Baked Halibut with Herbs - Healthy Food Tip and Recipe

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June 16, 2011

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Today's Recipe
If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...
Add this wonderful halibut dish to your Healthiest Way of Eating in just 15 minutes! This recipe is a great way to add more of those health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids to your meals. 4 ounces of halibut provides 26% of your daily value for those hard-to-find nutrients as well as 76% of your daily value for selenium

Baked Halibut with Herbs

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lbs halibut steak or fillet, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 3 medium cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 TBS capers
• 2 TBS chopped fresh parsley
• 1 TBS chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 TBS chopped fresh chives
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
   
2. Press garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting benefits.
   
3. Place the fish in a baking dish just large enough to hold it, and add remaining ingredients. Cover, and bake until done, about 15 minutes. Be careful not to overcook it. Serve at once, pouring the pan juices over the fish.

Serves 4
Serving Suggestions: Serve with

• Pureed Sweet Peas

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Healthy Food Tip

The Latest News About Summer Squash

Summer squashes belong to the Cucurbitaceae family of plants and are relatives of winter squashes (including pumpkins), melons (including watermelon), and even cucumbers. But summer squashes are typically much more delicate than their fellow Cucurbitaceae, and are more often eaten fresh and shortly after harvest. In the United States, you'll generally find three types of summer squash: zucchini; crookneck and straightneck squashes; and scallop squashes, which are also called pattypan squashes.

What's New and Beneficial About Summer Squash

• Although summer squash has long been recognized as an important food source of carotenoids, only recently have research studies documented just how fantastic summer squash can be when it comes to these key antioxidants. For some groups of study participants, winter squash turns out to be the primary food source of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene in the entire diet! For lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin (three other health-supportive carotenoids) winter squash also comes out among the top three food sources in several studies.
  
• When we think about food and antioxidants, what first comes to mind might be fresh fruit and vitamin C, or bright orange carrots and beta-carotene. Yet several recent studies have underscored the unique contribution made by summer squash to our antioxidant requirements. While not as rich in some of the more widely-publicized antioxidants like beta-carotene, summer squash is a very strong source of other key antioxidant nutrients, including the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. Since the skin of this food is particularly antioxidant-rich, it's worth leaving the skin intact and purchasing organic summer squash to help avoid potential unwanted contaminants.
  
• If you usually microwave or boil your summer squash, you'll be interested to know this: steaming is much better than either of these two methods in terms of nutrient retention. New evidence shows that summer squash can retain a large amount of its antioxidant activity after steaming. Using zucchini as their summer squash, researchers found that steaming was a better way to preserve zucchini's antioxidant activity than boiling or microwaving. Interestingly, even previously frozen zucchini held on to its antioxidant activity fairly well after steaming. These findings are great news for anyone enjoys steamed vegetables and who sometimes needs to freeze surplus vegetables for later use.
  
• We tend to think about squashes - both summer and winter - as starchy vegetables. This thinking is correct, since about 85-90% of the total calories in squashes (as a group) come from carbohydrate, and about half of this carbohydrate is starch-like in composition and composed of polysaccharides. But we also tend to think about polysaccharides as stagnant storage forms for starch that cannot do much for us in terms of unique health benefits. Here our thinking is way off target! Recent research has shown that the polysaccharides in summer squash include an unusual amount of pectin - a specially structured polysaccharide that often include special chains of D-galacturonic acid called homogalacturonan. It's this unique polysaccharide composition in summer squash that is being linked in repeated animal studies to protection against diabetes and better regulation of insulin. We expect to see future studies on humans confirming these same types of benefits from consumption of summer squash.

WHFoods Recommendations

Of all of the cooking methods we tried when cooking summer squash, our favorite is Healthy Sauté. We think that it provides the greatest flavor and is also a method that allows for concentrated nutrient retention. To Healthy Sauté summer squash, heat 3 TBS of broth (vegetable or chicken) or water in a stainless steel skillet. Once bubbles begin to form add sliced squash, cover, and Healthy Sauté for 3 minutes (1-1/2 minutes on one side, and then 1-1/2 minutes on the other side) on medium heat. Transfer to a bowl and toss with our Mediterranean Dressing. (See our 3-Minute Healthy Sautéed Summer Squash recipe for details on how to prepare this dish.)

Health Benefits

Summer squash provide numerous health benefits including:

• Antiloxidant benefits
  
• Blood sugar benefits
  
• Anti-inflammatory benefits
  
• Anti-microbial protection
  
• Prostate health support

For more details on summer squash's health benefits, see this section of our summer squash write-up.

Nutritional Profile

While not often considered as a premiere food source of antioxidants, summer squash can provide you with unique amounts of antioxidant nutrients, including the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. While summer squash contains very little overall fat (only 1/2 gram per cup), the fat in summer squash (mostly stored in its edible seeds) is unique in composition and includes omega-3s (in the form of alpha-linolenic acid), monounsaturates (in the form of oleic acid), and also medium chain fats (in the form of lauric and myristic acids). Summer squash is an excellent source of antioxidant-promoting manganese and vitamin C. It is also a very good source of heart-healthy magnesium, dietary fiber, potassium, and folate; bone-supportive copper; energy-producing phosphorus, and immune-supportive vitamin A. In addition, summer squash is a good source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids; energy-enhancing vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and niacin; heart-healthy vitamin B6; bone-supportive calcium; immune-enhancing zinc; and muscle-building protein.
For more on this nutrient-rich food, including references related to this Latest News, see our write-up on summer squash.
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