Lose Some Pounds With Seafood Cooking
In today’s health conscious society, seafood has taken a premier spot in our daily menus. When you compare the cost of a steak or roast, seafood now ranks high, in terms of economy and nutrition. We find new and delicious alternatives to chicken and beef. Just five years ago, fish such as tilapia, orange roughy, swordfish and Chilean bass were not as readily available in the supermarkets. Now, we have a large and varied choice of seafood in the grocery stores. We’re also aware of the many health benefits of eating seafood. Nutritionists and doctors alike are recommending at least two servings be included in our menus each week.
Cooking seafood is so easy and convenient, you don’t even have to know how to cook in order to enjoy this healthy food from the oceans. Due to the current popularity of seafood, many companies are offering frozen seafood fillets in convenient single serving, microwaveable packets (usually four servings to a bag), with a number of gourmet sauces already in the bag! Nuke and serve! It couldn’t be easier.
Alternatively, when cooking seafood fillets, you don’t need to be an expert sauce maker should you buy a plain fillet. There are a number of excellent bottled sauces, salsas and easily made sauces in packets - like hollandaise - with which you can adorn your fillets. The simplest of garnishes is a thinly sliced piece of fresh lemon, topped with a sprig of fresh dill or tarragon for an elegant meal presentation.
When it comes to raw shellfish, cooking seafood is almost foolproof. You get a better price on raw shellfish than an already cooked product, either fresh or frozen. It’s a matter of labor costs. While you do have to do the cooking and shelling, the savings is significant enough to make some pricey shellfish affordable and worth the extra labor. In the case of cooking seafood of the shellfish family is so easy, even a child can do it, with proper adult supervision. How can you tell when shellfish are done? With shrimp, crab or lobster, it’s done when it turns a bright pink. With hard-shelled seafood, such as clams, mussels and oysters, you simply boil them in a quantity of water. When the shells open, they’re done. Those that do not open, should be discarded.
Fresh or frozen, cooking seafood fillets in the microwave is both the quickest method and produces a juicy result. Just follow the instructions on the packet, or ask your seafood counter staff for microwave times. It’s far easier to over cook in the frying pan, under the broiler or on the grill.
When cooking seafood on a shishkebab, such as shrimp skewered with veggies such as pineapple, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions, it’s better to go with the already cooked product. The veggies will cook so quickly, under the broiler or on the grill, that you’re essentially just warming the shrimp as the veggies caramelize a bit. Again, quick and easy.
Cooking seafood is so easy, with a versatility not found in most meats, not to mention the healthy and delicious results, it’s an economical menu choice, you really don’t need to be a cook to enjoy your two servings a week!
You can lose pounds by following a healthy diet.