Your Health
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A taco twist with tilapia by Megan Callahan, Hy-Vee Corporate Dietitian Spring into healthy habits by making Tilapia Tacos this week! Stop by your Hy -Vee seafood department for sustainably raised Rainforest tilapia. Hy-Vee’s Responsible Choice program ensures top-notch, quality seafood where the best aquaculture practices are used to protect seafood ecosystems. Tilapia is a versatile, mild-flavored white fish, making it a family favorite. It’s easy to bake, grill, pan-sear or air-fry. Four easy ways to cook Tilapia: Bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Pat tilapia fillets dry and season tilapia as desired. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork and reaches 145 degrees F. Grill: Brush fish with olive oil and season as desired. Place on greased grilling screen and grill over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork, turning once halfway through. Pan-Sear: Pat fish dry and dip in
seasoned flour mix. Sear in a tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until crust is golden and fish flakes with a fork. Air-Fry: Coat fillets with seasoning as desired. Air-fry at 375 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes or until fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F, turning once halfway through. With your health top of mind, eat seafood at least twice each week and connect with a Hy-Vee dietitian to enroll in programs to help you reach your nutrition goals. Programs include virtual or in-person nutrition store tours about heart-health or diabetes (more topics available) or individual nutrition counseling to discuss your personal nutrition needs or Healthy Habits menu program, all with weekly accountability check-ins. You’ve only got one body, so take care of it and keep it a top priority. Try this recipe for your next taco night.
The information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.
Air Fryer Tilapia Tacos Serves 4 (2 tacos each) All you need: 1 lb. fresh lapia fillets ¾ cup + 1/3 cup Old El Paso zesty ranch taco sauce, divided 2 cups Hy‐Vee plain panko bread crumbs 1 (1.25‐oz) pkg Hy‐Vee original taco seasoning mix Hy‐Vee nons ck cooking spray 5 cups Hy‐Vee coleslaw mix 8 Hy‐Vee taco‐size flour tor llas Desired toppers: Grilled corn, diced avocado, chopped tomato, guacamole salsa, diced mango, red onion, jalapeno slices, chopped onion, Mexican crema, chopped cilantro, Co ja cheese All you do: Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees F. Pat lapia fillets dry; cut into 2½‐ x ½‐inch pieces. Place ¾ cup Old El Paso zesty ranch taco sauce in a shallow bowl. Combine panko bread crumbs and taco seasoning mix in another shallow bowl. Dip fish, one piece at a me, into sauce; shake off excess. Evenly coat with bread crumb mix‐ ture, pressing to adhere. Lightly spray the air fryer basket with Hy‐Vee nons ck spray. Air fry for 5 to 6 minutes or un l lightly golden and fish flakes easily with a fork (145 degrees F), turning fish and spraying with addi onal nons ck spray halfway through. While fish is air frying, combine Hy‐Vee coleslaw mix and 1/3 cup addi onal Old El Paso ranch taco sauce. Serve fish on taco‐size flour tor llas with cabbage slaw and desired toppers.
Recipe source: April 2021 Seasons magazine
Easy Peasy Pasta (makes 6 servings)
Plants on a Plate: Green Peas by Denise Sullivan, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist, MU Extension Outside of lettuce or other types of leafy greens, peas are one of the early season garden goodies I look forward to every year. While some people might find the shelling of peas a tedious task, I prefer it to snapping beans and find it rather satisfying to ‘zip’ open the pod to get to the treasure inside. For most purposes, peas may be classified as garden or English peas, snow peas, and sugar snap peas. English peas are further divided into smooth or wrinkled seed varieties. Smooth-seeded varieties are starchier, while wrinkled varieties are sweeter and are commonly used for home and commercial growing. Snow peas are meant to be harvested as flat, tender pods before the peas inside develop at all. Sugar snap peas have been developed from garden peas to have low-fiber pods that can be snapped and eaten along with the slightly mature peas inside. The starchier smooth-seeded varieties are used to produce ripe seed kernels that are fractured to be used to make splitpea soup. The Southern pea, or cowpea
is an entirely different vegetable that is planted and grown in the same manner as beans and legumes. In the mid 1900’s, studies by Gregor Mendel working with seven characteristics of pea plants (plant height, pod shape and color, seed shape and color, and flower position and color) laid the foundation for modern genetics by identifying dominant and recessive traits in organisms. Peas are the seed of the Pisum sativum plant, which originated in the Mediterranean region of Greece, Syria & Turkey. They are a frost-hardy, coolseason vegetable grown wherever a cool season of sufficient duration exists. Today, most production occurring outside of the United States is in colder regions like Canada, Russia, England, and France. The highest producing states in the US are Washington, Montana, and North Dakota. No matter how you roll them, peas are nutrient-dense packages of carbohydrates, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals (especially iron, potassium, folate and vitamins A and K). A half-cup of cooked green peas contains 4 grams
of protein, 4 grams of fiber, 12 grams of carbohydrate, and 641 IU of vitamin A. On the flip side, peas also contain phytic acid and lectins, which are often referred to as anti-nutrients, that may interfere with nutrient absorption and promote bloating in some people. To minimize these effects keep serving sizes to around 1/3 to ½ cup, eat them fully cooked instead of raw, and try sprouted or fermented preparations. Peas can be enjoyed alone as a side dish, or added into soups, stews, or salads. Green peas can even be baked (tossed with a little olive oil and spices) on a baking sheet for a healthy, crunchy snack. Combining fresh peas with grape tomatoes, the pasta dish below can be served warm as a hearty main dish or chilled as a salad by thinning the cheese mixture with lemon juice.
Denise Sullivan is a Nutrition and Health Education Specialist for MU Extension in the Urban West Region, serving Jackson and Platte Counties. For research-based nutrition and food safety information and programs, visit https://extension.missouri.edu/counties/ urban-west-region
2 cups fresh (or frozen) peas 1 pound whole wheat pasta 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese ¼ cup (loosely packed) fresh parsley, chopped ¼ cup parmesan cheese 1 lemon, zested (yellow part only), about 1 teaspoon ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons olive oil 2 cups grape tomatoes Cook pasta as directed on box. Add peas to pasta during last two minutes of cooking time. While pasta is cooking, combine ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large skillet, health olive oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes or until tomatoes burst and are heated through. Remove ½ cup pasta water and set aside; drain pasta and peas. Transfer tomatoes to pasta pot and add pasta and peas along with reserved pasta water. Stir to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into 6 bowls, top each bowl with ricotta mixture and serve. Nutrition information: Calories: 430 Total Fat: 9.5g, Saturated Fat: .4g, Sodium: 305mg, Carbohydrates: 62g, Fiber: 10g, Protein: 21g Recipe adapted from Seasonal and Simple, verywellfit.com
