TUNA WITH QUINOA AND YELLOW PEPPER 吞拿魚黃椒藜麥飯

TUNA WITH QUINOA AND YELLOW PEPPER

Wheat, gluten, corn, soya, dairy, egg & nut free
The quinoa has a lovely nutty texture that contrasts well with the denser tuna and the crispy raw pepper.

Ingredients -

6 tbsp olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
2 heaped tsp ground cumin
250g quinoa – we used a red quinoa
1.2 litres wheat and gluten-free vegetable stock
2 large tuna steaks cut in matchsticks
juice 3 lemons
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow pepper, sliced thinly
Basil

Instructions -

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a wide pan and very gently cook the garlic and the cumin until the garlic is softened and almost transparent.
2. Add the quinoa, stir round well then add the stock. Bring to the simmer and cook, uncovered for 15–20 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked and the liquid absorbed. Add more if you need to.
3. In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil till almost smoking.
4. Add the tuna matchsticks and cook very quickly to sear the outside without over cooking.
Tip the tuna into the quinoa and mix well in.
5. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix in half of the yellow pepper and scatter the rest over the dish along with the basil.
6. Serve at room temperature.

SERVES 6 – PER PORTION
338cals – 23g protein
16g total fat – 2.5g sat / 9.4g mono / 3g poly
27g carbohydrate of which 6g sugar
1.5g fibre – 158mg sodium / 0.4g salt
46mg calcium
GOOD SOURCE OF: Vitamin B2, B6, B12, C, selenium & iron.

Fish and heavy metals 魚與重金屬的關係

www.littlegianthk.com/articles/For_little_ones.pdfFor little ones, it's anything but brain foodKate BensonJanuary 7, 2008
SMALL children who eat more than one serving a fortnight of certain types of fish are at risk of developing severe learning and behavioural difficulties that could lead to autism, doctors warned yesterday.
A study has found that children under the age of six who regularly eat large, predatory fish, such as shark (which is sold as flake), catfish, snapper or barramundi often have mercury levels up to seven times the safe maximum, which can lead to aggressive and regressive behaviour.
The author of the study, Associate Professor Stephen Corbett, said yesterday that parents needed to remember that, while most types of fish were beneficial in a child's diet if eaten two to three times a week, and could prevent such disorders as anaemia, some were dangerous.
The author of the study, Associate Professor Stephen Corbett, said yesterday that parents needed to remember that, while most types of fish were beneficial in a child's diet if eaten two to three times a week, and could prevent such disorders as anaemia, some were dangerous.
The rule of thumb was "small fish for the small fry", said Professor Corbett, a director of the Centre for Population Health.
In his study, published in The Medical Journal of Australia today, Professor Corbett reported on three Chinese children living in Sydney who had mercury levels up to seven times the maximum safe level.
The children, who had all been weaned on fish congee, a type of porridge, had eaten fish up to eight times a week and were being treated for developmental delays or neurological problems.
One, a two-year-old boy being treated for aggressive behaviour, ate salmon, barramundi or snapper at least five times a week and had a mercury level three times the safe level. His father had also been diagnosed with mercury poisoning after complaining of rashes, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
The second child, a three-year-old boy, had delayed speech development and some autistic behaviour. He had eaten barramundi, sea perch, salmon and rock cod up to eight times a week and had a blood mercury level seven times the safe level.
Within two weeks of removing fish from his diet, this mercury level had dropped to double what it should have been.
The third child, a 15-month-old boy, had eaten ling and salmon about five times a week and had a mercury level three times the safe level.Within two weeks of removing fish from his diet, this mercury level had dropped to double what it should have been.
The third child, a 15-month-old boy, had eaten ling and salmon about five times a week and had a mercury level three times the safe level.
Professor Corbett said giving babies fish when they were being weaned had health benefits, but congee, if made from large fish species, could exceed the tolerable weekly intake for children.
He said advice about fish consumption needed to be provided in languages other than English to help Asian families understand the dangers.
The chief scientist at the NSW Food Authority, Lisa Szabo, said yesterday that fish high in mercury included flake, swordfish, catfish, marlin, broadbill and orange roughy. Those low in mercury included bream, rainbow trout, ocean trout, flathead, kingfish, whiting, tuna and salmon.
Dr Szabo said frozen fish fingers and fish cakes were harmless as they were made from species such has hake, which is low in mercury, but she urged parents or carers to check labels if they were unsure what kind of fish they were buying.
The state Minister for Health, Reba Meagher, said the research showed an excessive amount of fish could be detrimental.
"A small amount of fish in a child's diet is healthy for good development of a strong heart and a good nervous system," Ms Meagher said.
"However, excessive levels of fish, particularly big fish, are detrimental."Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/anything-but-brain-food/2008/01/06/1199554485301.html
HIGH MERCURY LEVEL FISH:
flake, swordfish, catfish, marlin, broadbill, orange roughy
LOW MERCURY LEVEL FISH:
bream, rainbow, trout, ocean trout, flathead, kingfish, whiting, tuna, salmon