Is it Healthy to Eat Seafood?

November 03, 2020

Surprising reasons you should eat seafood more often.

If you’re GILL-ty of thinking seafood is hard to cook, difficult to find, or too expensive, then this may just blow you out of the water. 

There are some surprising reasons why you should eat seafood more often. You’ve probably heard about fatty fish containing healthy omega-3s, but have you considered the protein value of seafood? Researchers say seafood is a FIN-tastic, high-quality protein source. Seafood is fast, affordable, and delicious. In fact, there are 6 surprising reasons you should eat seafood at home tonight. (I COD you not – I’ve even got a recipe for you that’ll get you drooling).

Oh, BUOY! Here’s what you need to know.

To my fellow environmentally conscious readers, it is not SHELLFISH to eat more seafood. It’s possible to enjoy seafood that’s good for you and the ocean too – just look for the MSC blue label on seafood packages.

Is Fish a Healthy Choice?

Yes, seafood, including fish, is a healthy choice. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish has gotten the of-FISH-al attention by nutritionists, but what truly makes seafood a healthy CATCH, is how it is a high-quality protein that is easily digested.  Nutritional scientists reported that fish is undervalued as a protein source because of a lack of awareness of its many health benefits. We could all benefit from eating more seafood.

Fish is also a source of the important amino acid taurine (more on that later). Seafood has significant nutritional value for human health as it contains vitamin A, calcium, iron and vitamin D. It is healthy to eat seafood as it’s a quality source of protein, and our main source of taurine.

Why you should eat more fish?

Did you know that humans consume the valuable amino acid, taurine, largely through seafood? Taurine is an amino acid considered to be conditionally essential to our health. Scientists have found taurine plays many health roles in the body: helping fight hypertension, high cholesterol levels, and inflammation. Seafood contains high amounts of taurine compared to traditional land-based proteins. Findings suggest that the consumption of sufficient quantities of taurine is important in preventing lifestyle-related diseases, like heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.  

Is canned seafood healthy?

Canned or frozen seafood as a tasty, convenient option that’s ready for you in the freezer or cupboard, whenever you want it. Canned seafood is the easiest – it requires no cooking at all! Fill a wrap for a quick lunch by simply mixing canned tuna, salmon, shrimp, or crab with finely chopped vegetables. Transform your grilled cheese into a delicious tuna melt with a can of tuna. For a spicy twist for lunch, create a Brilliant Curry Tuna Collard Green Wrap in less than 5 minutes. Got more time? In about 10 minutes, you could be sticking your fork into these delectable sustainable Salmon Cakes – perfect for lunch, or dinner. Create a high-protein, belly-satisfying dinner with sustainably caught scallops from your freezer in about 20 minutes using this recipe: Sustainable Seafood Pesto Pasta.

RECIPE: Sustainable Seafood Pesto Pasta

Servings: 4    Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions:

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. In a frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and add in mushrooms and asparagus, allowing them to sauté until mushrooms are soft, but asparagus is still a little crunchy (about 5 to 8 minutes). 

In the meantime, pat dry defrosted scallops and shrimp. Season with sea salt and pepper. Warm a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat with olive oil. Place scallops in the hot pan in a clockwise direction with their flat side down onto the pan. Note: the pan should be hot enough to hear the sear happening as soon as they hit the pan. Aim to create a nice brown colour about 1-2 minutes per side. Turn them over (once). Allow to finish cooking for another 2 minutes. Done! Remove scallops from the pan. 

Check the water. If it is boiling, add the pasta. Set a timer based on the pasta you’ve chosen to remind you when it is ready to be removed from the water. If using zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash, simply add into the hot pan of vegetables for the last minute of cook time. 

Pat dry the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp in the hot pan for about 45 seconds until one side is pink. Then, remove the pan from the heat. Turn the shrimp over to allow the other side to cook in the hot pan off the heat. 

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and combine until well coated with pesto. Serve immediately, sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese. 

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