When you're looking for a fish dish with a little extra nutrition -- including carbohydrates and fiber -- opt for pistachio crusted salmon. This recipe pairs salmon, which is a good source of protein and essential fatty acids, with another good source for these nutrients: crushed pistachios. You may bake, broil or sauté this dish; no matter how you choose to cook it, it offers a variety of nutritional value.
Calories
A serving of 3 oz. of salmon -- roughly the size of a standard deck of cards -- crusted with 1 oz. of pistachios contains 357 calories. If you eat a 2,000-calorie diet, this accounts for 17.8 percent of the quantity of calories you should consume in a 24-hour period.
Protein
Pistachio crusted salmon is good source of high-quality protein; both the salmon and the pistachios contain this macronutrient, important for your immune system as well as energy production. One serving of this dish provides 27.8 g of protein, contributing quite a bit of the 46 to 56 g of protein your meal plan requires daily.
Carbohydrates and Fiber
Salmon contains no carbohydrates or fiber, but the pistachios in this dish do. One serving of pistachio crusted salmon contains 8.3 g of carbohydrates and 2.8 g of fiber. This amount of carbohydrates do not come close to meeting your daily nutritional requirement of 225 to 325 g of carbs; you also need 25 to 45 g of fiber per day.
Fat and Fatty Acids
Salmon is considered a fatty fish -- one serving of this dish has 24 g of fat. This may seem like too much given that in a 2,000-calorie diet, you should aim for a fat intake of 44 to 78 g per day, or 20 to 35 percent of your caloric intake. However, little of this fat -- 4.1 g -- is saturated. You also take in healthy essential fatty acids. Each serving of this fish dish contains 1,895.4 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and 3,934 mg of omega-6 fatty acids.
Selenium
One serving of pistachio crusted salmon has 61 percent of the daily recommended intake of selenium. Your body requires only small amounts of selenium each day, but it plays an important role. The selenium in this salmon dish protects your tissues from damage caused by free radicals. Research published in the April 2011 issue of "Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry" notes that its antioxidant protections may protect you from cancer, gastrointestinal problems and cardiovascular disease.
Other Vitamins and Minerals
Pistachio crusted salmon serves up 46 percent of the phosphorus, 45 percent of the niacin, 41 percent of the vitamin B-12 and 38 percent of the vitamin B-6 you require each day. This dish is an excellent source of magnesium and also serves up vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese.
References
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Fish, Salmon, Chinook, Cooked, Dry Heat
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Nuts, Pistachio Nuts, Dry Roasted, Without Salt Added
- McKinley Health Center; Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat; March 2008
- MayoClinic.com; Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork With These Nutrition Guidelines; February 2011
- The Diet Channel; Daily Fiber Intake: How Much is Ideal?; Michele Turcotte, MS, RD/LDN
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Selenium; May 2009
Member Comments