cajun crusted tilapia

cajun crusted tilapia sandwich on sprouted grain sesame Ezekiel bread for one of my meals last week. or two weeks ago.  oh whenever that was, idk. it was good though.  i grew up eating deep fried catfish sandwiches on white bread.  you remember those fish fry fundraisers at church lol!  the best.

  i said on IG that i thought this recipe up while i was on the elliptical.  i get some of my very best ideas and recipes while i'm working out. it's usually in the middle of cardio when i have a lot of time to just THINK.  if that's what i need to do to get my inspiration, so be it!

Cajun Crusted Tilapia

the stuff:

  • 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Corn Meal
  • 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp sweet dried basil
  • 1 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
  • 1 egg white

that's supposed to be sweet basil on top of the onion powder, not curry. sorry.

do this:

combine the egg and the liquid aminos in one bowl, everything else in another bowl.  with your left wet hand, dip the fillet into the egg white/amino mixture, then drop it into the dry mixture bowl.  using your right dry hand, press the fillet into the mixture, flip it over, and ensure it is covered on both sides or to your liking.  spray your low/medium heated pan with Pam (or any no-stick spray)  if you haven't already, and lay the fish on one side to cook until done, then flip it (about 5-7 minutes on each side.) cooking times and temps vary, so watch it!  *s/n: you can add a tsp of coconut oil to your pan as well, but you'll have to adjust the nutritional stats accordingly.*

don't want a sandwich?  plate your fillet up and pair it with some sides.  i made a sandwich cause i had plenty of Ezek bread to spare and sandwiches are fun to make, eat and take pictures of.

now, about these nutritional stats....i tend to make things way more difficult than they should be so there is prolly an easier way to do this.  i know there is.  and someone will comment on this post and make me feel really dumb.  i'm counting on you.  anyway,  i didn't figure out how to do this before posting and didn't want to wait. i totaled the ingredient list up, then divided it by 4 (fillets).  you never really use ALL the breading when you're dipping stuff, you know? at least i don't.  so you can't include that in the total calories.  you really only use about 2-3 tbsp of the breading, if that.  so the stats below are a little higher than they should be cause it's for 1/8th a cup of breading (dry + wet) + the tilapia fillet. i guess i could figure out what 2 tbsp of breading equals but my head hurts already.  so here are the stats for 1/8th a cup (includes both wet and dry ingredients).  did that even make sense?

serving:  1 crusted tilapia fillet

i love finding ways to eat more food!!!

i got wind of these corn thins via Facebook last week and picked some up at WF this past weekend as well.

i switched sides on ya.  rice cakes on the left, corn thins on the right.

 1 serving = 2 cakes

ingredients for both:

corn thins- whole grain popped corn, sea salt. (gluten and fat-free)

rice cakes- whole grain brown rice, sea salt.

verdict: eat 3 corn thins and STILL come out lower in every stat category compared with the rice cakes.  awesome!!  sure they are a little thinner, but still filling after being topped with some PB2, cottage cheese, or greek yogurt.

look what i found. oh just another item i wasn't even looking for, a yogurt maker!!!

 i actually received this as a baby shower gift.  i sure do appreciate it!  perfect timing.

i was reading the instructions and all that and noticed one of the ingredients required to make yogurt is yogurt :shock: huh? so i have to go buy some yogurt to make yogurt. oh, ok.  riiight... SO, after i google a good homemade yogurt recipe, i'll be trying my hand at *drumroll*

 almond yogurt!!!! i saw some at Whole Foods while i was there and had no idea almond yogurt even existed yet.  the nutritional stats were surprisingly high for one serving though.  i'll see what i can come up with.

guess who had banana pancakes this morning? we all did. everybody. duh :lol:

Chiso tackled his three and so did i.

my random lunch sandwich today:

i just wanted to eat my cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread really bad, lol. i threw some grilled chicken, cheddar almond cheese, avocado and spicy mustard on it and it WORKED.  it fit my macros perfectly, too! that sweet and salty combo can't be beat. i chilled on any fruit butter this time since the bread was already sweet though.

have you ever made homemade yogurt? 

le

apple-chicken burgers

 i threw some ground chicken in my grocery basket this week. there's more to life than ground turkey.

i love chicken/apple sausage for breakfast, so that combo would make a darn good burger.  while training for my comp, if my meal plan called for apples that week, i would go get the BIGGEST ones i could find, lol.  i have really grown to love red delicious apples- eat one every day now.

aminos!  low sodium soy sauce alternative i use to marinate my proteins in.

i added the aminos along with my chopped apple, herbs, and seasonings into a mixing bowl with the chicken.

one more time close up.  no reason.

mix it. real good.

then grill'em up.  you can cook them in a flat iron pan too, or even bake them in the oven. i just have a thing for grill marks, that grilled taste, and it's the quickest method.

apple-chicken burgers

serving size: 2 oz patty

the stuff:

  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 egg white
  • half a large apple (approx. 1 cup, diced)
  • handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 medium shallot, diced
  • 1 tbsp smokehouse maple or any seasoning of your choice
  • 3 tsp Bragg's liquid aminos
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • 2 tsp liquid smoke (hickory or mesquite, you choose)

do this:

mix and grill. 4 min on each side should be perfect. watch them though.

cover the meat and let it rest for a few minutes afterwards.

 i made a sandwich and used Prophet Ezekiel's sprouted grain sesame bread.  sprayed a little 'i can't believe it's not butter' on the slices first, and toasted them.

i like how the sesame seeds get toasted too- gives your sammich so much texture and crunch when you bite into it.

the chicken is lean, but the apple helps keep the patty moist.

add your toppings.  that's almond cheese- yep. this is a GREAT brand i found through an IG buddy, @spoonfulofit.  it's Lissanti and i found it at Whole Foods.  it melts and tastes just like regular dairy cheese, she was right!

topped it with plenty of spicy mustard, and there's some fig butter hiding under the tomatoes ;)

i shoulda let the cheese melt on the patties, what was i thinking? next time.

ok enough sammich pics, go make one.

Prophet's Ezekiel also makes great whole wheat pita pockets.  the stats are better than Trader Joe's by far.  only 100 cals compared to TJ's 160 (same size pita) and has a whopping 7 grams of protein!

have a happy, lean & clean friday in advance,

le