Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Pescatarian, Soy Free
Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

This dish just reminds us of Greece (nothing but fresh ingredients!). We really love eating seasonally and that’s why we think this recipe is perfect for those summer days and evenings in the garden.

Description

This is an ideal dish for those who are training or looking to lean up. Studies have shown that high protein, low fat diets (with reduced calories) are beneficial for promoting weight loss (Johnston et al. 2004). Sea bass is low in calories and high in protein, with just one fillet (101g) providing almost 24g of protein.

Combining this delicious fish fillet with a side plate of lentils, which is high in plant-based protein and low in dietary fat (Nutrition Data Self, 2018) can further support your body’s ability to promote fat loss.

Whilst we do not advocate that this is the sole answer for everybody who is looking to lose weight or become leaner, we simply highlight the research, that increasing your protein intake, reducing fat consumption (but not completely), and reducing overall food (i.e calorie) intake can be a stepping stone towards changing your body composition, when combined with physical activity.

And when it comes to important minerals, one fillet of sea bass can provide 68% of your daily recommended value of selenium (Nutrition Data Self, 2018). If you feel as though you suffer from poor immune function, then it could be that one attributing factor is that you are not incorporating enough selenium into your diet. Having a high selenium intake is great for its antiviral effects. Selenium helps reduce the risk of autoimmune thyroid disease and is also great at boosting fertility in both men and women (Rayman, 2012).

What’s more, this recipe is also rich in B vitamins! Sea bass provides an excellent source of B6, whilst lentils are rich in folate (also known as vitamin B9). Vitamin B6 is most known for its role in helping to maintain a healthy metabolism (National Institutes of Health, 2018), and folate helps the body to form healthy red blood cells, as well as reducing the risk of spina bifida in unborn babies for those who are pregnant (NHS, 2018).

Also, if you are deficient in iron, lentils are a great source, with studies showing that incorporating cooked lentils into the diet can help to prevent iron deficiency anaemia (Soltan, 2013) (Ganesan et al. 2017).

I am so in love with how fresh this dish tastes and all of its health-promoting properties, and I’m sure you’ll fall too!

Ingredients

Sea Bass

• 2 sea bass fillets
• 2 tbsp green olives (pitted)
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Sea Bass Dressing

• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Lentils

• 150g lentils
• 200g cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 of 1 large red onion, very finely sliced (into fine strips)
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 handful fresh parsley

Lentil Dressing

• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of Himalayan salt and pepper

Method

Lentils:

1. Pour the two cups of filtered water into a saucepan and bring to a rapid simmer.
2. In a sieve, rinse the lentils under the tap and then add them to the pan. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Note: allowing lentils to simmer as opposed to boil will ensure the lentils won't split and go mushy. Once cooked, drain them in the sieve and place them into a bowl.
3. Add the sliced onion and cherry tomato into the bowl with the lentils.
4. Mix the lentil dressing ingredients together and pour over the lentils, onion and cherry tomatoes and mix through. Serve onto a sharing plate and season with some chopped parsley.

Sea Bass:

1. Melt the coconut oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add in the sea bass fillets and gently fry for around 4 minutes on each side.
2. To make the sea bass dressing, mix the Dijon mustard and olive oil together in a bowl.
3. Serve each sea bass fillet onto plates and scatter 1 tbsp of olives and 1 tbsp of capers onto each plate.
4. Drizzle over the dressing and then both dishes are ready to serve.

 

References:

Ganesan, K. Xu, B. (2017). ‘Polyphenol-Rich Lentils and Their Health Promoting Effects’, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 18 (11), p. 2390, NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5713359/ (Accessed 6 May 2018).

Johnston, C.S, Tjonn, S.L and Swan, P.D. (2004). ‘High-protein, Low-fat Diets are Effective for Weight Loss and Favorably Alter Biomarkers in Healthy Adults,’ The Journal of Nutrition, 134 (3), pp. 586-591 NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14988451 (Accessed: 27 June 2018).

National Institutes of Health, (2018). Vitamin B6. Available at: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/ (Accessed 17 July 2018).

NHS (2017). B Vitamins and Folic Acid. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b/#folic-acid (Accessed 17 July 2018).

Nutrition Data Self. (2018). Lentils. Available at: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4338/2 (Accessed 17 July 2018).

Nutrition Data Self. (2018). Sea Bass. Available at: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4118/2 (Accessed 17 July 2018).

Rayman, MP. (2012). ‘Selenium and Human Health’, Lancet, 379 (9822), pp. 1256-1268, NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22381456 (Accessed 17 July 2018).

Soltan, S.S.A. (2013). ‘The Protective Effect of Soybean, Sesame, Lentils, Pumpkin Seeds and Molasses on Iron Deficiency Anemia in Rats’, World Applied Sciences Journal, 23 (6), pp. 795-807, Semantic Scholar [Online]. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9fe2/1b41c832ff76d4edca676d34459eac30af33.pdf (Accessed: 17 July 2018)