Anyone have any healthy (and easy... I'm a person with very very very little time) ways of cooking fish?? I'm new to the whole healthy cooking thing... help!
When I cook fish, I loosely wrap the fillets in tin foil and then bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 mins. This works especially well with tilapia, snapper, sole, cod, and other white fish. I've found that it doesn't work so well with salmon. I add all kinds of spices for flavor and sometimes I even add sliced lemon. If you experiment with different spices, I'm sure you'll discover a recipe that suits your taste buds.
there are lots of yummy ways to cook fish that are healthy
My favorite is steamed salmon with bayleaf, lemon and garlic in the water. Try it brushed with a little brown mustard... total yumminess. I once had this mustard salmon over wilted garlic spinach at a restaurant- fabulous.
Really, just play around. Use fairly low fat ingredients and experiment. A lot of the spice bottles will say right on it if they are typically used on fish
There are lots of good healthy recipe sites out there: eatingwell.com, allrecipes.com (they have a healthy section) and even the Food Network's website has a bunch of healthy recipes. Fish is great because most varieties are mild, so you can dress it up in a million different ways, with all sorts of flavors.
All time favourite - smoked fish, the raw kind, done in a little milk, with salt and pepper. It's fine with semi/skimmed milk, nice with a tiny bit of butter if you can. A big fillet 3.4 - 4 mins in the microwave.
The milk/sauce is TDF and goes well over bread and butter or, these days, cooked rice.
During the summer, a fruity salsa is a great addition to white fish...you can make one with corn, onion, mango/peach, cilantro, tomato, and whatever else you want. Just chop everything up, put it in a bowl in the fridge and just take it out when you're ready to eat!
on what i call my crash nights, when the 4 kids all have activities that night, and i have little time..i always make salmon...i turn the oven onto 375, put the salmon in a baking dish, put some light ranch dressing on it, and let it cook for about twenty to twenty five minutes..while its cooking i use the ziplock steam bags for the veggies, 5 minutes, in the mico and they are done, then 5 minute brow rice..in about twenty minutes the we have a great meal, the kids get ready while its cooking , eat, and we are out the door in 30 minutes...
Usually I just broil, bake, or microwave, but you can simmer fish in salsa, teriyaki or other simmering sauces on the stovetop (I've done tilapia in salsa, and salmon in teriyaki).
My all-time favorite fish dish is a spicy tilapia at a thai restaurant in town, and I thought it was too complicated to do at home, but recently I found some jarred sauces and seasoning packets at an oriental grocery that look really good and easy too (many with english instructions on the back).
There were so many choices that I got a bit intimidated, and didn't buy any - but I'm thinking of going back and trying some of them.
Cod, tilapia or catfish
Garlic powder
Basil
Salt
Pepper
Spray a frying pan with butter-flavoured spray
After sprinkling spices on the fish, brown both sides on high in the pan. After about 2 minutes add 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Simmer/cover for about 5 min.
I steam green beans, brocolli or asparagus for 10 min and add brown rice and it makes a filling, tasty meal.
I love it how ever ya roll it out. I did see a recipe that looked good and easy though just this week. The person submitting it used sockeye salmon--my fave!
Season your fish as you like (lemon, garlic, fat-free mayo, whatever) and wrap it securely in aluminum foil--very secure actually. Drop it into boiling water for ten minutes. Voila--dinner is served.
I make salmon patties from trader joe's (80 cals) with lemon and a pile of chopped tomato on top. I also like mahi-mahi fillets on the grill, marinated first for a little bit in olive oil, lime juice, minced garlic, ground ginger and red cayenne pepper.
Red snapper you have to wrap in foil -- it's delicate -- and for some reason I've just been doing those in the oven.
I like to make a peach-tomato salsa. It's basically just chopped peaches and chopped tomatoes -- but with diced jalepenos and a little bit of lemon or lime juice drizzle.
The easiest way I've found to cook fish is to broil it. A big slab of salmon will cook under the broiler in 10 minutes. A thinner filet takes less time. I don't even add anything to it, just broil and serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger, salad and vegetable.
Raw sashimi doesn't take any time, just slice it up! But that's not to everyone's taste ....
Walmart (or Sam's, not sure) sells individually wrapped tilapia filets, and they microwave beautifully. I put one in with one of those microwavable steam in bag veggies and have a great dinner in under 5 minutes.
My favorite if I have a little more time is to pan fry salmon in just a tiny bit of olive oil, then add some orange juice. The juice mixes with the fat from the fish and the oil and makes a wonderful sauce that you can pour over the salmon when it is done!
I also like to take the canned salmon and mix with an egg white and some bread crumbs and pan fry for a quick salmon cake (makes great crab cakes too with the canned crab)
Not to derail the original topic, I'd like to add a sub-question:
I am one of the few Floridians that didn't grow up eating seafood. In fact I can honestly say the only type of seafood I've ever tasted was catfish. I'd love to start eating seafood but I can't get past the "fishy" taste. I've been told there are certain types of fish that don't have that taste but have no idea which ones they are.
What seafood would you recommend for a seafood virgin that doesn't have a fishy taste?
Non-oily fish will generally have less of a fishy taste.
Texture can be a factor as well.
Mild flaky fish such as tilapia, snapper, sole are delicate tasting and can be used with all sorts of marinades and seasoning- simply bake, broil or pan-fry. They only take a few minutes.
Firmer white fish like tuna, swordfish, etc have a more meaty texture. They are great marinated and cooked on the grill or broiled.
I encourage you to experiment. Many fish counters and markets will sell you a very small piece, so try that to avoid spending money on something you may not enjoy.
Fish?
