Health Forum

My wife and I are from the upper-great plains. In my area fish and other seafood rarely makes it onto the menu unless you are certain cultural backgrounds (Lutefisk). For health reasons we would really like to try to eat more fish and ideally would have some sort of fish dish once a week. We both feel like we're "fish out of water" when it comes to knowing where to start.

What type of fish should we be looking at as we try to make this change? Our grocery store seems to have a decent variety of frozen fish (talapia, mahi mahi, cod, salmon, tuna, "whitefish", halibut) and a more limited selection of fresh fish (mostly catfish and salmon, sometimes trout or walleye).

Also, what side dish is commonly served with fish? Rice? Mashed Potatoes?

I can only imagine how odd this question will seem to some of the people on the coasts. But I'm really out of my element on this one.

The best fish to get if you aren't a big fish eater in the first place is probably talapia or halibut. I say this because that don't have a very strong fish taste, especially talapia. Salmon is a much oilier fish and stronger. Lots of people like it, but I personally don't Mahi mahi, and tuna are very good too although have a stronger taste. And of corse catfish or crappie are both good to eat as well.

As go for sides, steamed vegetables, rice, even a light pasta will go great. Or you could just make a salad or even a baked potato would work.

When I'm looking for a recipe, I normally go to foodnetwork.com. You can look at people's reviews on each recipe which helps to know if it's a good one or not. Giada De Laurentis has great recipe's for fish. All I've tried are delicious.

My favorite and easiest recipe for making fish is just this (and really, you can use any type of fish):
Take a fish fillet and a square of foil that will wrap around the fillet. Drizzle olive oil on fish, then lemon juice (i do a good amount because i love lemon), chopped garlic, and flat leaf parsley. Seal foil around each fillet and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Check to see if cooked all the way. Fish should be flakey and brown around the edges.

Lol, yeah it is kinda odd to think you don't have much fish to eat but we eat it a lot so here ya go.

Frozen fish like talapia and salmon are great. You can get it pre breaded or seasoned and just fix it like it tells you to. Or you can buy it not season or breaded and do it yourself. You could use a lemon pepper seasoning on the talapia. Halibut is simple when you buy it frozen. Tuna is good. You can buy it canned and make tuna salad, or you can buy fillets to season and cook yourself (those are good for grilling). Also I don't know if you like it but shrimp is an easy seafood to cook.

We do what is called a "low country broil"
you will need shrimp, corn on the cob (cut in half), whole potatoes (cut in half), 1 onion, shirmp boil seasoning (Zatahrans), and cut up a smoked sausage. Put this in a large pot and cook on the stove. It is wonderful.

As far as what veggies to eat with it. Any kind of fish is good with mixed veggies, rice, potatoes, or even salad. Actually if you are trying to eat healthy putting the fish in your salad is good.

Hope this helps and enjoy!!

I would go with salmon, what you can do is mix salt & pepper to taste into your flour then cut the salmon into about 3in wide strips and coat them in the flour, dont bother taking off the skin that will come off easier when its fully cooked, then fry (not deep fry just a bit of oil) each side a couple of times for a bout 1 or 2 min then when you pull out of the oil you will be able to remove the skin really easy... that is a recipe i love i pair it with rice (brown or white) and a salad... my family loves it.... you can also try salmon patties you buy canned pink salmon, take out of the can and remove the skin (its a pain to do this part) leave the bones as you can easily crush them with your fingers, then for each can of salmon you mix with a handful of Italian bread crumbs, chopped onions and one egg, salt and pepper to taste, mix it all well and crush the bones make patties you can bake or fry up to you... again there are tons of delicious recipes you can find out there, my family is very picky and both those recipes are a hit with them :) good luck