Fish is a highly nutritious food that is high in protein and healthy fats, and in the case of the Weight Watchers diet, where SmartPoints are assigned to each meal, there are numerous zero to three SmartPoints fish dishes to choose from.
Accordingly, some of the most popular fish recipes can be found in our list below, which will allow you to eat healthfully while still saving some of your points for treats such as desserts and even alcohol.
While many of these recipes can be found in restaurants, they are not difficult to prepare at home, so you should have no trouble preparing them at your leisure. It is recommended that you use fresh fish, so you may want to take your favorite fishing rod and reel combo out on the water to ensure you have enough supplies.
Ginger Glazed Halibut
We want to start with something that is relatively easy to prepare and won’t take a long time to put together on the stove. It is also extremely tasty, and, perhaps most importantly, it will only cost you three SmartPoints. Despite the fact that it is very simple, this skillet dinner is packed with flavor thanks to the addition of honey, garlic, ginger, and cilantro. If you enjoy spicy fish recipes, you may even want to include some finely chopped hot peppers.
Preparation begins with gathering the following ingredients: two tablespoons of honey, low sodium soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar, to name a few. Aside from that, you’ll need one tablespoon of ginger root (fresh and minced is best), the same amount of peanut oil, a single clove of garlic, and a few medium garlic cloves for garnish.
In addition to the remaining ingredients, 14 cup of cilantro (which should be fresh and divided), 3 1/4 teaspoons table salt, and 12 teaspoons black pepper are required. Finally, we have the main attraction of our recipe: a 1 pound of uncooked halibut fillet purchased from your favorite fishmonger, as frozen fish is not recommended for this dish.
For the marinade, you’ll need to combine the honey, vinegar, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 14 teaspoon pepper, and 12 teaspoon salt in a baking dish or mixing bowl and set it aside. After that, you can put it aside and begin working on the fish by washing and patting it dry. Rub the remaining 14 teaspoons of salt and pepper into both sides of the halibut to season it completely.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour after adding the fish to the marinade and covering the dish or the bowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. When you are ready to begin cooking, remove the fish from the marinade and place it in a heavy skillet with the oil over a medium heat, allowing the oil to heat through. The halibut can be added when the oil begins to shimmer and cooked until the fish loses its translucent appearance, about 10 minutes.
Cook it for 4 to 6 minutes per side, depending on how thick the fillets you have available are, after which you should flip it once more and continue cooking. Once the fish is done, remove it from the skillet and place it on a serving plate, covering it with a kitchen towel to keep it warm.
Now, using the same skillet over medium heat, add the marinade and cook until it thickens, about 3 or 5 minutes should be sufficient. Afterwards, you can pour the marinade over the fish and top it with the remaining cilantro, if desired. You can serve it immediately. You can also serve it with rice and steamed vegetables, such as broccoli or sugar snap peas, if you prefer.
Honey-Mustard Roasted Salmon
The sweetness of the honey and the heat of the mustard combine beautifully in this Dijon sauce, and while the original recipe calls for using uncooked wild pink salmon fillets, you can actually experiment with the recipe a little to make it your own.
You can experiment with the sauce with other types of fish that you have on hand. Even grilled or roasted pork and chicken will taste fantastic when paired with the Dijon dressing. The catch is that substituting other meat or fish will result in a different SmartPoints score than the original.
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray before starting. In order to maintain the 2 SmartPoints earned by this dish, we recommend that you use only cooking spray rather than oil or butter when preparing it.
Now that the oven is preheating, it’s time to start working on the sauce. To make the dressing, combine 14 cup Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 14 teaspoon dry mustard, and 14 teaspoon garlic powder in a small mixing bowl until well-combined.
Remove 2 tablespoons of the mustard sauce and brush it over the salmon fillets once the cooking is finished. 2 teaspoons of dill should be added to the remaining mustard sauce before setting it aside. Last but not least, roast the salmon until the fillets are fork-tender, which should take about 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Make a mustard sauce to pour over the salmon and serve it immediately after cooking.
If you use 1 12 tablespoons of sauce per serving, this recipe should yield approximately 4 servings.
Crispy Cod with Malt Vinegar
As a final recipe, we have a quick snack that has a total SmartPoint value of only one. For this recipe, you’ll need 1 12 pounds of uncooked Pacific cod (skinless and cut into 6 equal fillets), 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and seafood seasoning, 12 teaspoon black pepper, 3 teaspoons of white all-purpose flour, 1 large egg, 2 cups of corn flakes, and 2 teaspoons of malt vinegar, among other ingredients.
Preheat the oven to approximately 425 degrees Fahrenheit first; then, place a wire rack over a baking sheet and lightly coat it with cooking spray. Seafood seasoning and flour are mixed together in a shallow bowl and used to coat the dry fillets with salt and pepper. In a second shallow bowl, whisk together an egg and set it aside. Place the crushed cornflakes in a shallow bowl and set aside.
It is now necessary to dredge each fillet in flour (making sure to shake off any excess), then dip it in egg, and finally dredge it in cornflakes before baking. Following that, you must arrange the dredged fillets on a baking sheet that has been prepared and repeat the process with the remaining ingredients. Bake the fillets for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. It shouldn’t take more than 15-18 minutes to complete the task.
You can serve it with a drizzle of malt vinegar on top.