"Reeling" Good Lent Recipes

February not only marks American Heart Month, but also the start of lent. Do you find yourself “reeling” for meal options on meatless Fridays or “searching” for heart healthy foods? If so, here is an idea we should all tackle. Go fish!

The American Heart Association recommends we eat at least two servings of fish each week, with a serving being about 3.5 ounces.

Fish is low in the unhealthy saturated fat but high in heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Studies show that Omega-3s can decrease the risk of abnormal heartbeats ( which can lead to sudden death), slow the growth rate of artery clogging plague, decrease triglyceride levels and may slightly lower blood pressure.

Your best choices for Omega 3’s are the fatty fish such as salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel and albacore tuna and can often be identified by their deep colored flesh.

If you are not a big fish eater right now, start slowly. You will catch on in no time. Try fish once a week and then work up to those two servings a week. And don’t get too caught up in all the details such as farm-raised vs. wild-caught or where to specifically buy fish. Focus more on affordability and of course palatability.

Find a fish variety you like and ideally prepare it healthfully. Bake it, broil it or grill it and try seasoning your fish with herbs, spices and lemon. Limit or avoid battered and fried fish and go easy on the sauces.

Here are two quick, easy and healthy recipes for you to try from www.foodandhealth.com

Tuna Wrap Platter

Tuna wraps are a fun and easy way to add more seafood to your family's diet.

Ingredients:
1 6-ounce can albacore tuna, drained
1 cup diced ripe tomato
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
4 low-fat flour tortillas
4 cups ready-to-serve romaine lettuce
4 tablespoons nonfat salad dressing

Directions:
Place tuna, vegetables, and mayonnaise into medium-sized mixing bowl and mix together well.
Warm flour tortillas slightly in the microwave or toaster oven and roll each one with a quarter of the tuna salad. Cut the tuna roll in half diagonally and place on a plate.
Toss 4 cups lettuce with nonfat salad dressing and set next to tuna wraps.

Serving Size: I sandwich. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Stats:
Per serving: Calories- 327, Total fat- 9 g, Sat fat- 2 g, unsaturated fat- 7 g, Cholesterol- 25 mg, sodium- 855 mg, Carbohydrate- 34 g, fiber- 3 g, protein, 26 g

Lemon Butter Salmon

Serves 1 | Serving Size: 1 fillet

Ingredients:
3.5 ounces salmon fillet thawed
1 lemon
1 tsp butter
black pepper to taste
pinch salt
paprika
1 tablespoon Panko bread crumbs

Serve with:
1 cup peas
1 sweet potato

Directions:
Place the salmon fillet in a baking dish. Squeeze a lemon over the top of the fish and allow it to spill into the baking dish. Sprinkle black pepper, paprika, salt and bread crumbs on the salmon. Cut the butter into small bits and place on the top of the salmon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes then turn the heat up to 390 for the final 5 minutes. Cook until the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Serve hot.

This fish goes great with sweet potatoes and peas. To cook those in the oven you can microwave the sweet potato for 4 minutes and then add it to the oven. You can place the peas in a shallow bowl, cover with foil and then bake in the oven along with the fish.

Serving size- 1 fillet with peas and potato

Nutrition Stats:
Per serving: calories- 724, total fat- 23 g, saturated fat- 5 g, unsaturated fat- 18 g, cholesterol- 173 mg, sodium- 240 mg, carbohydrate- 58 g, fiber- 13 g, protein – 71 g

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