The seafood used in a recipe can make or break a meal. My husband actually thought he hated shrimp until I was finally able to get him to try some fresh shrimp while in Savannah. Now he loves it...as long as we get it from a reputable source. This is a particular problem in a town like Athens, where the ocean is is a good 5 hours away, with no interstates leading from the coast. Needless to say, most of our grocery stores don't sell the freshest seafood. So we rely on our local Earth Fare, where they always have a great selection of fresh seafood.
Fish Tacos are my ultimate summer comfort food. Seriously, is there anything better after a day of playing in the water and baking in the sun? My fish tacos are made with tilapia (our region's standard white fish), but any white fish will work. I also like use a ton of avocado, and limit the corn tortillas, so I eat mine open faced with a knife and fork. However, the recipe is easily adaptable to your personal tastes, so increase or decrease the jalapenos if you need to, load up on corn tortillas if that's what you like, and use your favorite taco toppings. Definitely don't skip the jalapeno tartar sauce though--it's the best part!
Tuna Melts have always been one of my ultimate comfort foods. Growing up, my dad could only cook two things: omelets and tuna melts, and he made both of those things better than anyone else in the world. I'll never know all my dad's tricks for making a stellar tuna melt, but I'll spend my life trying to replicate it. So while the recipe below is no "Dad's Tuna Melt", it's a pretty tasty (and skinny) rendition.
Salmon is one of the healthiest foods in existence. It is full of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for a healthy heart and brain. However, many people find salmon to be a difficult meat to add to their diet. It can taste a little too fishy for those with sensitive palates, and if ill-prepared, it is taste dry and unflavorful. This recipe combats both of these issues. The Creamy Dill Sauce overcomes any fishy taste that might be associated with the salmon, and the pan-seared cooking method is from America's Test Kitchen, the scientists of the cooking world. In other words, it is a tried and true cooking method that has proven to be the best way to cook salmon. Other benefits of this dish? Well, for starters, it's delicious. It is also easy and quick to make (under 15 minutes), and the nutritional profile is a dieter's dream.
When I was growing up, one of my favorite dinners was tuna casserole. It's odd that most kids adore this dish, considering canned tuna can be a tricky meat to love at any age. Yet somehow tuna casserole is a common comfort dish for many families. I hadn't made a tuna casserole since I was in college, when I made it from a Tuna Helper box. When I saw Skinnytaste's recipe for Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole, I decided to give it a whirl, in hopes that I would find another fish recipe to add to our meal rotation. I changed the cooking method and ingredients around just a little, but followed the recipe pretty faithfully (for me). It turned out pretty darn great; so great that I ate way more than one serving size. You may want to pair this with a side salad to prevent yourself from doing the same!
The famous Broiled Tilapia Parmesan recipe on Allrecipes has been a favorite dinner of mine for a very long time now. Through the years, I've tweaked it until it fitted my personal taste: which of course means the addition of garlic and MORE sauce! The sauce is the best part of the dish, and the recipe on Allrecipes skimps on the sauce (in my gluttonous opinion). Obviously though, if you increase the amount of sauce, you drastically increase the calories and fat too. Yet I have managed to do the impossible: create a Tilapia Parmesan recipe that has way more sauce, but is still very diet friendly! You are welcome!
I'm always trying to increase my fish intake, but decent tasting fresh fish is incredibly difficult to get in our area. The only store that sells consistently good seafood is Earthfare, but the prices are super high. Since one of my food goals is to eat fish at least once a week, this often means I have to rely on canned tuna a lot. The problem with canned tuna is that it usually needs massive amounts of mayonnaise to make it taste good. My personal favorite use of canned tuna is a tuna melt; made with plenty of mayonnaise and vinegar, topped with a bunch of melty, gooey cheese. Oh, and lots of garlic. Mmmmmm.... However, obviously, this recipe is not diet-friendly. So I've been playing around with healthier tuna salad recipes, and I finally found a winner!
