Fish and Chips . . . A Healthier Version

Recently I rode my motorcycle through a small coastal town and stopped for a bite at a small fish ‘n’ chips restaurant along the way.  It was owned and operated by monks from the local monastery to raise money.  While I was waiting for my order, I asked the monk in charge, with a witty grin on my face, “are you the fish friar”?   Without missing a beat, and not to be outdone by my wisecrack, he simply responded, “No sir, I am the chip monk”. 

The simplicity and source of the punchline above makes me think of 14th-century Franciscan friar, William of Ockham.  This English logician was attributed with coming up with the theory that the simplest explanation or strategy to solve a given problem tends to be the best one.  I believe his words were something along the lines of “When you hear hoof-beats, think horses, not zebras”.  This principle became to be known as Ockham’s Razor.  Now I am sure you can tell by the joke above, I’m a simple man with a simple sense of humor.  And my cooking style is no different.  So when faced with the challenge of wanting to make a healthier version of the fish ‘n’ chips served up by the monks along the North Coast, I told myself to Keep it Simple, Stupid.  

But First . . .

In order for me to execute this dish, I had to have some things in place ahead of time.  I am very fortunate to have an amazing wife who carves out 1-2 hours each weekend (usually Sunday) to pre-cook some food for the week.  In a typical week, I can open the fridge and see Tupperware containers full of various pre-cooked meats, vegetables, rice, sweet potatoes, etc.  I highly recommend setting yourself up for success and simply having some pre-cooked healthy foods available for the busy week.  It certainly makes eating healthy easy, and you will see how a great dinner can be created in minutes when you are stocked up ahead of time.  

Six Ingredients and One Fry Pan:

Here’s what I used to make a complete meal with healthy ingredients: 

Pre-cooked Sweet Potato

Healthy Complex Carbohydrates 

Pre-cooked Asparagus 

Healthy Green Veggies 

Frozen (raw) Cod Fillet

Healthy Lean Protein 

Olive Oil 

Healthy Fat

Fresh Avocado (Optional)

Healthy Fat

Herbal Seasoning 

Sodium-Free 

Putting it Together:

I promise you that I am no Gordon Ramsey when it comes to navigating my way around the kitchen.  Many of you reading this probably have much better culinary techniques to make this meal a real winner.  But for those of you whose cooking skills are as lackluster as mine, this basic preparation will suffice, and most importantly, it will taste delicious!     

Step 1: Defrost and season fish 

Tip: During your trip to the grocery store, grab a bag of your favorite frozen fish fillets to keep in the freezer. Having these ahead of time makes preparing a healthy dinner very easy.  I also recommend spending some time in the spice aisle at the grocery store and seeing what kind of salt-free seasonings you can add to your spice rack. 

Step 2: Heat olive oil in a fry pan

I'm sure there is a certain temperature that the oil should be heated to.  In my kitchen, that temperature is 'It looks hot enough'.  

Step 3: Put fish in pan and start cooking 

I am not going to give you specifics on how to cook, how much heat, when to flip, etc.  If you’ve never done it before, you’ll figure it out . . . that's what I did 👍

Step 4: Slice Sweet Potatoes about the thickness of a crab cake, put in pan and fry with the fish 

Remember, these are already pre-cooked, so they wont take long to brown and heat up.  The longer they fry,  the more crispy the outside will be. 

Step 5: Add the pre-cooked asparagus to the pan and heat up 

Yes, it’s all in one pan . . . I call these ‘dirty veggies’ because they get some of the olive oil and seasoning from the fish . . . yummy!

Step 6: Once everything is cooked to your liking, put it on a plate and dig in!  If you want a little extra fat and flavor, add a few slices of fresh avocado to the fish.