Fit MD

I made this for dinner for my friend Clare and I. I went into Whole Foods with no clue what to make and was trying to think of my favorite dishes from restaurants. At my favorite restaurant in Santa Barbara, I always get the fried chicken salad with buttermilk dressing and cornbread. At one of my favorite restaurants in Austin, I always get the fried catfish beignets. Clearly, they aren’t the healthiest of meals, but I don’t go out to eat often! So no biggie. Anyway, with these dishes in mind, I came up with…

Southern Salad with Crusted Catfish and Maple Pecan dressing.

This may sound like heavy dinner but it is actually pretty healthy. You can adjust the amount of dressing if you’re watching calories, but its so flavorful, you don’t need a mass amount anyway! 🙂

Recipe: Serves 2 Southern belles

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pecans

1/4 cup pepitas

2   4-ounce filets of catfish

whole wheat flour

1 egg

scoop of cornmeal

chili pepper

cajun seasoning

salt and pepper

canola oil

maple syrup

honey

light sour cream

milk

Preheat the oven to 400.

Roast chopped pecans and pepitas at 400 until browned. The pecans will be done earlier, so be sure to scoop them out first.

Mash a handful of roasted pecans until they are a fine powder. On a plate, combine the powdered pecans with a scoop of cornmeal, salt, and a few shakes of cajun seasoning and chili pepper.

Dredge the catfish filets in whole wheat flour. Dip into 1 beaten egg. Then, dip them into the cornmeal mixture until thoroughly coated.

Spray a pan with canola oil. Pan fry the filets for a couple minutes on each side at medium heat until they are lightly browned.

For the dressing:

In a bowl add a handful of roasted chopped pecans and a big squeeze of maple syrup. Mash the pecans into the syrup. Add a small squeeze of honey, two big spoonfuls of light sour cream, and 2 tbsp of milk. Mix and mash well.

To serve:

Toss your mixed greens in the dressing and top with the catfish. Garnish with sliced peaches, roasted pecans, and roasted pepitas.

Benefits:

Pecans * contains vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, protein and fiber! The fat in pecans is 90% monounsaturated and 70% monounsaturated (the good kind). Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant. Studies have shown that pecans can lower cholesterol and thus are heart healthy! They also have been linked to reduced risk of breast cancer and weight loss.

Catfish * a lean source of protein that contains omega 3’s.

Peaches * a delicious source of vitamin A and C, niacin, and potassium.

Pepitas * contain fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, vitamin K, copper, iron, tryptophan, and healthy fats!