Feeeeesh and why it's healthy!

Omega-whoooooo?  Nutrition is probably one of my favorite things to talk about.  I actually wanted to be a dietitian when I was in college, but the college I was attending couldn't get the program accredited in time for me to graduate.  I did graduate with a Health care degree and minored in nutrition and since I thought I was going to be a dietitian, I took all those lovely biology, anatomy, and chemistry classes plus majority of the nutrition courses.  Does this make me qualified to give advice???  Absolutely not, but I still like to share what I know.

Actually one of my hobbies is reading FAD diet books just to see what they "recommend" to people on how to lose weight.  People, it's simple.... DIET AND EXERCISE.  I'm a firm believer that you should not eliminate any particular food group in your diet.

With that said, let's talk about the greatness of feeeesh!  The hubs and I eat fish about 3 nights a week.  It's the one thing we can agree on to eat together.  I generally love ALL food, but he is extremely picky.  Fish is not only low in calories and fat, but it's really healthy for your diet due to the Omega-3's.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to the diet, because our bodies can't make them.  They are a form of a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA).  One of these day I will go into a lesson about organic biochemistry and explain the types of lipids and how they either rec havoc or help like these guys, but today isn't that day.  :) 

With that said, here are the benefits:

• They are crucial for a healthy heart and reduce the risk of heart disease
• They play a major role in brain function, memory, and development
• Lower blood pressure
• Lower cholesterol by raising HDL's
• Reduce inflammation in the joints which cause rheumatoid arthritis
• Plays minor roles on reducing depression, prostate cancer, colon cancer, asthma, IBD, ADHD, and skin disorders. 

SO WHY THE HECK WOULDN'T YOU CONSUME FOODS WITH OMEGA-3'S??  They are the good guys when it comes to lipids!!  So, if you're like me and forget EVERYTHING it's probably a good reason to consume these little miracle workers!  I also have a slight case of ADHD.  The best example of my ADHD is this guy:

DUG the doggy from UP!!!  I sometimes have **SQUIRREL** syndrome when carrying on a conversation with people.  It drives the hubs and my best friend absolutely nuts, but they know by now that it's just the way I am and I really can't help it.

So, this is something we eat at least 2 times a week in our house:

Overly seasoned Tilapia  (is what I like to call it)



Ingredients:

Tilapia fillets

Rub on the following seasons (use however much to your liking):

Oregano

Mrs. Dash (original)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Grated Parmesan

Cook the fillets on 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the fillet.  I usually pull it out once the parmesan is golden brown.  I will pair it with some kind of veggie.  The fillet itself is about 130 calories, so for 2 that really fill you up it's only 260 calories for 4 oz fillets!!!   

Enjoy!!!

-Stephanie