Wild-caught seafood is a powerful and nutrient-dense addition for anyone pursuing a healthier lifestyle. Maybe you’re looking to swap out low-quality foods for high-quality protein options. If so, simply integrating fish and other seafood into your meal plan a couple of times a week can help bring your body back into balance.
But how you cook your seafood is an important consideration in maximizing nutritional benefits. However, not all methods are created equal. For instance, deep-frying beer battered cod is significantly less heart healthy than oven-baked salmon drizzled with lemon and herbs. Let’s look at some delicious and health-conscious ways to get the most out of your wild-caught seafood.
How to Prepare Fish When Losing Weight
Calorie-Restriction Diet
Calorie restriction is designed to mitigate age-related diseases and help maintain a healthy weight. The idea is to reduce average daily caloric intake without malnutrition or deprivation of essential nutrients1.
Healthy cooking methods that align well with a calorie-restriction diet include poaching, steaming, and grilling. Not surprisingly, these are also the best ways to cook fish for high cholesterol sufferers2. Each cooking method requires the addition of little to no oil or butter, yet they will still produce a moist, tender fillet when executed correctly.
Grilling: If you’re grilling fish, lightly oil the grill grates so your fillet does not end up sticking to the grill. Feel free to keep your recipe minimal. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a wedge of lemon or lime. The high heat of grilling over coals or a wood plank is going to supply a lot of the flavor depth.
You can serve with a fresh accompaniment like an herbaceous chimichurri, or grill it with this blackened salmon with honey marinade. Marinades and dry rubs are also an easy way to keep things interesting.
Steaming: Steamed seafood recipes inspired by East Asian traditions often require little to no oil at all. Often you’re steaming ingredients in a shallow bowl of flavorful liquid, a technique that is halfway between steaming and poaching.
This recipe for Cantonese Pacific cod steams the fish simply, then flavors it with a simple mixture of soy sauce and fresh ginger. Just a bit of sizzling oil is poured over the finished dish to add even more interest for a lean meal that’s high in flavor.
In contrast, when steaming something in the French tradition en papillote, you typically will add a touch of fat. This simple recipe for fish cooked en papillote includes garlic, lemon, and tomato, all drizzled with olive oil to help maintain moisture and enhance the flavors of the meal while keeping it healthy and lean.
Poaching: As for poaching seafood, since you’re cooking in water, stock, wine, or another liquid, you won’t need to add any fat to the mix at all, unless you want to drizzle something like olive oil or sesame oil on to finish the dish. This recipe for poached salmon cooks this lean fillet in a classic court bouillon.
Want to further boost the nutritional value and flavor of your seafood? Add fresh herbs to your wild-caught seafood meals. Herbs add little to no calories to the overall dish but will completely transform it.
High-Fat, Whole Food Diets
If you’re following a paleo, Whole30, or ketogenic diet, then wild-caught seafood will be a top source of healthy fats and high protein fish meals. Replace some of your land-based proteins with wild-caught fish and shellfish to help you shed excess weight.
Consider amping up the fat content of your seafood by integrating butter or ghee (clarified butter) from grass-fed cows into your recipe. Ghee could even become your go-to fat when you’re pan-searing fish. You can also use melted butter or ghee to bake, brushing or drizzling it over seafood.
This fat-enhanced recipe for seared salmon tops the fillets with miso butter, which adds nutrients as well as an intense burst of savory flavor.
As an alternative, try using butter or olive oil to poach fish meals in the oven or on the stovetop. This cooking method, which cooks gently and evenly, will add simple richness to your meal, and it also happens to be very forgiving for a fish like Pacific halibut that can easily end up overcooked. A simple option is this recipe for olive oil poached halibut with tomatoes and garlic.
What Are the Healthiest Oils to Cook Fish In?
When it comes to frying fish, choosing a good oil is important for both flavor and health. It’s healthier to bake than to pan fry your fish. But if you’re going to pan fry, here are some of the healthiest oils to consider:
Olive Oil: Renowned for its heart-healthy properties, extra-virgin olive oil is an excellent choice for frying fish. Its high monounsaturated fat content makes it stable at medium-high temperatures while imparting a rich, fruity flavor to the fish.
Avocado Oil: With a high smoke point and a mild flavor, refined avocado oil is another healthy option for frying fish. Rich in monounsaturated fats and antioxidants, it helps maintain the integrity of the fish while adding a subtle buttery taste.
Coconut Oil: Despite its saturated fat content, unrefined coconut oil is a surprisingly healthy choice for sauteeing fish at medium heats. It contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are metabolized differently than other fats and may offer various health benefits.
When frying fish, aim to use oils that are stable at high temperatures and rich in heart-healthy fats. By choosing the right oil, you can enhance the flavor of your fish while promoting overall health and well-being.
