Pirate’s Booty Breaded fish, what? Oh yea, why not bread their fish with an well-accepted snack food?! Sometimes creativity goes a long way when tempting your child with a certain food. This certainly holds true when it comes to fish.
Why We Should Raise Fish Foodies
- Brain health: Fish is not only an excellent source of protein, but it contains nutrients critical to young, developing brains. Since our brains are 60% fat; eating more omega-3 fats found in fish help improve brain function.
- Better grades: Kids who eat fish at least 1x/week sleep better & have an IQ about 4.8 points who seldom or never eat fish.
- Strong bones: Fish, esp, salmon, is packed with vitamin D, a bone-strengthening nutrient that is hard to come by in foods.
- Less Stress: Children who consume more fish have less anxiety and better focus. Omega-3’s have been shown to reduce behavior problems and aggression in children. AMEN
- Immune Boost: Omega-3’s DHA fats improved children’s immune response & lowered the risk of some allergic disease & upper respiratory infections. Researchers have also shown that fish may prevent allergies.
Which Fish?
If you avoid fish for fear of mercury or other contaminants, rest assured, the majority of fish we eat (salmon, tilapia, Mahi Mahi, light tuna and cod) are low in these toxins. The big four fish to avoid are tilefish, shark, swordfish, and King Mackerel.
So, now that I have convinced you to put more fish on your menu, how can you entice your children to eat it?
- Add to their Favorite Foods: Do your kids love quesadillas? Try adding some seafood into their quesadilla little by little. You can add it to tacos, macaroni and cheese, and so many more recipes.
- Serve With Dip: Tartar sauce, ranch, lemon cream sauce, ketchup
- Bread with Something Fun: I breaded some for my kids with their favorite puffed cheesy snack: pirate’s booty. See recipe below. You could also try goldfish, regular bread crumbs, cereal, crushed pretzels, or chips.
- Fun Presentation: Having fun in the kitchen can be a creative way to engage your children.
P.S. Soaking fish in milk for 20 minutes can remove the fish smell if that is a barrier in your house! Check out more of my favorite recipes found on Seafood Nutrition.
We’re all one step closer to making little seafoodies!
pirate’s booty breaded fish
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz. bag of Pirate’s Booty or any other corn-puffed snack
- 1/2 c. Panko bread crumbs
- 2 T. Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/2 t. pepper
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 T. milk
- 12 oz. fresh or frozen fish (Mahi Mahi is our favorite), cut into 1″ strips
- 1/2 T. butter
- 1/2 T. olive oil
Instructions
- Place Pirate’s Booty in a food processor or blender and pulse until booty is a medium to large bread crumb. Combine Panko, Pirate’s Booty, Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper in a large zip-top bag.
- Combine milk and eggs in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add fish, and toss gently to coat. Add fish to breadcrumb mixture; seal bag. Shake bag gently to coat fish.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add fish; cook 4 minutes or until done, turning occasionally to brown all sides.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One Filet
- Calories: 275
- Sugar: 1.3 g
- Sodium: 697.4 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 13 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 26.4 g
- Cholesterol: 144 mg