Category: Fish

Posted on

Is There a Solid Scientific Basis for Recommending You Eat Two Servings of Fatty Fish a Week? — The Skeptical Cardiologist

The skeptical cardiologist has previously agreed with widespread dietary guideline recommendations that encourage most adults to consume a variety of fish, preferably oily types (eg, salmon, sardines, tuna, and mackerel), at least twice a week for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Much of my faith in fish and fish oil, however, was based on observational…

Is There a Solid Scientific Basis for Recommending You Eat Two Servings of Fatty Fish a Week? — The Skeptical Cardiologist

Thank you Dr. Pearson.

Advertisement
Posted on

Memories Hidden From View

The past is merely fragmented memories woven into a story that changes according to how you tell it. You can alter the impact your past has on you by changing your story about it…You live in whatever story you tell yourself.

Jarl Forsman and Steve Sekhon – Bite Size Happiness: Volume 1

Taking time off from work is both a blessing and a curse. I’ve taken long weekends where by the final day I am ready to head back to the office and get back to work. This compulsive urge of needing to work has been with me my entire life. My parents’ generation of immigrants, my ethnic heritage, my upbringing all contributed to my strong work ethic. I was quite surprised when recently all of this changed. It’s not that I’ve lost my work ethic or anything like that. I still work hard but I’ve also found other things to do with my time. One of the projects on this extended weekend was to de-clutter  and the target was my collection of saved recipes. Like any other household item the strategy was brutally simple: keep or toss. It didn’t take long to determine that most of the recipes I’d been keeping for possible future meals would be tossed.  Here’s some of the things that you learn about yourself while de-cluttering your recipe collection:

  1. I had saved recipes and old newspaper clippings since 1976.
  2. I never used any of those recipes.
  3. I’ve known for a long time that what I cook and eat currently is a lot different than what I used to cook and eat.  Most of the saved recipes are dishes that I would not cook now.
  4. An entire folder of pork and lamb recipes got tossed.  I eat pork on rare occasions and can’t even remember the last time I had lamb.
  5. Groupings of old newspaper articles eventually became cookbooks for their authors.  I have these same recipes in the cookbooks from the same authors in my cookbook collection.  Why did I keep the old clippings?
  6. Thinning out the cookbook collection is next on the de-clutter list.

I was literally tossing out everything until I found this:

 

img_1479-1

At first I didn’t recognize what I was holding in my hand.  It took a few minutes to realize I was holding an old recipe that was written in my Father’s handwriting.  After this discovery the pace of my purge slowed.  I didn’t want to accidentally discard a cherished memory.

Memories hidden from view that were here with me waiting to be uncovered and woven back into my story.  Have I ever mentioned my Father was one hell of a cook?

 

Posted on

Oceana Study Reveals Misrepresentation of America’s Favorite Seafood

 

Yikes!

Oceana Study Reveals Misrepresentation of America’s Favorite Seafood.

“I’ve seen cute little cleaner shrimp in aquariums and while scuba diving, but never expected to find one on a grocery shelf,’” said Dr. Kimberly Warner, report author and senior scientist at Oceana. “We really know very little about the shrimp we eat, and the information we do get may not be trustworthy. Consumers have a right to know more about the shrimp they purchase in order to make more responsible choices.”

Among the report’s other key findings include:

  • The most common species substitution was farmed whiteleg shrimp sold as “wild” shrimp and “Gulf” shrimp.

  • Forty percent of the 20 shrimp species or categories collected and identified were not previously known to be sold in the U.S.

  • No samples labeled as “farmed” were mislabeled, while over half of the samples labeled simply “shrimp” were actually a wild-caught species.

  • A banded coral “shrimp,” which is an aquarium pet not intended to be consumed as food, was found commingled with another unidentified shrimp in a bag of frozen salad-sized shrimp purchased in the Gulf.

  • Overall, 30% of over 400 shrimp products surveyed in grocery stores lacked information on country-of-origin, 29% lacked farmed/wild information and one in five did not provide either.

  • The majority of the 600 restaurant menus surveyed did not provide the diner with any information on the type of shrimp, whether it was farmed/wild or its origin.

Posted on

Regular Fish Consumption and Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Loss – American Journal of Preventive Medicine

via Regular Fish Consumption and Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Loss – American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Frozen fish sticks were a staple of my diet in childhood.  After growing up on seasoned breading, tons of ketchup, and imperceptible amounts of non-specific minced white fish I’m surprised I even eat fish at all.   Growing up in New Jersey was one hell of a ride.  Despite wanting to get the hell out of there as soon as I could, NJ still holds many positive memories.  Some of my favorite memories are about going to The Shore.  We didn’t go to the beach or the seashore.  We went to The Shore and where we ended up was defined by which exit on The Parkway.  And for you non-NJ readers I’m talking about the Garden State Parkway.

I didn’t get to The Shore as often as I would have liked.  But when I did make to Exit 117, then east on Routes 35 and 36, I would always find a local seafood restaurant.  After grabbing a table (you never got “seated” in the places I liked to visit) the first question was always the same:

What came in this morning?

Simply broiled, a little butter, a little lemon.  Doesn’t get any better than that.

I just hope I ate enough to have increased my gray matter volumes in the hippocampus, precuneus, posterior cingulate, and orbital frontal cortex.

Postscript

My family vacation every summer was at Exit 4B at the Admiral Motel.  Another story, another time.

 

Posted on

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

Cobia was on the menu tonight at a local restaurant. Cobia? Thanks to this wonderful blog post, I know now a fish.

Better Know a Fish!

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) in the wild. (Image Source: actionfishingcharters.com) Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) in the wild. (Image Source: actionfishingcharters.com)

The cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is a carnivorous marine fish that can reach a maximum size of 6 feet (183 cm) and 150 pounds (68 kg), cruising reefs, piers and oil rigs for crabs, fish and other prey. Its large, broad head and almost shark-like body shape is unmistakable to sports anglers around the world.

Cobia are also farmed as food fish in China and Taiwan, and cobia aquaculture is under development in the United States as well. Now, researchers from the University of Maryland’s Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology have announced a breakthrough in cobia farming — by cultivating cobia using a purely vegetarian diet.

Carnivorous fish require proteins and oils from their animal diet in order to grow. As a result, aquaculture of carnivorous fish requires the use of food pellets created from grinding up small…

View original post 1,386 more words

Posted on

Jack’s Tuna Fish

2 six ounce cans tuna fish packed in water
1/3 C mayonnaise
1/2 apple unpeeled, small dice
1-2 T sweet or red onion, small dice
1-2 T dill pickle juice
2 small dill pickles, small dice

2 eggs
Salt and pepper

  1. Place the eggs in a small sauce pot with enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil.  When the water starts boiling, turn the heat off and cover.  Allow to sit for 10-11 minutes.
  2. After 10-11 minutes drain the eggs and immediately immerse into an ice water bath for several minutes.  Peel, dice and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl add the onion, pickles, apple and pickle juice.  Mix well.
  4. Drain the tuna thoroughly, then flake into the bowl of vegetables/fruit.  Mix well.
  5. Add the egg, mayonnaise and salt/pepper to taste.

 

This post is the second tuna fish posting of the day.  I lost the first one.  Honest.  So in a fit of anger I went to the kitchen to make tuna fish.  I screwed it up.  The eggs didn’t cook completely.  It was only then that I realized I had written wrong directions on how to fix the eggs in my first post.  Divine intervention I guess.

I never ate tuna fish with apples in it before I got married.  Now I can’t eat tuna fish without apples in it.  If I’m out of apples, I don’t make tuna fish.  I never understood that a good tuna salad had more tuna than mayonnaise.  During my college years The Truck would show up on College Avenue around 11 pm.  I loved their tuna subs at 2 or 3 in the morning.  The Truck’s tuna salad was always the cheaper light chunk tuna in oil with a lot of mayonnaise.  The ratio was probably 2 parts mayo to 1 part tuna.  On a 12 inch white french loaf.  It was like eating a tuna flavored mayonnaise sandwich.  No wonder I topped the scales at 370 pounds, but I digress.

So I’m making two more eggs and I ask my lovely wife of too many years,

“Is this your recipe?”

“No, it was my Dad’s recipe.”

“But your Dad couldn’t cook.  He couldn’t even make coffee!”

“He could make tuna salad.”

Thanks Jack.  Great tuna salad recipe.

Tips:

Mayonnaise should be to taste.  Use only as much as you like.  Or for a low calorie version, substitute plain low fat yogurt (at your own risk).  I’ve used yogurt in the past and I prefer mayo.  Do not use Miracle Whip.  I hate Miracle Whip.  Add parsley if you’re inclined to do so.  Garlic powder adds a nice touch.  Also try curry powder or chili powder for a nice change of pace.

But don’t use Miracle Whip.