Tilapia with Mango Salsa

If you have looked at a decent amount of recipes on my blog, you know that I don't always cook things that are super healthy because....well, I like things to taste good!  I always get really disappointed when I try a new healthy recipe that looks really good, but ends up just being okay. 

Unfortunately, as I'm getting older, my metabolism just isn't what is used to be.  I used to be able to eat whatever unhealthy food I wanted without gaining a pound.....but I'm coming to terms with the fact that I can't do that anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I will never be a health freak when it comes to eating because I love good food too much, but I am definitely learning to eat those not-so-healthy dishes in moderation.

Recently, I finished my student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom.  After I finished, I noticed that my clothes seemed a little bit looser so I got on the scale to see if I had lost any weight.....I was stunned to see that I actually lost close to 15 pounds!  Being on my feet all day and cutting back on the snack foods definitely was a good thing for me.  I decided that this was the jump start I needed to stay in shape :)  If I lose just 10 more pounds I'll be back at my end-of-high-school weight, but I'll be happy with just losing 5 more pounds and maintaining it.

That being said, I decided to seek out a few more healthy recipes.  Even though I love shellfish, I'm not much of a fish person.  I will definitely eat it, but it's not like I would ever order fish over shellfish at a seafood restaurant.  I decided to give this recipe a try, and I'm really glad I did!  We loved it, and it was super light.  I absolutely love mango, and the mango salsa paired great with the tilapia.  We added a salad, and this was definitely a pretty healthy weekday meal.  I actually made only 2 tilapia fillets, but I kept everything else in the recipe the same.

Ingredients:

4 tilapia fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
salt and pepper to taste
crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Salsa:
1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
2 roma tomatoes - seeded and chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used coarse sea salt...that's all I keep in the house these days)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)

2. In a shallow baking dish, combine the olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Rinse the fish fillets and pat them dry. Place them into the baking dish and turn to coat with the seasonings.  Let marinate for about 15-20 minutes.

3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until fish can be flaked with a fork.

4. While the fish cooks, combine the mango, onion, avocado, tomatoes, lime zest and juice, jalapeno, ginger, cilantro and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a glass bowl. Stir to blend and set aside at room temperature until fish has finished cooking. Place fillets on a platter and spoon the salsa over them to serve.

Source:  Adapted from allrecipes