Here, fishy fishy!

Yes, I'm talking about fish today. Here's why: My awesome SIL, J (that's sister-in-law, if you were wondering) has put together a get-fit challenge, which my husband volunteered us both for. J is totally inspiring: she's a marathoner, with somewhere around 16 marathons (correct me if I'm wrong, J- I know you've run a LOT lately) under her belt, along with countless half marathons, 5k and 10k's. This lady's totally awesome. She's inspiring people around her to get healthy through diet and exercise.

Here are the basic rules for our challenge- you get daily points for:

• Eating 5 fruits and vegetables per day
• Drinking at least 48oz of water per day
• Exercising at least 30 minutes per day
• NO sugary treats (You get one freebie per week)
• Points are given on a weekly basis for each pound lost

Now, I don't have a ton of weight to lose, but I definitely do have a tendency to eat too many sweets (I can't help it- I LOVE to bake!) and exercise too little. I don't know about you all, but I definitely go in cycles when it comes to being health-conscious with regard to what I'm putting in my body. Having said that, I'm going to try to eat, and therefore cook, a bit healthier in the coming months. Goodbye cake (good thing I gave most of it away, right?), red meat, and greasy goodness; hello grill, all-fruit smoothies, veggies, and yes, FISH.

Fatty fish is a great way to get essential proteins along with the Omega-3 fatty acids that do our bodies so much good. The problem, in most cases, is making it appetizing without dousing it in butter or breading and deep-frying it (both favorite presentations of mine...). For example, my husband doesn't like taste of fish. Why? Because it's fishy, of course. There's also a cost issue associated with fish. I'm working in a budget, and fish is simply more expensive than other meats.

SOOOOO, here's a solution that I've found: Tilapia. Tilapia is a VERY mild fish. Because it doesn't have a lot of flavor, it takes on the taste of the ingredients you cook it with. Hear that? That's opportunity knocking. In this particular circumstance, bland = potential.

Also a plus: it's an inexpensive, farm-raised fish. You can buy it in most supermarkets in an already-

filleted format. This is good for us wimps who don't like handling fish that actually looks, well, like fish. My father will be ashamed when he reads this, but it's true. I don't know how to fillet a fish. I could probably learn, but whole fish (along with all crustaceans, but that's another post ENTIRELY) really do freak me out. This is also why you'll never see me cook and serve fish in its whole format. I can't handle a fish on a plate that looks like it could still swim. Or has eyes. Eew.

So now that I've blathered on and on about it, here's a great recipe (courtesy of food network- I'll bet you can't guess which host) for grilled Tilapia. This is fast and EASY to make, and tastes really good.

Here's what you need:

3 cloves garlic

1 cup packed cilantro leaves

2 limes, zested

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper

1/4 cup Tequila

1 lb. tilapia fillets

1 tablespoon olive oil

Here's what you do:

Put the garlic, cilantro, lime zest, cumin, salt, and pepper in your food processor bowl and pulse until combined, approximately 20 seconds. With the processor running, add the tequila. Put the tilapia fillets into a big ziplock bag, contents of the food processor and move around to coat each fillet. Set aside at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.

Next up, heat an electric nonstick griddle or a regular old frying pan until water dances when applied to the surface. Lightly coat the griddle with the olive oil. Cook the fillets until just cooked through and opaque, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. You can cut them into strips and serve as the base for fish tacos (Hubby’s favorite), but I just like to serve it paired with a fresh spinach salad (This is my favorite, from allrecipes.com. I like to add feta to this one).

If it looks like this, I think you did something right:

Happy, Healthy eating, everyone!