Co-authored by Holly Abeels, Beth Shephard, and Andrea Lazzari

Who here likes eating seafood? Well, you’re not alone. Americans’ weekly consumption of seafood has stayed around 5 ounces per week for the past 30 years. However, this is less than the recommended 8 ounces per week. Researchers estimate that only 10% to 20% of U.S. consumers meet the federal Dietary Guideline.

The benefits of kids eating seafood are big! Fish and shellfish provide nutrients, proteins, vitamins, and omega-3s that are essential for healthy bodies and immune systems.

Those omega-3s help to make kids’ brains bigger! Eating fish promotes better performance in school as well as better quality sleep, which gives your brain plenty of time to rest and recharge before the next day of school begins. The nutrients, vitamins, and omega-3s in seafood support healthy eye development and strong bones. Research also shows that those omega-3s improve children’s immune systems, lowering the risk of some allergic diseases and upper respiratory infections.

Now that we know how beneficial seafood is to our bodies, try making the recipe below with your family!

Recipe to Try!

Here’s an easy recipe to try that can work with any flaky, white fish. Options include snook, whiting, mahi, cod, haddock, or tilapia to name a few.

Parmesan Fish

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

3 to 5 chopped green onions, light-green and white parts

½ to ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Dash of hot sauce

2 fish filets, skin removed

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix mayonnaise, green onions, cheese, and hot sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Place fish in an ovenproof dish and pour lemon juice over it. Bake 10 minutes, or until almost done, depending on thickness of filets. Remove dish from oven and spread topping evenly over filets. Turn oven to broil and place fish under broiler 2 to 3 minutes, until topping is bubbly and golden. Serve hot.

Kids Can Cook, Too!

Inviting your kids into the kitchen teaches them valuable life skills and also makes them more likely to try new foods! Here are some ways they can help prepare this parmesan fish recipe.

• Bring your kids shopping with you. Since this recipe works with any flaky, white fish provide them with options at the store and let them choose which fish to use. You could even try a new fish each week until they find their favorite!
• Older children can wash and chop the green onions and grate the Parmesan cheese.
• Kids of any age will enjoy measuring and mixing the topping ingredients together. This is also a great opportunity to review adding, fractions, and other basic math skills with older children.
• With adult supervision, kids can add the topping to the partially cooked fish before an adult places it back under the broiler.
• Let your kids decide which side dishes to prepare and serve with their parmesan fish and encourage them to incorporate at least one fruit or vegetable!

References

Recipe from Good Catch: Recipes and Stories Celebrating the Best of Florida’s Waters by Pam Brandon, Katie Farmand, and Heather McPherson https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813060156

Seafood Nutrition Partnership: https://www.seafoodnutrition.org/seafood-101/littleseafoodies/benefis-of-seafood-for-kids

https://sustainablefisheries-uw.org/seafood-consumption-statistics/

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/behind-scenes-most-consumed-seafood

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