Fish is good for us. Eat 12 ounces a week, we’re told.
But just like anything else healthy, fish has to be prepared certain ways to maintain its nutritional value.
Beware of the deep-fat-fried, drowned-in-butter and smothered-in-cream-sauce dishes. (If you want the fried shrimp or fried fish, you add about 240 calories and 24 grams of fat to each 6-ounce portion.)
Instead, choose broiled, grilled baked fish, and ask that your fish be brushed with–not swimming in–butter or oil.
Choose rice pilaf and steamed vegetables as sides instead of fries.
“Most of our guests, to be honest, order fried seafood,” says Robert Holly, executive chef at the Atlanta Fish Market in Atlanta.
However, he says he has seen an increase in the number of diners who order grilled fish.
“We’ve seen a real trend, kind of a reverse trend, away from the fancy sauces and complicated dishes back to plain grilled fish and steamed vegetables like green beans or asparagus.”
A healthy number of requests for salads with fish on the side persuaded Holly to add that combination to the restaurant’s menu.
Steamed or grilled shrimp are great low-fat choices enjoyed with cocktail sauce or fresh lemon. Steer clear of the mayonnaise-based tartar and remoulade sauces that can add 70 calories per tablespoon.
If you can’t start your seafood meal without clam chowder, either pick the Manhattan (tomato based) version or order a cup, not a bowl, of New England style (cream based).
Seafood cioppino and bouillabaisse are good soup choices, because they are chock-full of fish and veggies in a tomato-based broth.
