Something Fishy

Admittedly, I probably have one of the worst diets possible. I know. I'm going to go directly to the grocery store tomorrow and get a bag of baby carrots . See, I'm trying. Anyway, one GOOD thing that Chris and I have been doing more of lately has been eating more fish. We have fish at least once a week, if not more. It helps that a Trader Joes moved in nearby and they have really decent frozen fish for low prices, so a) we can afford it and b) we can keep it in the freezer to have it convenient anytime. But all fish are not created equal. The world of seafood can be a bit overwhelming because some fish are harvested in a manner that damages the environment, are over fished or are dangerous due to lead levels. To make it more confusing, some types of fish can be good or bad depending on where they are from. For example, US farmed Tilapia are great, but Tilapia from China or Tiwain should be avoided because of the harmful farming practicies. Its too complicated to remember, so we have a handy little pocket booklet that we can pull out while standing in front of the fish counter. You can download and print out your own here. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is well known for being the authority on this type of thing. Its also important to remember that in almost all cases, local is better. So, keeping in mind the recommendations of the Seafood Watch Guide, we also try to purchase fish (and other foods) that have travelled a short distance to get to us.