our first and best steps begin with food
Almond-crusted Cod
Unless your body just doesn’t handle fish for some reason, I’d recommend regularly planning for two meals a week that each provide about 3-4 ounces of a wild-caught source of cold-water fish species (salmon, cod, halibut, for example). These foods provide a great source of protein and health-promoting fatty acids. For this recipe, I used 12 ounces of wild-caught cod and a 16-ounce bag of frozen organic spinach. Fresh spinach is lovely, of course, but I used what I had on hand. It provided 2 ample servings. If you use the suggested 1.5 pounds of fish listed here, you can easily serve up 4 portions. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For the topping -
Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
½ c sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
1 T finely chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp dried
1 T plus 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp sea salt salt, divided
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/4 pounds cod or halibut, cut into 4 portions
4 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, slivered or minced
1 pound baby spinach
Lemon wedges for garnish
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spread a thin coat of coconut oil on a baking pan (a glass casserole dish works well).
2. Zest the lemon and then cut it in half to juice it. Combine the zest, almonds, dill, 1 T of the olive oil, ½ tsp. salt (or less) and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside for step 4.
3. Rinse and pat-dry the fish fillets before placing them on the prepared baking dish. Spread each portion with 1 tsp Dijon mustard.
4. Divide the prepared almond mixture among the portions, pressing it onto the mustard as a topping.
5. Bake the fish until opaque in the center, about 7 to 9 minutes, depending on thickness of the pieces.
6. While the fish bakes, heat the remaining 2 tsp olive oil in a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring about 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned. Add spinach, lemon juice and the remaining ½ tsp. salt. Season with pepper. Cook and stir frequently, until the spinach is just wilted, for 2 to 4 minutes (or until cooked through, if using frozen).
7. Cover to keep warm. Serve the fish with the spinach and lemon wedges.
Nutrition: Each serving provides 37g of protein and nets just 5g carbs, as the nuts and spinach provide 8g of fiber. Each serving supplies Vitamin A in abundance, along with Vitamins D and K, and the minerals potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
