Fish has some amazing health benefits and for anyone trying to lose weight you can’t go wrong if you include several fish meals a week into your diet. Loaded with Omega 3’s and low in fat, fish is something we should have more often. The nutritional bonuses of eating fish regularly in your diet can help to prevent life threatening strokes and heart disease. The many benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish can help prevent blood clots forming, thickening of artery walls, heart rhythm and helps lower blood pressure. Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel, Herring, Trout and Sardines have even more of the Omega-3 fatty acids than other fish.

If you’re not a fan of eating fish then I’d suggest you take fish oil capsules on a daily basis. There’s nothing wrong with having canned fish such as tuna and salmon but avoid canned fish in oil as they are high in fat. Fish is quite versatile and now is a perfect time to put fish on the menu. You can bake, grill or even barbeque it but where most go wrong is over cooking fish. It can cook quickly and there is nothing worse than a dry piece of fish so only cook for 2 or 3 minutes each side. Don’t destroy the benefits of fish by deep frying, instead cook in a good quality non-stick frypan, and add a little cooking spray and lemon juice to the pan. This way you keep the flavour and the goodness of the fish and keep the fats down as well.

If you find fish boring then before cooking spread some Moroccan or Cajun seasoning over it and I bet your family will be impressed. Kids love the good old fish fingers which cook up beautifully when grilled. We all love chips with fish so serve with my low-fat chip recipe. Peel a large potato for each person then cut into thick slices and then into chip shape. Par-boil in the microwave in a little water then drain well. Place chips onto a flat baking tray that has been generously coated with cooking spray then spread evenly over tray. Spray over top with cooking spray then place into a hot oven for around 35 minutes or until browned. Turning once, with under 1g of fat you can’t go wrong. This recipe is from my 1st cookbook. For a change you could swap the potato for sweet potato which is ideal for people with Diabetes.

Annette’s cookbooks SYMPLY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE 1-6 are sold in all good newsagencies. Visit Annette’s website www.symplytoogood.com.au for more tips and recipes and to find out more information on her 3 Day Workshop Retreat this May.

Pepper Fish Recipe

SERVES: 4

Recipe from Symply Too Good To Be True book 6

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• ¼ cup skim milk
• ¾ cup breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic (in jar)
• 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 4 x 150g firm fish fillets (boneless)
• cooking spray

Method

On a dinner plate beat egg white and milk together. In a medium size mixing bowl place all other ingredients except fish and cooking spray. Mix together well (you may find using your fingers will help). Place crumbs onto another dinner plate then dip fish in egg mix and then coat with breadcrumbs.

Coat a large non-stick pan generously with cooking spray. Before placing fish into pan generously spray top of each piece of fish with cooking spray. Place sprayed side down into heated pan. Cook 3 minutes. Spray top of fish with cooking spray then turn fish carefully to avoid breaking and cook for 3 minutes. To know when fish is cooked through, check if the inside of the fish is white. If you see pink, this means the fish is not cooked through yet.

Not suitable to be frozen.