Easy Baked Cod #gardencuizine #recipe

Low Fat, Low Sodium

Baked Cod

Start by purchasing fresh or frozen cod fillets. If you are buying fresh, ask to smell the fish before you buy it. Fresh fish does not have a fishy odor. Freeze and store the fish at home until ready to cook and serve. When cooked, cod fish has a delicate mouth-feel and is unanimously described as a mild tasting, moist and delicious fish. 

We used to bake fish topped with classic lemon and butter, then gradually switched to using some butter, some olive oil. Now, we bake fish using only olive oil and no butter or saturated fat. No one seems to miss the butter. Everyone loves it and benefits from the unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated). 

Healthy fats

Poly and monounsaturated fats are found mostly in fish, nuts, seeds and plant oils. Healthy fats may help lower blood cholesterol levels when used in place of saturated fats. The American Heart Association recommends keeping daily total fat intake to between 25 and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from foods like fish, nuts and veggie oils.

For a complete meal, serve cod along with a whole grain side dish and non-starchy vegetable. We served baked cod with organic quinoa black beluga lentil pilaf and roasted asparagus the night of this blog post. How do you like to cook cod fish?

GardenCuizine freestyle recipe

Diana's freestyle recipes simply mean you don't need to follow exact measurements. Use as much or as little seasoning as you prefer. Recommended serving size for fish is about 3-4 ounces per person. 

Ingredients

Cod fillets
Hungarian paprika (or any dried, ground, garden red pepper)
Garlic powder
Thyme (or any garden herbs)
OLD BAY® Seasoning (Old Bay contains salt and pepper - no added salt is necessary)
Olive oil

Putting it all together

• Thaw fish. Fish can be safely thawed in the microwave
  
• Place fish in a baking dish
• Add olive oil and top with seasonings
• Cover with foil
• Bake 30 minutes at 350°F until fish is opaque white and flakes easily when pierced with a fork

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data: Baked Pacific Cod (without added seasonings) 3oz serving: Calories 89; total fat 1g; saturated fat: 0g; cholesterol 40mg (13%DV); Omega-3 241mg; sodium 77mg (3%DV); carbohydrates 0g; dietary fiber 0g; protein 20g (39%DV); Niacin 2.1mg (11%DV); Vitamin B6 0.4mg (20%DV); Vitamin B12 0.9mcg (15%DV); Selenium 40mcg (57%DV)

Note: differences with Baked Atlantic Cod: Omega-3 146mg; cholesterol 47mg (16%DV); Vitamin B6 0.2mg (12%DV); Selenium 32mcg (46%DV)

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