Add Seafood to your weekly menu for improved health.

By Carolyn Smith, Worongary QLD

Off to a good start

Is your new year’s resolution to eat healthier? Make a great start by adding more fresh seafood to the menu. Fish is one of the healthiest foods on the planet. What’s more it’s easy to find, easy to cook and there are so many varieties it’s easy to keep your taste buds excited.

Facts and figures

Seafood contains all the health advantages found in protein-rich foods with Omega 3 and 6, antioxidants plus vitamins and minerals. And with less calories than red meat. Of course, you could swallow two or three fish-oil capsules every day to supplement your diet, but a tasty fish taco sounds better to me. Survey results from traditional fish-eating countries show a lower instance of coronary heart disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as less asthma and dementia. Other studies conclude that crustaceans, fish and molluscs supply antioxidants such as Selenium and Co-enzyme Q10 as well as the amino acid Taurine to help break down cholesterol. Seafood is a good choice for a healthy heart, especially when prepared properly and served well. I’m not talking about fish and chips, smothered in batter and deep fried in oil. Imagine grilled Bluefin tuna steaks, flavoured with tarragon and lemon served on jasmine rice with a green salad and Thai dressing.

Eating sustainably

Fish portion sizes can be cost efficient with pasta and vegies adding taste and texture. The addition of herbs including chillies and garlic not only enhances the taste but add their own health benefits. Our oceans and rivers are a natural resource that must be valued and protected. Sustainability in the future depends on a fishing industry that will invest in keeping stocks replenished and habitats viable. We will be offered a greater variety in seafood on the market in future and we should embrace new tastes and recipes with gusto. Choose to replace overfished species like snapper, gemfish, wild tuna and barramundi with locally sourced but less well known selections. Try fresh sardines or mullet next time you’re at the fish market. Readily available and economical, either of these under-utilised fish are great eating. Sardines baked in the oven with tomatoes and onion or mullet wrapped in foil and barbecued, then served with some tiger prawns and a salad are great family meals.

Make informed choices for a healthier lifestyle today and put fish and other seafood on the top of your shopping list every week.