Fish Twice a Week

Written by Sylvia Geiger MS, RD, CD, Price Chopper Community Nutritionist

Do you eat fish twice a week? Good for you if you do, you are a member of a select group. Most Americans eat less than a full serving every week, far below the Dietary Guideline Recommendation to eat 8-12 ounces of fish and seafood per week.  Most people I talk to know that fish is a healthy food.  It is a lean protein that is low in calories and is considered to be heart-healthy because it has beneficial omega-3 fats yet hardly any saturated fat—the kind you want to limit. But when it comes to eating fish twice a week, I hear a lot of reasons why people don’t do it. “ I know I should eat more, but I just don’t like it” or “I don’t really know how to cook fish” are comments that I hear often.

I’ve also learned that people have strong likes and dislikes when it comes to fish. It’s not uncommon for someone to love one kind of fish and hate another. And while everyone’s palate is different, I can’t help but think that a large part of these strong preferences is lack of familiarity.  Many Americans don’t have a tradition of eating a variety of fish & seafood prepared different ways.  In fact, most of the people I talk to have fewer than a handful of fish recipes that they prepare regularly. They are usually very appreciative of the large number of Price Chopper-EatingWell recipes cards that we give away in the store.  Just in case you haven’t seen these recipes, I’m highlighting some of our most popular ones below.  Each recipe uses a fish variety that’s on sale this week.

Customers also ask me about the sustainability of the seafood available in our stores.  Since 2010, Price Chopper has joined with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Trace Register to propel our sustainable seafood program to the highest level attainable.  Through these partnerships, we are working to ensure that an ever-increasing percentage of the seafood that we sell is harvested from sustainably managed and maintained fisheries. By working actively with our supply chain and individual fisheries, Price Chopper is committed to improving harvesting policies and practices wherever they may be in decline or poorly managed.

In case you didn’t know, October is National Seafood Month.  How about giving one of these recipes a try?

Quick Ideas for Eating More Fish

Recipe Ideas using this week’s sale items

Tilapia Corn Chowder

Pan Fried Tilapia

Fish Sticks

Tilapia in Lemon Sauce with Capers

Spicy Swai Fillets

Haddock Provencale

Curried Scallop Apple Salad

Cajun Bay Scallops

Cream Scallop & Pea Fettuccine

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