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Food/Recipes

How to incorporate more fish into my diet

21 replies

WorkingBling · 01/08/2017 10:59

I love fish and love that its healthy. However, I almost never cook it and don't eat it out either as I'm always disappointed. The reason I don't cook it is because I'm not very good at it. And also because I find if I buy fish, I then don't use it for days and have to throw it away or leave it in the freezer but forget to take it out so can't use it that night. Doing shopping on the day is almost impossible for me.

So, please give me some tips. what kind of fish can I buy that keeps well or that can be frozen and cooked from frozen? How can I cook it simply and well?

I am going to try remember to buy more smoked mackerel again which keeps well and is lovely in summer with potatoes and salad. And I do like salmon cooked in the oven. Other ideas please?

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mrsnec · 01/08/2017 11:14

Buy it frozen. Just use what you need. I like pollock fillets. Get a big bag from lidl.

I put them in a curry. Cut into bitesize pieces. Cook for a couple of mins then put to one side. Make a paste of onions curry powder and corriander. Fry that with onions and toms and spuds, throw in a glass of water and put the fish back in when the spuds are soft.

Breadcrumbs with pepper and lemon also good. 10 or 15 mins in the oven depending on the size of the fillets.

I like salmon fillets too. Defrost individually and put in foil parcels with whatever you fancy. Normally just lemon and pepper for me but I do sun dried toms and basil sometimes. 20 mins in the oven normally.

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Iwasjustabouttosaythat · 01/08/2017 11:21

You know it's full of mercury, right? I think the advice it to eat just a bit.

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WorkingBling · 01/08/2017 11:22

It's the defrosting that's the challenge. I never remember to defrost in advance. So when I come at supper time it's too late (the defrost function on my microwave is pretty good but with fish it always lands up cooking the edges and leaving the middle frozen). Do you have any tips for quick defrost?

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mrsnec · 01/08/2017 11:23

I think 2 or 3 times a week is about right isn't it?

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mrsnec · 01/08/2017 11:27

I just defrost in short bursts so I avoid the edges cooking. I'm not in the UK and I don't like the fresh fish we get here which is why I get it frozen. In the UK I'd buy it from the fish counter of big supermarkets and cook it the minute I got home.

But I eat tinned fish and smoked salmon as well which are both good enough ways of getting fish into your diet I think.

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dudsville · 01/08/2017 11:30

It's easy to defrost fish quickly. Fill a bowl with like warm water and leave it there for 20 min (hot water will start to cook it). I buy salmon and tuna fresh and keep in the freezer. It gets easier once you get used to doing it so try not to worry if you mess up once in a while. Also I usually put mine in a stir fry. Fish cooks so quickly that even if it's still a little frozen the stirfry finishes the job.

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WorkingBling · 01/08/2017 11:31

Mrs Nec - fish counter is absolutely the best option. but I almost never do spontaneous shopping of that sort. I guess I can try harder to defrost in microwave. And actually, tinned fish once a week is a good option. I used to eat loads of tinned tuna and sometimes salmon. Mostly stopped because I don't eat carbs at night anymore and my standard dishes with those were things like jacket potatoes with tuna or fish, salad and potatoes, or pasta salad. But let me think about it. Maybe I should have those for lunch more often...

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MondieBee · 01/08/2017 11:31

Only certain types of fish are high in mercury and even those types you can generally have one or two portions a week

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WorkingBling · 01/08/2017 11:32

Actually, am now craving tuna pasta salad for lunch. Am definitely going to make some to eat at work in the next few days!

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mrsnec · 01/08/2017 11:38

Do your tuna salad with chick peas or beans instead of pasta for slightly lower carb option.

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iseenodust · 01/08/2017 11:39

You can oven bake salmon from frozen in foil just fine.

Buy fish pie mixed fish from fish counter or fridge & chuck a handful into Baxters spicy tomato with rice soup. Can do this with frozen too as already chopped.

Smoked salmon shreds make a great omelette if you are low carbing.

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Natsku · 01/08/2017 11:47

Jars of pickled herring! Delicious, stores well, great on toast or with new potatoes and creme fraiche.

Its the bigger fish that eat other fish that are the ones with levels of mercury to be careful of and unless you're pregnant you can still eat them once or twice a week (once or twice a month if pregnant).

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FurryDogMother · 01/08/2017 11:49

I seem to keep mentioning this on various threads (low carbing, hangover foods etc.) but a piece of smoked cod or haddock, simply pan fried in butter with a couple of eggs (I like duck eggs) makes a lovely weekend breakfast. Take it out of the freezer the night before and leave it in the fridge.

Smoked mackerel paré is easy to make - whizz up a couple of fillets with cream cheese, lemon juice, black pepper and a dash of horseradish. It'll keep for a day or so in the fridge.

Make a smoked salmon quiche with a bit of dill and Parmesan - or use smoked salmon in place of pancetta/bacon in a carbonara.

If you buy fresh tuna steaks and freeze them, you can take them out in the evening and put it in the fridge ready for the next day's dinner - saves having to remember in the morning. I usually do a salade Nicoise with them.

Tinned salmon makes good fish cakes (Delia Smith has a recipe). Tinned sardines on toast are also good.

John West do little pots of tuna with things like jalapenos, or garlic and chilli - easy to eat for lunch. Remember though, that the Omega 3 content is depleted by the canning process - fresh oily fish is better if that's an issue for you.

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DoubleHelix79 · 01/08/2017 11:52
  • buy some whole (but gutted) trout
  • put on a piece of aluminum foil
  • add some olive oil, garlic, maybe some lemon juice
  • bake at 200 degrees for about 25 min max.


Delicious, easy and impossible to screw up. Must really make it again...
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GoulashSoup · 01/08/2017 11:59

I am the same as you and forget to defrost, these are a few ways I get round it.

Tinned tuna (as suggested above use a tin of butter beans if you want to avoid pasta, or a microwave pouch of brown rice with quinoa),
Frozen prawns (I buy a bag and throw them into alsorts of things),
Smoked salmon and smoked mackerel,
Cook from frozen fish pieces, I'm currently obsessed with Aldi lemon and herb dusted lemon sole. We have it with sweet potato wedges (home made) and heaps of boiled veg.
Nothing wrong with fish fingers sometimes,
Cook salmon pieces from frozen in a sauce, just cover so that they steam.

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AtleastitsnotMonday · 01/08/2017 15:56

Tuna, sweet corn and sweet chilli fish cakes. Really easy and delicious.

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cdtaylornats · 01/08/2017 18:04

Toasted bagel, slice of smoked salmon, philadelphia cheese spread

That's lunch

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PumpkinSpiceEverything · 02/08/2017 08:38

How about Prawns? You can toss them into pasta, paella or a curry from frozen.

Also good quality (Pole & line caught) tinned tuna is another easy way to incorporate more oily fish in your diet. Try making your own fishcakes with breadcrumbs, an egg, and some fresh herbs and chili!

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sumac · 02/08/2017 12:07

Most of the supermarket frozen fish I've bought recently says best cooked from frozen - so avoiding your defrosting issue.

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TinklyLittleLaugh · 02/08/2017 15:58

My lot are not particularly keen on fish. We eat non fishy tasting spicey stuff like fish curry, Moroccan and Mediterranean fish stew and kedgeree. They eat it but make snidey comments about it probably tasting better with chicken.

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Cagliostro · 02/08/2017 16:07

We often get frozen packs of salmon fillets and microwave them from frozen (in a covered bowl with butter and black pepper). Not as nice as fresh admittedly but it's cheap. They are lovely on top of a veggie risotto with a runny fried egg on top

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