Yesterday I ate fish twice. That is more than almost
80 percent of Americans eat in an entire week. And the effects are starting
to show. A new study
published in the Journal of Nutrition
reveals that most 4-8 year olds (78-90 percent, depending on which recommendation you go by) who eat a typical North American diet are
deficient in fish-based omega-3s (DHA+EPA).
Just like a good psychologist has her own psychologist, I like to keep my diet in check via an outside source at least a few times a year. My go-to tool is the website, FitDay. If you can ignore the banner ads, it's a super user-friendly way to keep track of what you eat and how much you move. For about a week, usually once in the spring and once in the fall, I'll use it as a food and activity journal just to make sure I'm on track -- good distribution of calories (40-45% carbs, 25-35% mostly healthful fat, 25-30% protein); g
Today for lunch I had the last bit of our delicious seared Ahi tuna and shredded cabbage. I thought about heating up the fish, but actually really liked it cold.
The last few days I've had a look at the seafood chain from beginning
to end. On Thursday of last week I
visited the Oceanic Institute
(OI), a non-profit aquaculture research and development organization, just down
the road on windward Oahu. OI is an impressive place - the white shrimp
they have been raising play such a big role in the seafood supply, odds are any
shrimp you've gobbled up in the last decade or two is an OI descendant.
Here are the shrimp tanks (not a bad backdrop)...
I don't always wear my heart-healthy food on my sleeve -
some of my omega-3s are out of sight.
The eggplant
and spinach lasagna spirals we ate last night had the subtlest nutty, salty
flavor thanks to a few finely chopped sardines that I snuck in the sauce.
I had an action-packed weekend, fueled by some tasty fish
meals. Friday we had crab cakes and
baked sweet potato fries, which were both a little overcooked, but still
satisfying. I followed the "Most
People Like Every Meal We Serve" recipe,
and I have to agree, it results in the perfect classic-tasting crab cake.
Ever since our busy weekend, I've been in low-effort meal
mode. Yesterday for dinner we had salmon
burgers, and today for lunch I had a toasty crab melt. Both came together in less than 10 minutes
start to finish.
The cherry on top of a long weekend is a short week. Last weekend really jump-started our
motivation to explore every inch of Hawaii and I cannot wait for this one. Valentine's
Day was super low key. I went to the
farmers' market in the morning and it was delightful. I'm definitely making that a weekly
tradition. For dinner we stayed in (we
swore off going out to eat on V-Day years ago due to the crowds and pricey prix
fixe menus) and Lloyd cooked the roasted
Fridays just before a three-day weekend are the best. Sometimes the anticipation of a full 72-hour
respite is arguably better than the actual respite. But I'm confident this weekend will live up
to my expectations. My friend Allison
from graduate school and her friend will be in town, so Lloyd and I get to
entertain a little for the first time since we've been in Hawaii.
We're inviting them to go kayaking at Kailua Beach
Sunday and then have a cook-out here at home.
Here's the menu I came up with...
Last night as I ate my
fish, I drank wine poured from a fish.
It was a little goofy, but this
wine was well-rated for, as you would hope from the packing, pairing perfectly
with seafood. The claims were true - it was
a lovely accompaniment to our salmon.
