cornmeal-crusted fish tacos with kefir sauce and pineapple-ginger coleslaw

this month, we are focusing on diabetes prevention and diabetic-friendly meals at our center during our wednesday night meals.  for the first meal, we decided to tackle a protein that usually sends my youth running for the hills: fish.


for some reason, a majority of the new generation (or at least those i encounter) are total pescaphobes.  just the mere mention of "fish," "seafood," "tuna," or similar words causes a (w)retched cognitive-vocal reaction.  however, when you add the word "taco" to any of the before-mentioned nouns, everything becomes fine and dandy (well, not everything, but for some reasons, *blank* tacos make anything more palatable).


i also made some chicken taco meat on the side, just in case some kids absolutely could not stand el pescado on their plate.  along with the corn and whole wheat tortillas (more carb-and-sugar friendly than the ever-popular white flour tortillas), we had a pineapple-ginger coleslaw and avocado salsa.  i was surprised that the slaw went as well as it did, but hey, whatever they'll eat...


also, what's a fish taco without the white sauce?  we didn't have any yogurt, so i used some kefir to make the sauce.  who would've thought?

cornmeal-crusted fish tacos (yields 10)
corn or whole wheat tortillas
10 tilapia fillets
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp chili powder


-preheat oven to 350F.
-combine all dry ingredients.
-lightly coat each side of the fillets with the dry ingredient mixture.
-place fillets on an oil-coated baking pan.
-spray the topside of the fillets with olive oil.
-bake for 10-12 minutes.


kefir sauce
1 cup lowfat kefir, plain
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pickle juice


-combine and mix.


pineapple-ginger coleslaw
1 medium head cabbage
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
1/3 cup pickled ginger in pickling liquid
1-2 packets stevia sweetener
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper


-julienne cabbage and place in a big bowl.
-mince pickled ginger and place in the big bowl with ~1 tbsp of the pickling liquid.
-drain the majority of the juice from the pineapple can; add fruit and remaining juice to the big bowl.
-add the dry ingredients; mix to combine.
-cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.