Fish With Baby Vegetables

INGREDIENTS:
8 baby (200g) beetroot
1 bunch (20) baby carrots
2 small (180g) zucchini, sliced
8 baby (320g) new potatoes, halved
4 baby (100g) onions
800g white fish fillets

TARRAGON LEMON SAUCE:
20g butter or margarine
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small (80g) onion, chopped
1 tablespoon plain flour
3/4 cup (180ml) low fat milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon lemon juice

METHOD:
Boil, steam or microwave unpeeled beetroot until just tender, drain. Cool 5 minutes, peel beetroot.
Boil, steam or microwave remaining vegetables separately until tender.
Cut 4x30cm squares of baking paper, place a piece of fish on each square. Bring paper around fish to form parcels, seal by folding edges over securely.
Place parcels on oven tray, bake in very slow oven about 20 minutes or until fish is tender.
Remove fish from parcels, peel away skin.
Serve fish with vegetables and tarragon lemon sauce.

TARRAGON LEMON SAUCE:
Heat butter in pan, add garlic and onion, cook, stirring, until onion is soft.
Add flour, cook, stirring, until bubbling.
Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk.
Stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens.
Stir in tarragon, rind and juice.


Serves 4.
Per serve: 11.1g fat.
Calories: 345.
Additional carbohydrate required if you have diabetes.

TRANS FATS

Trans fatty acids are polyunsaturated or mono-unsaturated fatty acids that can raise LDL-cholesterol (the bad form of cholesterol). And they raise it to the same degree as do saturated fats.
Although chemically they are unsaturated, trans fats have a different configuration of atoms and so behave biologically as if they were saturated.
Humans have been consuming trans fatty acids for centuries, as they occur in butter, milk, beef and lamb.
They are also formed during the manufacture of margarine, when liquid vegetable oils are hydrogenated (hardened) to turn them into a solid spread.
Although still under research, most authorities consider trans fats similar to saturated fats and recommend limiting their intake.

POLYUNSATURATED FATS

Polyunsaturated fats are generally oils at room temperature. They are found in nuts and grains and are extracted from seeds, such as sunflower, soya bean, cottonseed, maize (corn),sesame and grape seed.
Oily fish (herring, salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines) and seafood contain highly polyunsaturated fats, known as omega-3 fatty acids.
Polyunsaturated fats lessen the fatty build-up on artery walls and reduce cholesterol in the blood. But we need a little, not huge quantities.

MONO-UNSATURATED FATS (THE BIG 4 TYPES OF FAT IN FOOD)

MONO-UNSATURATED FATS:

Mono-unsaturated fats predominate in olives, olive oil, canola oil, peanuts, peanut oil, avocados, macadamias and hazelnuts.
All vegetable oils contain mono-unsaturated in varying amounts, as do lean means chicken, eggs and fish.
Mono-fats were once considered "neutral", meaning that they neither raised nor lowered cholesterol.
Today, however they feature in diets for a healthy hearts.

SATURATED FATS (THE BIG 4 TYPES OF FAT IN FOOD)

SATURATED FATS:

Saturated fats tend to be solid and are found mainly in animal foods, such as butter, cream, fat on meat, chicken skin, cheese,dripping and coconut oil.
Palm oil, a vegetable oil used in food manufacture and for deep-frying, is also mainly saturated.
Bought foods, such as biscuits, cakes, pies, pastries and snack foods, also tend to be high in saturates.
Saturated fats tend to raise blood cholesterol (although the extent to which they do this varies) and they have been incrimintated in many illnesses.
They are the fats to avoid.
Concentrate on the mono and polyunsaturated fats.