Almond and Parmesan Tilapia

My enthusiasm for SBD Phase 1 is pretty much gone. I caved and had some yummy whole wheat toast this morning. I swear after almost two weeks of carb deprivation, I almost felt drunk from the carb high. I think I am just going to progress to Phase 2 and call it good. Phase 2 is simply adding back carbs slowly, at first once a day then so on. I lost 6 pounds total on Phase 1, which is not too shabby. It got me past my plateau, which is what I really wanted. We still had this Phase 1 friendly dinner last night and it was really satisfying. I love tilapia. I will say I have gotten a lot of keeper recipes through this whole experience, which is a reward in itself.

Almond and Parmesan Tilapia
Adapted From: the Kalyn's Kitchen website

Ingredients:
3-4 Tilapia filets, thawed if frozen (This recipe will work best with pieces that are at least 1/2 inch thick.)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup almond meal (such as Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal) OR ground raw almonds (SEE NOTES)
2 T finely grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. lemon pepper
tsp. Old Bay seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
wedges of fresh lemon, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Place baking rack on half sheet pan and spray with non stick spray. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Mix almond meal (or ground almonds--see notes), cheese, garlic powder, lemon pepper,Old Bay seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste, in a flat dish.

Dip each fish filet in butter, turning to coat both sides, then into almond mixture. Try to get as much of the almond mixture to stick to the fish as you can. (I pressed it down with a fork.) Place each coated fillet on prepared baking rack.

Bake 25 minutes or until fish is firm to the touch and coating is golden brown. The baking time will depend on the thickness of the fish, so watch it carefully. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon and enjoy!

NOTES: I could not find almond meal, so I put a handful of raw almonds in the food processor, and ground finely. This worked as a great substitution and gave a nice crunch to the fish.



The Result:
This was really yummy and everyone in my family loved it. My kids breezed through the fish and asked for seconds. I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier in the whole Phase 1 process to plan more fish items. Oh well...live and learn. This tilapia dish is a keeper that we really enjoyed.