The United States Department of Agriculture says twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate. Increase the amount and variety of seafood consumed by choosing seafood in place of some meat and poultry.
Monday night I whipped up my favorite salmon burgers, mixing in some of the green olives left over from my pasta. I made sure to use lemon juice as well. In the past I've skipped this ingredient, thinking it wouldn't much matter, but it is actually really important to a)hold the burgers together and b)add a nice acidity to the flavor. They were, as usual, both satisfying and outrageously easy.
Sometimes I'll get questions about which is most healthful, farm-raised or wild salmon. The answer is that nutritionally, they are almost identical. If anything, farm-raised salmon tends to be a bit higher in good fish-based omega-3s. For some people, choosing between the two is a matter of taste and availability. Farm-raised salmon tends to be milder, while wild has a more robust flavor. Both are earthy and a little sweet. The type used for pouch and canned salmon is wild.
I am a registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute, so fish is my nutrition forte. I earned my BA in Communication from Southwestern University, just outside of Austin, TX. During college, one of my very favorite evening outings was a leisurely trip to the grocery market. My passion for food was undeniable, so I combined both of my interests by earning my MS in Nutrition Communication from Tufts University in Boston, MA. As well as my Registered Dietitian (RD) credential through the University of Delaware.
Beyond reading scientific studies about docosahexaenoic acid and selenium, I love to entertain, travel, watch reality TV, grill outdoors, and go to spin class. I live in Kailua, HI on the island of Oahu where my husband serves as a US Marine Corps JAG.
People in Hawaii eat more fish and shellfish than average, but over 80 percent of typical Americans don't eat seafood at least twice per week. Doctors and dietitians like me say that's the goal, so BlogAboutSeafood is here to show you just what plenty of seafood looks like in an RD's real-life diet.
Photo by Marco Garcia
Jennifer:
Do you know where I can fine reliable nutritional information for farmed char?
It's not listed in the USDA database and the internet sources I've seen are not referenced.
Thanks,
Lorelle Del Matto MS, RD
lorelled@msn.com
Hi Lorelle-
You are correct, the USDA database does not list Arctic Char. In researching the Atlanta Journal Constitution story, we did some digging and got the following info from an Arctic Char company:
Here are the nutrition facts, calculated for a 3 ounce (85 g) serving…
154 kcal
6.7 g fat
1.4 g sat fat
850 mg omega-3
18.5 g protein