Mediterranean Tilapia with Mustard Greens + Roasted Potatoes
This was another one of those “turned out better than planned” dinners – all because the fish flopped! By flopped, I mean that we used a non-non-stick pan to sear him in some EVOO and he stuck to it. Instead of nice and crispy fish we got a floppy, flaky mess.
Plan B – create a sauce for him to swim around in so the fact that he’s not golden brown crispy doesn’t matter. Worked like a charm!
For the sauce we quickly threw together pantry staples: roasted red peppers, jarred jalapeños, capers, 1 stalk of celery, 1/4 a green pepper. To de-glaze the plan and flavor the sauce, we also added 1/2 an ounce of Sherry. The aroma was fantastic.
Swimming in the sauce…
We also sauteed some mustard greens in a little EVOO, cider vinegar, S + P, and a few mushrooms. All were drizzled with honey once plated for a sweet touch to bitter greens. We liked the mustard greens (I think this was our second time making them) but not nearly as much as kale and collard greens. (Sorry the photo is a little blurry 🙁 )
Lastly (well, firstly because these went in 40 minutes before everything else!) we roasted 2 russet potatoes on tin foil with a little more EVOO (each time I mention this the portion is literally 1/2 a tsp – all you need for a little olivey flavor!), kosher salt, oregano and pepper. They roasted at about 400* for roughly 40 minutes. I had 1/3 (~8 oz raw) and the husband had 2/3 of the recipe.
Ketchup on the side!
My hot beverage – who can think about ice water this time of year?!?
Dinner kcal ~ 440. Not bad for such a variety of flavors and textures.
Dessert
For dessert I had a small pear heated with 1/4 cup of Edy’s Light Egg Nog ice cream (I could only think about eating ice cream with a steaming pear underneath!) and a few of Annie’s Honey Graham Bunnies. (I don’t like these as much as Back to Nature’s Honey Graham Sticks).
Cream is the Answer
If you’re wondering what magical food will keep hunger at bay it must be heavy cream!! I finished my creamy soup and salad lunch around 1:30 and wasn’t hungry all afternoon. Not only did I not get hungry, I was totally satisfied from tongue to gut. I guess this lunch was the perfect balance of nutrients to keep me on a steady stream of fuel all afternoon. We didn’t sit down to dinner until 7:00 and I was just starting to get hungry then! I did have a cup of tea around 4:30, but it was just plain tea.
Have a wonderful weekend every one 8)
Sarah says
YUM..your dessert looks delicious! I was craving icecream a couple days ago, but avoided it because I was way too cold. I didn’t even think of heating up a pear or apple with it. Definately going to do that next time the craving comes along. 🙂
(p.s. you’re so right about drinking iced water this time of year…brr…tea is so much nicer…:)
Have a great weekend Kath!
VeggieGirl says
Mustard greens are good, but I’m a kale, collard, chard, and spinach addict myself :0)
I absolutely love the elegant place setting that you have for your meals – it’s always great/fun to dine in style!
Danielle says
Hi Kath & bloggers,
I was wondering if you knew any tasty recipes containing cabbage and green beans? Not necessarily for the same recipe but just in general. Thanks so much!
Beth says
Hey Kath,
I’m still a fairly new reader to your blog…probably just a week or two, but I was wondering what you do when faced with special occasions like birthdays. I try to do the small portion-thing, but psychologically it’s very difficult. How do you deal with it?
Also, I’m curious about why you choose not to have ads on your site. Now that’s not a criticism, I REALLY like it, I think the site is beautiful. I know that some blogs do and some don’t and I’m curious about what led to your choice not to have any. Also, did you learn to design sites yourself? (I’m thinking of starting a personal blog – not about health and food – and I’m trying to figure out how to approach it) I’d love to hear your thoughts on building out such a successful – and pretty – site.
Beth says
Oh and I have a suggestion for the Q&A: Why not close comments on your daily posts and then create a page like you did for the husband where people can post their Questions. Maybe the extra effort will filter out the redundant questions. And then you can return to it at your leisure. Just a suggestion.
Again, I really enjoy your blog. Thank you for all the time and energy you spend on it.
Jules says
How do you heat the pears?
Thanks for everything!
AA says
kath,
i recently tried Annie’s Graham Bunnies and they so do not even compare to Back to Nature’s Graham Sticks. i am so upset now because i opened a box of teh bunnies and have to finish it before i buy more graham sticks. i hate wasting food! =(
have a great weekend! and keep up the great work! =)
your time, effort, and dedication is very very much appreciated!
Maria says
Your dinner looks good as always!
Do you are anyone know if eating a deli turkey such as dietz and watson is safe to do everyday? It claims to be nitrate free, but I have heard such bad things about deli meat. What do you buy when you eat a turkey sandwhich?
Elizabeth says
Another idea to keep a handle on all the questions you receive…
Is there any way you can filter comments from questions? What I mean is, when your readers are leaving a comment, perhaps they can “check a box” or something to identify it as a question or simply a comment — and maybe the computer can sort them accordingly? I don’t know, just trying to help you think of a solution.
It must be overwhelming (but also hopefully flattering) to receive so many questions and comments! You really do keep a great blog & so fun to read each day. Enjoy the weekend!!
Christie says
Hi Kath, I love the Bunnies too I eat them with some carob/dark choc chips yogurt and fruit!
As a fellow Masters Nutrition Student and a morning exerciser ( distance running) I can attest to eating higher portions of fat (healthy Monounsat) in order to keep my full. I am like you in that I have long days at school and I have been following a book that was created by one of my teachers in my undergrad program who is not the director of prevention magazine nutrition and it is called the flat belly diet. I suggest this to anyone who has long days and needs easy meals to plan that can be portable. She is very credible, is actually the reason I decided to go into nutrition. I am usually hungry every 2 hours and up from 6am to 11pm but since I started following this plan I have been able to say satisifed for 4 hours. Check it out !
hk says
I’ve heard of this Christie- ANy chance you could post a typical day’s “eating schedule” with some suggestions for snacks and meals. I’m a long distance runner and am a student, so it seems like our similar schedules lend well for this plan. let me know when you get a chance! thanks 🙂
Kath says
Danielle,
I always check http://www.myrecipes.com when I need a new healthy recipe. I’m sure they have tons!
Beth,
First off, I don’t have ads (yet) because I find them very very annoying, unattractive, and not something I would want to stand behind – BUT I say “yet” because there are a few that I find visually appealing and would want to support that I will probably do sometime soon. My hope is that they will not detract from the visual appeal of the blog. Unfortunately I’m not a web designer and don’t have the ability to customize my blog in every way I’d like to make ads work with the content. But of course I’d love to be able to bring in some money with all the work I do, so I am researching it.
As for special occasions I figured the best thing to do would be to show you a few times I went overboard and a few where I was successful. Keep in mind that special occasions are one of my last big obstacles in terms of being healthy with food and I think I have made significant progress just in the past few months.
My birthday weekend *Thumbs down*
https://www.katheats.com/?p=183
Thanksgiving *Thumbs up!*
https://www.katheats.com/?p=261
Early Christmas in TN *Thumbs down*
https://www.katheats.com/?p=619
The Day After Early Christmas in TN *Thumbs back up*
https://www.katheats.com/?p=631
Christmas Eve *Thumbs up!*
https://www.katheats.com/?p=794
Christmas Day *Thumbs up and down*
https://www.katheats.com/?p=811
A recent dinner party (we cooked) *Thumbs up!*
https://www.katheats.com/?p=1073
Hope that helps!
Jules,
I would I could say “slow simmered on the stovetop” but I just microwaved them for 1 minute.
Maria,
I’m not really an expert on deli meat ingredients – can anyone else chime in here? I know nitrates, hormones and sodium are the avoidable ingredient in purchased meats, but it looks like lots of the turkey breasts don’t have them. And they have a light in sodium one:
http://www.dietzandwatson.com/mainpoultryKitchenNutrition.asp
I eat their turkey (the low sodium one) and ham on occasion, but recently (in an effort to save money!) we have been buying whole turkey breasts when they go super on sale or BOGO free and then freezing them to roast for sandwich meat when we’re in the mood. It’s much, much cheaper than buying the deli meat, but obviously much more labor intensive as well.
It looks to me like D&W is fine though if you get the low sodium and nitrate free (some of the other kinds of meat did have nitrates).
Elizabeth,
I wish I had the ability to filter things, but I’m pretty web design challenged and don’t think those kinds of things exist in WordPress blogs. THanks for the suggestion though!
Christie,
I found some info online and will check it out. I agree with HK, could you give us some more simplified info?
Kath
Fig says
Maybe only have one comment section area open per day-instead of after every meal snack. Then they will be all in one place and you can answer only the ones that other people have not already answered or need clariftying. Leave the box under breakfast post so questions can still be asked all day.
Joanne says
I was looking at your b-day weekend and your sister won a pizza party, where does she go to school?
Christie says
You can go to prevention.com and go to the Flat Belly Diet link at the top and it talks all about it. The book is 30 $ but I highly recomend it. It revolves around the Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA’s) having a serving at every meal (like 2 tbsp of PB or 1 tbsp of Olive oil) and each meal is like 400 calores and you have 3 meals and 1 snack pack but the snack pack is still 400 calories.
Breakfast would be something like 1/2c oat bran with 2 tbsp PB and 1/2 apple and brown sugar
Lunch would be something like WW roll with veggie burger 1/4c avacado, dijon mustard, lettuc and 2 clementines
Dinner- WW pasta with tbsp pesto 3 oz chicekn and some veggies
and you can put the snack pack anywhere you want which can be something like 1/4c choc chips wth 1/2c cottage cheese and 1/2 c cheeries.
You really are satisfied and full
Molly says
Fig,
I was thinking the same thing about only having one entry open for comments a day. Perhaps kath could post the questions she answers somehow because I think if people were reading them, the answers would lock in and there would be less questions.
I think in general, questions on technique (meal prep) are great and usually, Kath’s opinion on different things (after all she will be an RD). Questions with objective answers like- how many calories in ___ or questions that oculd be answered by looking in past entries (they are so well organized!) should not need to be answered. Just my opinion.
KATH: I tried quick oats on the stove today. I added a water, a little bit of milk, an apple, vanilla, a little pb on the spoon, and walnuts. AMAZINGGGG. THANK YOU!! These oats are so chewy!