Cod Fish With Broccoli

I cooked this dish last night for my husband's baon. You see, he is advised not to eat from their company canteen or buy take outs as he needs to eat food that has less salt, oil and low in cholesterol. This meal I cooked is just perfect for him. Cod fish with brocolli. Why cod fish? For those who have no idea what a cod fish is and its nutritional value, here are some information for you courtesy of www.whfoods.com.

What is cod?
The white, mild flavored flesh of cod is available throughout the year and is a wonderful substitute for meat protein with its versatility making it easily adaptable to all methods of cooking. Cod belong to the same family (Gadidae) along with both haddock and pollock. It's not surprising that the words "cod" and "cold" are so similar since cod need the cold, deep, Arctic waters to grow, reproduce and survive.

Health Benefits
Besides being an excellent low-calorie source of protein (a four-ounce serving of cod provides 52.1% of the daily need for protein for only 119 calories), cod contains a variety of very important nutrients and has also been shown to be useful in a number of different health conditions.

Cardiovascular Benefits
Fish, particularly cold water fish like cod, have been shown to be very beneficial for people with atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease. Studies show that people who eat fish regularly have a much lower risk of heart disease and heart attack than people who don't consume fish. Cod, specifically, promotes cardiovascular health because it is a good source of blood-thinning omega-3 fatty acids, but is also a good source of vitamin B12 and a very good source of vitamin B6, both of which are needed to keep homocysteine levels low. This is important because homocysteine is a dangerous molecule that is directly damaging to blood vessel walls, and high homocysteine levels are associated with a greatly increased risk of heart attack and stroke(homocysteine is also associated with osteoporosis, and a recent study found that osteoporosis occurred more frequently among women whose vitamin B12 status was deficient or marginal compared with those who had normal B12 status.) Cod is also a very good source of niacin, another B vitamin that is often used to lower high cholesterol levels, something else that can lead to heart disease.

Eating fish, such as cod, as little as 1 to 3 times per month may protect against ischemic stroke (a stroke caused by lack of blood supply to the brain, for example, as a result of a blood clot), suggests a meta-analysis of 8 studies published in the July 2004 issue of Stroke.
Data on nine independent groups participating in eight different studies found that, compared to those who never consumed fish or ate fish less than once per month, risk of ischemic stroke dropped:
9% in those eating fish 1 to 3 times per month
13% in those eating fish once per week
18% in those eating fish 2 to 4 times per week
31% in those eating fish 5 or more times each week.

Even though this cod fish I bought which is imported from Chile is a bit expensive, I try to cook cod fish for my husband at most three times a week because of its nutritional value.

So you want to ask how to cook this recipe of mine? There's no secret in my cooking, just the normal procedure where I sauted a lot of garlic on a tablespoon of olive oil and added onions and tomatoes. I then add in the cod fillet, a teaspoon of salt and ground pepper. After that, I added chopped broccoli and let it simmer for a few minutes. So simple, right?