The Beach...and food on it!

Malibu, CA is a beautiful place. I had an opportunity to go to Los Angeles, CA to do nutrition and health seminars, and afterwards, I drove to Malibu, CA to go to the beach. I absolutely loved the water. It was so beautiful and serene. I felt at peace when I was close to the water…it was wonderful. What was just as wonderful was being able to EAT close to the water! I found a hotspot restaurant called Duke’s that was located right smack dab on the beach.

When I viewed the menu at Dukes, I wasn’t sure what I wanted.  I just knew I wanted mixed greens for starters (which I devoured quickly) and some fish. The only fish that I was really familiar with from home (Arkansas) was tilapia, and salmon. Neither of these did this restaurant offer. My waiter named about 5 fish, and I was not familiar with any of them. I told him to recommend something and he recommended Parmesan and Herb Crusted Opah (Hawaiian Moonfish) that came with capers, a side of this sweet slaw, sweet potatoe fries, and banana ketchup (I know banana ketchup sounds weird but it was actually really good).

The meal was delicious!!! I had never had Opah before, but it reminded me of a mix in texture between tilapia and chicken. So let’s break down most of the meal to see if I got anything healthy out of it.

Mixed greens-mixed greens are a good source of vitamin K and folate. Vitamin K helps with preventing blood clots, and helps strengthen bones; while folate participates in metabolism and helps prevent megaloblastic anemia. Now I did add dressing to my mixed greens…ranch, of course. However, I had the dressing on the side and dipped my fork in it (instead of pouring it over all the greens) before touching the greens with my fork to limit calories.

Opah-According to calorieking.com, seared opah (4oz) is about 130 calories and 1 gram of fat. That is really good for limiting calories. Though, my opah had a little breading and parmesan on it. So we can add a few more hundred calories to that…and I’m sure some sort of frying oil was involved so add a few more fat grams to it. This shows that a simple fish is great for being low in fat and calories, but when we add breading and fry or deep fry it, we add a significant amount of calories and fat to it. I still enjoyed my Opah.

Slaw-coleslaw is an adequate source of Vitamin C which helps with wound healing, tissue formation, stress reactions, and fevers and infections.

Sweet Potato Fries-Sweet potatoes are great sources of Vitamin C, but also Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps prevent night blindness, helps develop tissues which provide barriers to infection, and is essential for growth of bones and soft tissues. Though these sweet potatoes were fried, I imagine there is still a certain amount of nutritional benefit that was gained from them.

Banana Ketchup-Though I am sure there was a lot of sugar, and only a minimal amount of banana in this ketchup, I would still like to note one  of the benefits of bananas…Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is needed to prevent certain types of anemia, to help prevent preeclampsia in pregnant women, to control brain function, and to prevent a rise in homocysteine levels which may contribute to arterial disease.

So overall, I don’t think I did too bad. I may have had more calories than necessary ( I did eat a couple of the Hawaiian roles that came before the meal…it was so good…gotta stay away from all this bread!!!), but I did get a few needed nutrients from some of the veggie selections. Did I mention I didn't have dessert? Yet, another great way to limit calories. Man, I wanted dessert so bad. (they didn't have any pictures of the desserts, but the descriptions on the menu made them seem undeniable). However, I listened to my body, which told me I was full and didn't need another crumb. I obeyed. Great job Jenelle! (I am a desserts junkie so everytime I resist, I have to pat myself on the back).

Until next time…

-Jenelle N. Robinson

For more information on food I ate at this restaurant, visit: www.dukesmalibu.com