Fish is still a Friday-night favorite is countless homes across the world.  This tasty and versatile recipe can be served as traditional filets or as fish sticks with a dipping sauce.  Either way, it is an appetizing heart-friendly recipe.

Serves: 4

Time to Table: 30 minutes

Healing Nutrient Spotlight

Excellent source of niacin, vitamin B-12, magnesium, selenium
Good source of vitamin B-6

Ingredients*

1/4 cup cornflake crumbs (or any gluten-free bread crumbs)
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, fresh ground, to taste
1 pound fish fillets (cod, halibut, red snapper), cut into 4 inch servings

*Select organic ingredients for optimum nutrition.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.  Using a paper towel, smear a little coconut oil around to coat your pan or baking sheet.  Mix the crumbs, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper together on a plate or in a bowl.  Roll the fish fillets in the seasoned crumbs to coat well, place on your baking sheet, and bake until fish flakes easily (usually about 10 to 14 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish).

The fish can also be cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch sized strips and you have homemade fish sticks, which are great served with a homemade dipping sauce (just mix mayonnaise with a little bit of pickle relish or lemon juice and a little hot sauce).  Delicious, and so much better than most frozen fish stick products!!

Note:  Pre-made breadcrumbs made from cornflakes are available in most grocery stores; gluten-free versions are always available at Whole Foods Market and are sometimes available in grocery stores that have a natural foods or gluten-free section.  Breadcrumbs are really easy to make; if you have some rice crackers or a box of cereal around, just throw a half a cup or so in your food processor or Magic Bullet, and whirl it up for a few seconds until the pieces are finely ground.

Nutrition

140 calories, 3 g total fat, 1 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 3 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 25 g protein, 175 IU vitamin A, .07 mg thiamin, 6.6 mg niacin, .09 mg riboflavin, .37 mg pantothenic acid, .39 mg vitamin B6, 1.34 mcg vitamin B-12, 14 mcg folate, 1.44 IU vitamin E, 55 mg calcium, 95 mg magnesium, 175 mg sodium, 510 mg potassium, 1 mg iron, 40 mcg selenium, .5 mg zinc

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute (formerly part of Living Longer Institute).  She offers personal nutritional counseling at LMI for clients who need help with their diet in relation to illness or disease. Laura also provides educational services in the areas of health promotion, wellness, and disease prevention.  To learn more click here]