a little more if you have bigger pieces or are sticking them in frozen. Going straight from the freezer to the broiler is totally OK, by the way! They will taste amazing, and I frequently do this.

I love having fresh fish straight from the case, but real people living practical lives know that unless you know that you have the time/energy/circumstances to cook it that night or the next, it will go to waste. Frozen fish is not any lesser of a choice, as long as you are getting wild caught fish from a trusted source. I love getting frozen fish filets from Costco. For wild caught, my local Costco currently carries Tilapia, Cod, Mahi Mahi, and Salmon. They even carry frozen salmon burgers that are wild caught and have no artificially added ingredients. This is a great choice for something different and also easy to make.

A throwback to my favorite meal of 2015: Fish n Chips from Bobby's Fresh Fish Market in Tauranga, New Zealand!!! Here's to more fish in 2016 and Fo Ev A.

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