We all know fish is good for us, but it's frozen fish just as healthy is eating crumbed or battered fish still a healthy addition to our diet. Today, on the Nutrition Couch we review three popular types of frozen fish and see what impact they make on our overall duct.
Hi only and would and I'm Sissy Burrow and a still of Austrayas leading dietitians who specialize in evidence based nutrition, we bring you the Nutrition Couch podcast review, a weekly chat on new products and old favorites you can find at the supermarkets before we jump in today's episode, Susy, do you and the family eat frozen fish? And if so, what is your favorite type.
That's so funny because when I was growing up, we would always have frozen fish once a week. And then I'm an ambassador for Tassel and have been for four or five years now, so I would be a routine salmon eater. But as I've got busier with my kids at school and work picking up, my kids really like frozen fish, and I have to be honest, I quite like it too. The one that I like, I don't even know if I can say this I myself, I don't know if we were reviewing this one actually because
you chose them today. I like one that's got a herban palmersan herban garlic crumb, I think, and I would have it once a week as just a really quick and easy dinner. But you know what actually is interesting. I would have thought for kids, it's a really good way to encourage small children to eat more fish. We know that our kids in general don't eat enough fish. We know our adults in Australia don't need enough fish in general. And I understand why kids may not be
the biggest fans. You know it can be. You know, it's got a distinct smell. Indeed, you know a lot of families will talk about it's challenging to get kids to eat fish. But I was giving one of my little boys the crumbfish and he started to take all the crumbs off and said, can I just buy in Barramunday. I was like, oh, there you go. See it's not always what you think with the kids that they enjoy. So I've actually I don't need to buy the crumbfish. It's more for me. I like it. It takes me
back to my childhood. But my little boy wants of course the expensive barrel moundy feeling, so there you go. You can't always pick it with kids, but no, I'm
a big fan of it. I think it can be really nutritious and you know what at the momently, and it's really cost effective because groceries have gone up exponentially in costs for frustrate and families, so keeping a packet of fish and I always buy them myself when they're on half priced coals, so they ten dollar packets go down to five and I always stock up because that's a really cost effective, quick and easy meal and a million times better than buying fried fish and chips which
will be cooked in the worst type of oil at the local fish and chip shop. So it's a much better meal to keep some of those filets in the freezer. And there's some great, you know, really healthy chips and sweet potato chips you can get now, which means you can have dinner ready for the family in you know, twenty minutes, and it's a lot healthier than a takeaway. So yes, in answer to your question in a long, high foluted way, I'm a big fan of frozen fish for families in particular.
And I agree it's such a quick and easy meal. Like David and I regularly will have We probably have fish for salmon two three times a week, and we often just throw some chippies in the air, right. We get one of the bag silad mixes from Coals Woolies and we just throw some fish the oven. It's such an easy thing to do. I can go get back from my exercise, go have a quick shower while something's in the air fright in the oven, come back, and you've got like a really healthy dinner, and as you said,
quite cost effective if we're getting things on sale. So I've actually chosen three products this week, Susie, because I thought I found two that I really quite like and one that I thought was maybe perhaps more of like a health halo that I thought, oh, I think people would grab this front of package Laby and pick it up and go, oh, you know, this looks really good. I'm gonna grab this one. And then the one the other one that I chose, which is actually probably a
better option. People might sort of bypass that one because I thought, oh, that one's not as good. So hopefully we can give our listeners a little bit of again food for thought, this week. But the first one I picked up Susie. I went through Coles today. So the birds eye steam, fresh soy and ginger fish. So you've got two filets in there. Retails it holes for nine dollars,
so it's four dollars fifty a filet. Now, the one thing I don't love about this is it's made in Vietnam, so I think finding fish that sort of Australian is quite difficult, particularly things like you know, salmon and prawns. These days, actually getting Aussie seafood is quite a challenge. So this one's from Vietnam. But health wise, if you sort of take away from where it's found, is actually not a bad option. So one filet of fish is
six hundred and thirty five kilodules. Thirty one and a half grams of proteins are really high proteins usy, that's awesome to see. Two point seven grams are fat, only one point five that's saturated, So that's a really great fat profile, less than a gram of carbohydrates, less than a gram of sugar, and two hundred milligrams of sodium. And when we look through the allergen list, of course
fish is going to be an allergen. It also contains soybean and contains wheat as well, so unfortunately for our celiacs, it's the nogo or anyone who is sensity or allergic to soy beans as well. So in the ingredient list, we've got sixty eight percent bass of philets, We've got thirty two percent of the sauce which is soy and ginger, and we've also got some acidity regulators two percent ginger,
some leak coconut oil, sugar, and thickener. And I must say the sugar is the lasting or second last ingredient on the list of a very very small amount of that. So overall, I think looking at the ingredient profile and the MACA nutrient dis vision of this product, I'm a big fans of I think it's a really really healthy addition. And as you said, you know, four dollars fifty per field, if we can get them on sale even cheaper.
I agree with you. If when you do a review of frozen fish, they range from about fifty percent up to about sixty it's pretty standard what you'll get. This is the highest you'll get because it doesn't have that crumb on it at sixty eight percent. The sauce. You know, it looks like there's a lot of additives to it, but really overall, in the big scheme you're getting mostly fish. It's a really really good product. I agree with you one hundred percent that the fact it's Vietnam is not ideal.
You know, we want to try and support Australian industry as much as we can possibly. It's a availability volume issue and hence they're importing that as opposed to getting from Australia. But you're right nutritionally, you can't fault that, you know, for anyone wanting to have a high protein, relatively low carb diet for a quick and easy meal at night. The sodium on it leanne is really good.
You know, often with Asian sources. Two hundred milligrams is really quite low for a meal that's got source through it. I myself haven't tasted this, but in general I would say they taste pretty good. You could team this with some frozen veggies and literally have dinner in a few minutes. It would be very very quick to cook without the crumb on it. You could do that on some baking
paper in the pan. Be very clean as well. So yeah, I think for people on a high protein diet who want a quick and easy meal at a very affordable price point, these are a really good choice. And I wouldn't be overly alarmed at the nutritional list nor the fact that it's from Vietnam, really, unless you're very committed
to that, Like I wouldn't be concerned. I think it's a pretty strong product nutritionally, And I think we should also say that we're not saying that you're not better to buy a fish filet and stick it in the air fry and do it yourself. We're certainly not saying that. We're saying that for busy time, poor people who want an option in the freezer, these are just an option, and it's always a personal choice about how you eat.
But I'm with you one hundred percent. I would buy this product if I didn't love my crumbfish so much, I would buy it, and I would certainly be very happy for my clients to be enjoying this. I think it's a really strong product nutritionally.
Absolutely, just a word of warning those steam fresh backs. So I actually read an article in the news I think last week or the week before Susie. A lady had some serious burns because she went to get out the bag out of the oven or out of the microwave and it actually exploded on her. So just be very careful with these steam fresh bags where you pop them into the microwave or the oven and it sort
of heats up by steaming it. And I'm sure that's a very very very rare thing, but just reading that a couple of weeks ago, I just thought, oh, we should probably just let our listeners know to be very careful with those bags, particularly if you do, like really follow the time or the cooking instructions on the label very carefully, because you just don't want that happening, because that could be absolutely awful, and those sources heat up
to a very high temperature. She was actually left with I think second or third degree burns up her arm.
Yeah, And if I'm honest with you, if I cook those vegetables in those packets, I don't like them in the microwave either for the same reason, and I actually tend to pop them in not in the microwave. I put them in the pan now. And I'd do the
same with this fish. I wouldn't cook that in the microwave, I think you get a better taste and flavor away from the plastic, and given we've previously talked on the podcast about plastic leeching from rice cups, I think you're actually better to take it out and pop it on baking paper in the fry pan and cook it that way. I think the flavor is better, you control the temperature better, and then you eliminate that drama that comes with the
hot sauce. Because myself, there's some vegetables I use that I've got a sauce on them, and I've just taken to popping them into a quick saucepan with a little bit of olive oil and cooking them quickly. I find that the temperature is better regulated and I avoid that drama with that slippery sauce that tends to slip and mess everywhere. So I think that would take care of that risk as well, which you're absolutely right. They do get really hot,
and that that doesn't surprise me. That's happened to someone great.
Top four listeners at Home. All right, Susie, the next one we have chosen again, it's a bird's eye won, But this one's an Australian Hoki philet. So this is the birds eye, super crumb, seeds and grain. So I thought, all that's great. You know, the more sort of seeds in grains we can get into something like a crumbfish, the better, right. So if we look at this one, it's ten dollars of coals and you're getting six filets, so it's a lot more affordable. It's only a dollar
sixty six per filet. But perfilet, Suzie, the energy content is actually quite large. We're getting one three hundred and fifty kilodules per filet, so about three hundred and twenty calories. Protein is quite good, seventeen point nine grams per serve. Fat is sixteen gram saturated fat two grams, so pretty good saturated fat. Wise, carbohydrates twenty five grams of carbohydrates, so because of that crumb a lot more carbohydrate. Dietary
fiber is one point six grams. I think, for you know, the whole advertisement and the super crumbs and the grains and the seeds, I would have liked that fiber to be a bit higher. I think one point six grams is quite low. And the sodium is three hundred and twenty milligram, so not I mean it's higher than the other product that had, you know, the Asian soy sauce through it. So the sodium content of this actually surprised me a little bit. I'm not loving the energy density
of it. Three hundred and twenty calories for a filet is is quite large considering you're going to put other things with that as well. It's not an overly large filt either. It's one hundred and forty grams compared to the other brand which is one hundred and ninety grams, so we're getting, Yes, it is a cheaper product, but we're getting a smaller filet, less protein, more than double
the calories, and more sodium as well well. So my pick would definitely be from the Steam one that we just reviewed beforehand.
Well, the Steam ones are big, like they're one hundred and ninety grams. These these are tiny. So what they're doing is that serve is too little filet. So they're very small. So that's why so the only the individual file it's only seventy and then they're serving one forty is the serve and that's how they're getting around it. So it's too.
Little filet two small ones, right.
I think the key thing for me is it's about fifty one percent fish, so almost half is the crumb. So really you want to try and get a little bit more. Ideally, if the ratio, if we're honest, is the crumb healthier than a plain crumb, yes it is, but you're getting the calories from that. It's got a
reasonable Amiga three dose in these. Interestingly, for one hundred and forty grands of fish, you're getting sort of a third upwards of a third of you recommended in take of Amiga three's per day, which is quite nice because otherwise we're only really getting it from salmon, which doesn't always fit. So for me, there's sort of and cons with it. I think they taste good. I've had them.
They taste really nice. But you know, absolutely right, you know, if you're going for a higher protein filler, you're going to the steam fresh ones. Just leave it for dead. You're getting, Yeah, you're getting a lot of carbs and a lot of It's not a low cow option. If someone was trying to keep their calories at dinner control. There's certainly better options out there, and there are only little Those filets you know, even two isn't a big meal, Like I would argue that as a male you'd need
four at least. And then like you described, you're getting upwards of, you know, six hundred calories per meal, so it's not insignificant adding all those little bit extras in. And no, it probably wouldn't be my go to or my recommended product. I think there's better fish out there that's got a higher proportion than fifty percent, and that's probably what I would look at more than the fact this has got seeds and grains in it. And you know, my favorite krumleyan is to get some good quality soil
in seed bread. And this siliax too because they can use their gluten free loaves. Just blitz it up and use that as your own crumb and do it that way and then you can control them out in equality too. I wouldn't sort of pay for this to get my seeds and grains from it. I'd rather sort of look at it from what you're getting from the fish, if that makes sense. But I do know they are very yummy.
So they taste quote and I will say for ten dollars the box, as you said, it is two per fila. I didn't actually realize that, so that would actually be about three dollars per serving, not the dollars sixty six that I said. And when you look through the ingredient list, it is quite you know, we hate this word, but quote unquote clean right. You've got fifty one percent austray in hokee you fill it. You've got forty nine percent of the crumb quoting which contains Panco bread crumbs. Also,
you've got a couple of seeds. In grains, you've got one percent pumpkins seas and lying seeds. You've got point five percent of red kinoa seeds and puffed millet in there as well in black cheer seeds, so a small amount of seeds which again contributes to the positive fat profile and the Amiga three profile in there. So the ingredient list actually looks quite fine. This is this is
a fine product. There's nothing wrong with it. But as you do said, I think there are better options out there when it comes to afros and fish section.
I think if this product meant your kids or your husband was eating some fish, I'd be happy with it, but it wouldn't.
Be my go to.
I don't routinely buy this product either, But you're right, you know they're spinning on the crumb as a health halo a little bit. I don't disagree.
And then the last one I've got for us, Susie today is the Sea Lord brand, So I actually found this at Coals as well, This Sea Lord Hokey pilets whole meals. So again this is Australian fish, which is wonderful. There's only two filets in this one, so it's a much larger portion as well. So seven dollars thirty at Coals comes out at three dollars sixty five per filet. So when you're thinking about that, we'll go through the
nutritions in a second. But you know, one of those filets, balanced with you know, maybe a little bit of carbohydrate, maybe some chippies and some salad on the side, could actually make a really nourishing meal. So three dollars sixty per filet far more affordable than if you were going to get some barrel munday, whether it was grilled or battered or crumbed at your fish and chip shop. This is a much better option cost wise. So we've got
two servings per pack. The ingredients are sixty five percent hoky filet. We've got thirty five percent crumbs. It's a lot high percentage of the fish in there and a lot lower percentage of the crumbs. We've got nine percent wheat flour, some vegetable water thickeners and wheat brand. And then we've also got some rice flour, maize starch, tapiocre starch, the salt, mustard powder, some yeast, garlic powder, and some onion powder and black pepper in there for the spices,
and I guess flavor as well. So ingredient list wise like it doesn't look too bad. And then when we look at the nutritionals per serving is one thousand and ninety five kilodules, so we've got a roughly what is that, maybe fifty one sixty calories per piece, twenty one point five grams of proteins or a really good amount of protein per piece, eleven point four grams of fat with one gram being saturated. We've got eighteen grams of carbohydrates or a lot lower cars than the previous brand that
we just talked about. Three percent of sugars and two hundred and forty milligrams of sodium, so again a pretty decent amount of sodium for a package product.
This is so indicative of where it's confusing, because they've put one hundred gram column first before serving and se reading it wrong as well. So this is a classic example when you're looking at food labels, Normally they will list per serve first and then per hundred grams, but they've flipped it here.
I made the same mistake.
Why would they do that? It's so now under consumers are confused because I didn't even notice that because I was thinking, why is that protein so low when it's sixty five percent fish? Because this is the highest from memory amount of fish filet in a crumb, filet sixty five from this brand, this sea lort birds eye usually around fifty maybe up to sixty, whereas this one is really quite high and the whole meal crumb at thirty
five percent. But that makes sense because I was thinking fourteen grams of protein is low, but actually it's twenty one when you look at the right column, and the
amega three is quite low in it. What I don't mind about this one land is the carbs are pretty good, so of course because they've got more fish and less crumb as opposed to fish that has got more crumb less fish, you end up with a meal that's already got the carbohydrate in it, So you wouldn't want to then be adding heaps of potato or things with it, because you're getting that from the crumb, particularly if your goals fat loss, Whereas for this one, you're sort of
getting a much more controlled amount of carbohydrate as a balanced meal. So for me, for weight control, for people keeping an eye on their carbs, this is a much smarter choice. I'm interested they haven't listed the dietary fiber because you would argue that if they're using a whole meal crumb, they're trying to improve the nutritional profile of that product, and they're using like a wheat brand, and it does taste good a wholemeal crumb anyway. I think
it tastes better than a plain pancoke crumb anyway. But they haven't listed the fiber, which is interesting why they wouldn't do that, whether it's insignificant or they haven't thought too you know, it's got a few additives. Is any process kind of fish wheel? Are you better to crumb your own and do it in the air fry? Yes, But if you want something quick and easy in the freezer. Would I buy this product one hundred percent? I haven't eaten itt myself.
I have it's good.
Yeah, I think it's a really good choice. You know, it's astray and fish. It's quite well balanced, it's got a really it's got the highest proportion of fish you'll find in process fish in the supermarket when you get them on a good sale at coals. They're really cost effective, so yeah, and I actually use them quite often for lunch with my clients. So I like clients to have
a hot lunch. I find it keeps them fuller. So if they're working at home and they can stick a couple of fish filets with a salad, I find it a really quick and easy lunch and really a lot cheaper than if you're buying it down at the cafe. So you know, I'm a big fan of them, and I would absolutely buy and support that brand too. I think it's a good one.
And I like that it's Austrainie made as well. But I will just correct myself. Susie I said that there was one thousand and ninety five kilo jewels, which is around one hundred and sixty calories it's not. It's around two hundred and sixty calories per serve masses never been much job point, which I still think is quite good.
No, But also they're not listing it as well that you know, this is the companies they should be listing all this information. This is why it's so confusing for consumers. So it's not always our fault, you know, like if I'm looking at this and getting confused, what hope of the average person have? You know, we look at this all day and it took me ages to notice it
was perserved in the second column. So you know, you're not alone, which is why we host these segments to try and make nutrition easier, because it really is confusing out there if you don't have a nutrition to create to weighe through these numbers. So you're forgiven for not doing your maths rightlyier.
Absolutely, But when I was sort of trailing through coals in wil West, this was definitely one of my top picks in terms of taste, Like it's delicious, let's be honest, Like crumbfish definitely tastes better than steamfish. And this can still very well easily fit within a calorie controlled diet. For someone looking for fat loss or for somebody looking to maintain their weight, and if be looking to gain weight, wonderful.
Put some chippies with it, throw some avocado on there, add a little bit of salad and bedge and you've got a really nourishing, more higher energy meal as well. So I think it can fit really for the whole family, whether we don't, regardless of what your goals are. And it does definitely taste good, which is definitely a box that we want for family friendly food.
One hundred percent big fan, So thumbs up from us. Change your label and get it right. That's my feed, see Lord definitely. So that brings us to the end of the nutrition product review for another week. And if you guys haven't done so already, we would love if you could subscribe to have us delivered into your inbox every Sunday and Wednesday for our product reviews. We've got our Instagram and Facebook social sites running. We're at the
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