Nuts walnuts hazel

Creative Ways Of Adding Fish And Walnuts To Your Diet

Fish and walnuts are both touted as beneficial to your brain and heart. Certain vitamins and antioxidants in these foods can do things for your body that other foods can’t. Yet, what do you do if you cannot stand fish or walnuts and cannot get them past your lips? Here is more on their benefits, as well as ways in which you can consume them and not be bothered by their taste.

The Benefits Of Walnuts And FishNuts walnuts hazel

Both walnuts and fish contain Omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential to reducing “bad” cholesterol levels. Reducing bad cholesterol levels, in turn, reduces heart and cardiovascular disease. The fatty acid in walnuts also has a unique property that has been shown to reduce sudden heart attacks in people with arrhythmias of the heart. You only need to eat an ounce and a half of walnuts a day or three ounces of fish three times a week to get the benefits the doctors want you to get.

Eating Fish When You Cannot Stand It

The fattier the fish, the more fatty acids you can get from the fish you eat. Unfortunately, for most people, fatty fish tends to have the “fishiest” taste and is hard to get past the nose. While you could certainly put a clothespin on your nose to eat fish, you can skip that for another, easier approach.

First, eat freshwater fish. Freshwater fish often has a less fishy smell and less fishy taste. It also means that it may have less fatty acids, but you are still reaping the benefits of eating fish. Some of the less fishy fish include:

  • Orange roughy
  • Tilapia
  • Brook trout
  • Swordfish
  • Mahi-Mahi
  • Tuna steak (which does not have that fishy taste because it is not canned!)
  • Rock lobster (which is a coastal lobster that comes inland, and when caught at the right time, does not taste like an ocean fish)

Also, consider pan-frying it and smothering it with lots of fresh herbs too. There are lots of recipes available for cooking fish, and you are certain to find some that will help you enjoy eating fish more.

Eating Walnuts When They Are Not Your Favorite Nut

Walnuts have a unique flavor. They are often bland at first, with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Even when you salt them, they do not taste like much. However, you can get them past your tongue and into your stomach in the following ways:

  • Chopped and tossed into fudge or brownies
  • Candied (either store-bought or you can try candying your own plain walnuts at home)
  • Caramel-coated and chocolate-dipped to make candy
  • In pudding or yogurt
  • Cooked and stirred into homemade granola
  • Minced into a paste for baklava
  • Walnut butter on toast

It needs to be noted that adding sugar to the walnuts needs to be done in moderation in order to maintain a healthy heart. When you are not eating walnuts straight from the can or bag, you may need to eat more of them in the above ways. Just be careful about calorie and sugar consumption and do your best to estimate how much walnuts you think you have consumed in each of the above foods.Fish market

Ease Into It

If you have not consumed a lot of nuts or fish for most of your life, ease into it. Trying to cram these nutritious foods into your diet all of a sudden may turn you off of them, or you may experience a reaction to something you did not know you were allergic to. Decide which food you are going to try first, fish or walnuts, and find out which ways you can consume these foods without any unpleasant associations or reactions. You can always try one or the other later.