Recipes for fish newbie

[D Rusak]

So...after 12+ years of being a vegetarian, and a good 7+ of those as being vegan (minus very occasional butter), I've decided to try supplementing my diet with some fish. I have good reason to believe (based on various tests, including confirmed depression/fog/lack of energy that had gotten worse over the last year or two) that the lack of meat in my diet is a contributing factor. I've responded well to supplementation with Vit D, fish oil, and B12 (also magnesium, sunlight, and more exercise, and last but not least, EE), but I would prefer to use whole foods if possible. I've been starting to cook more for people for various events and I think it would be good to have some non-vegetarian dishes in my repertoire. And I have to admit I've just got a general curiosity about eating meat/fish again, maybe that's a sign? Or just boredom with the food I'm cooking thus far.

Since I'm blood type A it seems that fish would be a good way to go. I never really liked fish before I became a vegetarian though, although it's quite possible I never had it cooked well (turned veggie at age 16 with a VERY uncreative, meat-and-potatoes American family). Does anyone have any recommendations for some not too fishy recipes I could try? Also, I guess I was thinking of staying mostly towards smaller fish types (sardines, mackerel, etc) that wouldn't uptake as much mercury, though I'd be open to trying something like wild salmon just to try it.

 

[Lauranimal]

This is one of my favorites. I keep returning to it in different variations:

From a post on gluten free recipes:

http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=6103.msg107329#msg107329

I'll be checking back to see some of the fishy recipes that come along. I stopped eating red meat (again) about 2 months ago, and I want to broaden my fish repertoire.

 

[Renaissance]

You could marinate (for at least an hour) whatever fish you'd like to eat with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, chopped garlic, sea salt and either parsley or basil and then bake it. Mmmm...

 

[truth seeker]

We make a variation on paella. You can use whatever you want in it (meatless or different grains even). Get a pan and add whatever your usual amount of grain and liquid (usually water but can be broth). The ratio is double the amount of liquid to the grain usually but check with the package. From there include whatever you like and add the fish last (depending upon the size of the fish). It's easy and allows you to be creative. Hope that wasn't too cryptic. If you want examples of what we use, let me know. We use sardines in ours and put them in last so they don't completely fall apart. You can either drain them or add the liquid to the mix for added flavor. You can also add some of the lemon pulp (not the pith - white part or else it gets bitter) as well as the juice and grate some of the lemon peel (again beware of the white part) into it as well.

 

[Cyre2067]

Hmm so many options. I typically take a wild caught salmon filet and marinate it in some homemade sauce of some sort. Typically we have all sorts of asian stuff in the fridge, so I whip up a teriyaki or mediterranean marinate and then broil it for like 4-5 minutes on each side. There's a local whole foods so I'd like to try cooking a whole, smaller fish and seeing how it goes. The whole aspect of preparing it like that kinda skeeves me for some reason, but another part of me thinks it would be a fun learning experience.

Anyway I found this page with some recipes. I hope to try one or two out and report back on how it went. _http://fishcooking.about.com/od/wholefishrecipes/Whole_Fish_Recipes.htm

 

[anya]

Hi D Rusak

The following is from The Ultimate Omega 3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole pg. 149
Choose low mercury fish : salmon (including canned), sole, tilapia, haddock, shrimp, clams, ocean perch, crawfish, anchovies, herring and sardines.
When it comes to salmon, choice wild rather than farmed, Wild salmon may be labeled as wild, Alaskan or one of the five Pacific salmon species: chinook/king, coho/silver, chum/silverbrite, pink and sockeye.
Choose light tuna rather than albacore, as it has one third the amount of mercury. Opt for water packed. Limit tuna steaks to 6 oz week, becuase they contain higher level of mercury than canned light tuna.
Prepare your fish in a way that cuts down on contaiminants. These techiniques do not affect mercurey content, because mercurey is bound to the protein or flesh part of the fish.
*Before cooking: Remove the skin, fat, interanl organs, tomalley of lobster and mustard of crabs, where toxins are likely to accumulate. This will greatly reduce the risk of exposure to a number of hazardous chemicals.
*While cooking: Let the fat drain away to reduce fish drippings.
*Grill or broil, rather than fry: Frying seals in pollutants that might be in the fish's fat. Grilling or broiling allows the fat to drain away.
* When smoking fish: Remove the skin before the fish is smoked.

 

[Rabelais]

Does anyone have any recommendations for some not too fishy recipes I could try?

I am not certain that I am sure what your definition of "too fishy" is. I am of the feeling that if you can smell it at all, it is not fresh and you should probably be moving on to another selection.

Everyone seems to have already given you some good tips, but I have a fish story to add. I was pretty depressed when I first arrived in the middle of France, coming from the abundance of fresh fish available in coastal SoCal, where I could actually catch my own if I wanted to. I didn't eat much fish at all in the first couple of years here. I finally began to add some of the smoked wild salmon to the diet. It is really good sliced bite size and tossed into brown rice with a wasabi and ume su mixture. Its a great side dish or a stand alone light lunch. Ume su is what I now use as a substitute for soy, which is the normal sushi condiment with wasabi (Japanese hot mustard/horseradish). Ume su is fermented Japanese plum and shiso leaves in brine... salty like soy sauce. It can be found organic in health food stores.

Also I discovered "pickled" herring, marinated in seasoned oil, preferably olive. It is sold here in small tubs of oil (4 or 5 fillets), commonly seasoned, in the oil, with black peppercorns, onion and carrot. For a fast lunch, a couple of fillets of herring with a side of brown rice or quinoa topped with Laura's dhal makes for a quick and easy light meal with little clean up. Herring is a relatively small fish, not much larger than adult sardine, so mercury concerns should be minimal.

Bon Appetit

 

[D Rusak]

I just thought I'd update this topic. I'm still having problems with fish; I just really don't like the taste in most contexts. My body seems to like it so I've slowly been eating more of it. I like the blander ones- shrimp are great (especially Italian-style; thai stir frys with coconut milk; or shrimp "tacos/tostadas" with blini tortillas), scallops I like sometimes (preferably with a ton of ghee and garlic), bland white fish like tilapia, etc (I tend to eat these in situations I am given food- not as much success with cooking these. Not so much that I can't cook it but I am reluctant to, or I don't eat enough to justify buying it. I am a musician though and we are given food, often good food, a lot at gigs like weddings, fancy parties, etc). Salmon I know is good for me so if offered I try to eat some, I mostly swallow it on down though.

I DID however, feel like I was getting some results here. More energy, better mood. SO, I've slowly tried adding in some meat. Again I guess I'm a little grossed out by it since I haven't eaten it in YEARS. Also, along with fish, meat is another thing I never really learned to cook. I became vegetarian in the middle of high school right around when I was learning to cook things just slightly more complicated than peanut butter sandwiches and spaghetti (which of course aren't useful now so much, ha!). I figured, go for the gold! I got some turkey bacon from the store. One weird thing with me is that I always have LOATHED pork products. When I was a kid, I actually used to make signs with scary looking pigs with fangs, in the center of a circle with a slash through it, and hang it up around the house during Easter when my family always had to have baked ham. I was on a huge anti-ham brigade, really weird. Anyway, according to my blood type maybe I shouldn't have it anyway. I've been cooking turkey bacon for breakfast most days for the last 2 weeks or so, either in the oven or in a pan with a little ghee and I have had a lot more even energy throughout the day. I haven't been having my afternoon dead-zone where I can't concentrate and want to nap really much at all. Occasionally I get it if I am on a long bus ride, but travelling in cars often puts me to sleep. Today I made tomato sauce but with ground turkey in it, I felt like I didn't need to eat as much to be full and I had good even energy afterwards.

So, I guess I am going to experiment further along these lines. It is a little easier for me to do this now as I have just moved cross-country where I don't know too many people from before, I don't have to worry about other people's reactions and this seems to make it all simpler somehow. Baby steps I guess.

Anyway, some thoughts from a former vegan. It is really out there how difficult this whole thing is, how locked into a viewpoint one can get. Probably one of the more challenging things I have done since joining this forum, but the truth isn't always easy to accept. I know this is a little melodramatic, but I am serious!

 

[RyanX]

I just thought I'd update this topic. I'm still having problems with fish; I just really don't like the taste in most contexts. My body seems to like it so I've slowly been eating more of it. I like the blander ones- shrimp are great (especially Italian-style; thai stir frys with coconut milk; or shrimp "tacos/tostadas" with blini tortillas), scallops I like sometimes (preferably with a ton of ghee and garlic), bland white fish like tilapia, etc (I tend to eat these in situations I am given food- not as much success with cooking these. Not so much that I can't cook it but I am reluctant to, or I don't eat enough to justify buying it. I am a musician though and we are given food, often good food, a lot at gigs like weddings, fancy parties, etc). Salmon I know is good for me so if offered I try to eat some, I mostly swallow it on down though.

D R,

I'm with you on having a hard time eating fish. I feel a bit paranoid now given the problems with petroleum showing up in seafood from the Gulf. This hasn't helped my appetite for fish.

Do you take a fish oil supplement at the very least? This can probably offset the need to consume large quantities of fish if you're worried about not getting enough of those good oils that former vegetarians are typically lacking. Also, look into cooking with animal fats too like lard.

Anyway, some thoughts from a former vegan. It is really out there how difficult this whole thing is, how locked into a viewpoint one can get. Probably one of the more challenging things I have done since joining this forum, but the truth isn't always easy to accept. I know this is a little melodramatic, but I am serious!

It is strange how the foods we often despise often turn out to be the ones we need the most! Once we get identified with whatever diet we've chosen, it can sometimes be hard to pull ourselves out of that mindset. It even sneaks up and distorts our judgment in very subtle ways when confronted with food choices. I have noticed that this is a particularly good opportunity of self observation, and learning to uncover the roots of certain programs, FWIW.

It sounds like you're making some good progress in your dietary choices. Keep up the good work! :)

 

[D Rusak]

I'm with you on having a hard time eating fish. I feel a bit paranoid now given the problems with petroleum showing up in seafood from the Gulf. This hasn't helped my appetite for fish.

Do you take a fish oil supplement at the very least? This can probably offset the need to consume large quantities of fish if you're worried about not getting enough of those good oils that former vegetarians are typically lacking. Also, look into cooking with animal fats too like lard.

Hey,

I agree about the oil contamination! I try to get things that say they are from the Pacific, hopefully the distance will make some difference. I live on the Pacific coast now so I don't feel as bad about shipping since it wouldn't have to go as far to get here.

Yup, been taking a fish supplement for sometime. To be honest, I didn't ever really feel the supplement did anything like what eating the actual food has done. I try to get a decent quality supplement but I think for me personally it's getting the extra protein/B12/tryptophan/etc in natural form as much as those Omega 3's.

Haven't found a reasonably priced and easy to get form of things like lard or duck fat (they actually have duck fat in the grocer's by me. It's $12 for 10 ounces, yikes!!!) but I've been using ghee quite liberally for some time. Also coconut oil, grapeseed oil, uncooked olive oil. Avocados have been good for me too along with nuts. With these I seem to do okay I guess because of the fat content even if they are not animal products.