Category: seafood

Finding low-sodium, low-fat food at Mall of America

Mall of America outside Minneapolis is truly the mother-ship of all enclosed shopping malls in the United States. Large enough to have an amusement park inside it, it dwarfs any similar structures.

Crave...most of the orders coming up were burgers.
The open kitchen at Crave…most of the orders coming up were burgers.

But finding low-sodium, low-fat lunch foods there is a daunting task, much as was finding healthy foods at Orlando’s Universal or Disney World.

We bypassed the usual fast food options and high-salt locations like Bubba Gump Shrimp to try a restaurant that billed itself as “fresh, vibrant American.”

Crave talks the talk about fresh but getting what I wanted required some rearranging of menu items, and an extra charge. I had hoped to get a salmon salad much like one I recently made at home. Continue reading “Finding low-sodium, low-fat food at Mall of America” →

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Turning leftovers into a treat — a wonderful salmon salad

Leading up to and including Thanksgiving, we had house guests for 10 days straight, which meant a lot of cooking, and a lot of leftovers.

Oddly enough, they left Sunday and then my wife left on a business trip Monday, so I’ve had the house, and the leftovers, to myself all week. I’ve eaten a lot of turkey, as you might guess. But we also had made salmon for some pre-Thanksgiving dinners, and there was a large amount of salad already made as well.

My wonderful salmon salad.
My wonderful salmon salad.

So Monday night, I combined the salad with the left-over salmon for a great salmon salad dinner. I heated the salmon with some added Mrs. Dash salt-free teriyaki sauce for added flavor. Then I topped the salad with it and added olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a great dinner treat.

Don’t give up on your leftovers, find creative combos to get the most out of your cooking efforts.
John

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Shaw’s: a Chicago seafood classic

With all the seafood I eat these days, it’s easier to meet friends for dinner at a seafood restaurant than at places that serve other types of cuisine that I largely can’t eat because it contains too much, salt, fat and sugar.

Recently, we met friends for dinner at Shaw’s Crab House, a long-time Chicago seafood place. I often frequented its downtown location when it was a new, hot spot to be. It now has a suburban outlet in Schaumburg, Il., near the massive Woodfield Mall, and we’ve enjoyed eating there in the past as well.

My delicious rainbow trout at Shaw's in Schaumburg.
My delicious rainbow trout at Shaw’s in Schaumburg.

Shaw’s did not disappoint on our latest visit, although it had too many seafood options gunked up with crusts and cheese and other things I can’t eat anymore, as far as I was concerned. Continue reading “Shaw’s: a Chicago seafood classic” →

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Steelhead trout: a variation better than the norm?

Fish has become a major part of my post-angioplasty diet. But no matter how good they are, salmon, ahi tuna and trout getting repetitious, so I’m always looking for new species to try. One that I enjoy is steelhead trout, a variation of the rainbow trout so prevalent in Midwest fish markets and supermarket fish counters.

Steelhead trout served simply with lemon on the side.
Steelhead trout served simply with lemon on the side.

Steelhead spend part of their lives in the ocean and part in rivers, unlike rainbow trout which are river and stream dwellers. Steelhead is pinkish in color, causing many to confuse it with salmon (and I would think causing some unscrupulous retailers and restaurants to pass it off as salmon). But it’s not as fatty as salmon, nor quite as boney or fishy tasting as rainbow trout.

I tend to cook it as I do trout, however, which is to pan broil it in lemon juice, a very simple preparation that infuses it with lemon flavor.

Coat the pan with a spray olive oil to avoid sticking and put the fish in once the pan has heated. I cook it for a few minutes before adding the lemon juice and letting it poach a bit in that (cover the pan as this point). I just use a dash or two of juice, find the level you enjoy and go for it.

Start it in a pan coated with a spray olive oil.
Start it in a pan coated with a spray olive oil.

Then add lemon juice and poach a bit by covering the pan.
Then add lemon juice and poach a bit by covering the pan.

Eight ounces of steelhead has 12 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat and 80 mgs of sodium.
Enjoy
John

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The pub food challenge: welcome to the Valley Lodge Tavern

In addition to my food blog, I also write and co-produce plays with my wife. We’re in the midst of rehearsals for my newest play right now, Talking with My Dad, and so we’re doing some cast bonding that recently included going out to eat after a Sunday rehearsal.

I had checked the menu of the place we were going, the Valley Lodge Tavern in Wilmette, Il., before we went and knew there was nothing on it I could order on my low-salt, low-fat post-angioplasty diet The place is an offshoot of the long-time fixture Valley Lodge in Glenview, Il., where I had many a tasty fish lunch years back when I worked nearby.

My plain tilapia and squash at the Valley Lodge Tavern, Wilmette.
My plain tilapia and squash at the Valley Lodge Tavern, Wilmette.

This new location didn’t list any plain fish options, but it did have some fish dishes I thought I might be able to get a bit plainer. A special the night we went was tilapia, covered in something I couldn’t eat. So I asked the waiter if I could just have plain tilapia and he said of course, which was very nice. I also got a squash side dish which I asked be cooked with no salt and no sauce. Continue reading “The pub food challenge: welcome to the Valley Lodge Tavern” →

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Levant: a Portland (OR) find on our recent vacation

My wife and I took a recent vacation to the West Coast, starting in Seattle and then journeying to Portland where my daughter has settled down these days.

Meeting her for dinner our first night in Portland presented her with a logistical challenge: I am on a low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet, and her boyfriend is a vegan.Where could we eat that would satisfy us both, as well as being tasty for my daughter and my wife?

Her answer was a fun place not far from where she lives called Levant, which describes itself as French-Arabesque “serving modern representations of Middle Eastern dishes.”

An amazing beet salad at Levant in Portland, OR.
An amazing beet salad at Levant in Portland, OR.

My daughter had been there before but apparently the menu had changed by the time we went with her. The four of us ended up ordering a variety of appetizers, salads and side dishes to create our own small plate extravaganza. Continue reading “Levant: a Portland (OR) find on our recent vacation” →

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Chinook’s: a tucked-away Seattle gem

A coworker who had lived in Washington state recommended my wife and I try a restaurant called Chinook’s while we were there. It’s away from the touristy downtown area of Seattle, but was easily reachable by car and proved a fun night out eating among the Seattle locals.

The place is massive and on the water, as so many restaurants seem to be in Seattle. It’s located at a place called the Fishermen’s Terminal so you can eat and look out the windows at real fishing boats.

Chocolate cake at Chinook's
This was an amazing dessrt, chocolate cake covered with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Wow!

I had salmon, as usual on this trip, and enjoyed it. But the real treat here was the unexpected dessert. I say unexpected because I was trying to maintain my low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet on this vacation and was succeeding, mostly, until our night at Chinook’s. Continue reading “Chinook’s: a tucked-away Seattle gem” →

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The Crab Pot, a Seattle Pike Place Market fun standby

Our trip to Seattle included a stop early on at The Crab Pot in the city’s famed Pike Place Market. Yes, I know, the place is known as a tourist trap and many reviews complain of poor service in the evenings when it’s busy, but we were lured in by the seafeast in which they dump a bucket-load of seafood on your table and you have at it.

The Crab Pot Seafood feast
Me, preparing myself for the Crab Pot seafood feast.

We had better seafood at other Seattle spots, but for sheer fun, the Crab Pot still is worth a visit. WE did go in the late afternoon when it was empty, so service was good for us, being one of the very few tables filled at the time. Continue reading “The Crab Pot, a Seattle Pike Place Market fun standby” →

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Safeco Field offers salmon salad…gotta love it

Seattle is the salmon capital of the continental United States (Alaska does a pretty good job of it as well) but even knowing Seattle’s salmon reputation, I wasn’t prepared to find salmon sold at the Seattle Mariners’ ballpark, Safeco Field.

Salmon salad was a great surprise at Safeco Field in Seattle. Bring your own oil and vinegar packets so you can spike the high-fat dressing.
Salmon salad was a great surprise at Safeco Field in Seattle. Bring your own oil and vinegar packets so you can spike the high-fat dressing.

But that’s where I found it, specifically atop a salad. Ballparks are where we eat hot dogs, but hot dogs have been off my menu since my angioplasty two years ago. That makes going to a baseball game much less fun for me than it once was. I usually can scrounge up a chicken breast sandwich now. Continue reading “Safeco Field offers salmon salad…gotta love it” →

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