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Recipe Rehab: Herb-Baked Fish
Posted on Mar 11th 2010 1:00PM by Tanya Zuckerbrot
When I was growing up, baked fish seemed to be synonymous with butter. My mother had an amazing recipe for butter herb-baked fish and this was the only way that she could disguise the fish enough to convince us to eat it. Now, it seems contradictory to have the good omega-3 fatty acids in fish tarnished by the saturated fat content of the butter -- and my mother definitely coated the fish in quite a bit of butter. The original recipe also called for a crust of low-fiber saltine crackers mixed with Parmesan cheese and seasonings, which was really my favorite part of the meal.I will make a few swaps in this recipe in order to reduce the saturated fat content and pump up the fiber, but I won't mess with the Parmesan, herb seasoning mix, which adds so much flavor to the dish. Instead of coating the baking dish with butter, I will use a minimal amount of non-stick cooking spray and I will use a whole wheat cracker such as Wasa crispbreads instead of the saltine crackers. In order to encourage the cracker crust to stick to the fish, I will dip the fish in non-fat milk rather than coating them in butter. With the Parmesan seasoning mix intact this dish retains the flavors I love, but omits the high calorie butter and reduces the saturated fat by 85 percent.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound frozen sole or perch fillets, thawed and drained
- 1/2 cup non-fat milk
- 2/3 cup crushed whole wheat crackers
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine crushed crackers, Parmesan cheese, and spices in a shallow dish. Stir to mix.
3. Pour milk into another shallow dish.
4. Dip the fish fillets first in the milk and then coat with the cracker crumb mixture. Arrange in baking dish and repeat for any additional fillets.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Serves: 4
Nutritional Content (per serving): 240 calories, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 13 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 32 g protein, 329 mg sodium
For another home-style fish recipe, try my Fish Chowder!
Readers, I would love to hear from you! Please send me your most favorite fattening recipes that need a RECIPE REHAB! Everything from your mom's meatloaf to your kid's favorite dessert -- let me lighten it up.
Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya belives you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Have a recipe in need of rehab? Send us your recipe!
