We have never been much of fish eaters here. Oh we love to go fishing, especially salmon fishing, and eat our catch, but fish was not on the menu on a regular basis. Along comes the doc and tells us 33 grams of total fat per day…that means fish, chicken, and turkey. I know some of you may be thinking that is nothing, but we like food…evidently fatty food.

My brothers catching a salmon on our annual salmon fishing weekend.

So, the researcher that I am, I set out to find all I could about fish, because evidently not all fish is equal!

That salmon that we love won’t love us back fat wise–it’s one of the fattiest of fish. Leave it to me to love the fattiest of even fish! I even came up with some great Salmon Patty Bites last year. Did you know fish oil pills are made of salmon? So, the fish oil pills were taken off John’s diet, too.

I set out to find the fish that offers up fat grams of 4 or less in a 3-4 ounce serving. John can’t eat just 3-4 ounces (and I don’t want him hiding food out in the workshop!), so I wanted to give him some room to fill up. These all fall into this range:

• Cod
• Cusk
• Flounder
• Walleye
• Halibut
• Hake
• Perch
• Orange Roughy
• Porgy
• Red Snapper
• Pacific Snapper
• Pollack
• Shark
• Sole
• Swordfish
• Turbot
• Whiting
• Catfish
• Pike
• Crab
• Shrimp
• Oyster

NOT that we’ll be eating shark or swordfish…we’re more the perch and walleye type of people. And quite frankly, I’ve haven’t heard of quite a few of these, but I keep a list in my purse in case we come across a new fish at the market or in the frozen section of the grocery store.

How to Choose Fresh Fish

1. The skin should be firm and elastic. It should spring back when you press your finger into it. It should also be shiny and not color faded.
2. The eyes should be bright and clear. Older fish have cloudy eyes.
3. The scales should not be falling off. They should also be bright and shiny.
4. The gills should be reddish pink and clean.
5. The odor shouldn’t be overly strong. That unpleasant “fishy” smell is from trimethylamine, which is a chemical that is produced when fish deteriorate. You don’t want a “fishy” smelling fish!

A trick to test the freshness of fish: Place it in cold water. If if floats, it’s fresh!


While it would be wonderful to have only fresh fish, that isn’t a reality here. What we can catch, we will. What I can find at the fish market (at a price I can afford!), I will buy it fresh. Some we just have to buy frozen.

How To Choose Frozen Fish

1. There should be little or no odor.
2. The skin should be frozen solid and have no discoloration.
3. The wrapping should be moisture-proof and have no air.

A trick to thawing fish: Thaw it in milk (ha! fat-free I assume now!)–the milk takes the “frozen” taste away and leaves you with fresh fish taste.

A trick to freezing fresh caught fish: Freeze them in water. It will keep the fresh fish taste when thawed.


This really opened my eyes to the healthiness of fish. I just never would have thought there was fish that wasn’t good for you.

I’m also looking for some great fish recipes! Non-fried fish recipes. I am getting veeerrrry tired of baked and grilled fish fillets.

Cindy blogs at Chippewa Creek ~ Our Life Simplified.

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