I am a big fan of the Hungry Girl web site and daily newsletter. They give great tips on reducing calories and fat in your diet. I have noticed in many of the recipes that they use General Mills’ Fiber One cereal as a substitute for processed flour products. The nutrition label on Fiber One is very telling of its benefits to bariatric patients. A 4 ounce serving contains 14 grams of fiber and 0 grams of sugar with only 60 calories.

I ventured over to the Fiber One recipe site to see what recipes they might have. The featured January recipe of the month caught my eye. Brett and I love tilapia and are always looking for another way to prepare it. We made this lemon chili tilapia recipe the other night. It was a winner. Baked at high temperature with the crunchy Fiber One breading, it very much resembled the high fat fried fish nuggets on many menus. The lemon chili mayo was a tasty dipping sauce.

I plan on substituting this high fiber, no sugar cereal in recipes that call for bread crumbs. It’s an easy way to ad some fiber to a meatloaf or a breaded chicken breast. Many of the other recipes on the Fiber One web site use the cereal to add fiber to baked goods and many other dishes. We’ve added this to our pantry of staples.

Lemon-Chili Tilapia

Fish

1 lb medium-firm textured fish fillets (such as tilapia, cod or haddock), about 3/4 inch thick
1 cup Fiber One® original bran cereal
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Sauce

1/3 cup light or fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice|
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Dash ground red pepper (cayenne)
Dash salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 450°F. Spray bottom of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray. Cut tilapia crosswise into 2-inch wide pieces. Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and finely crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or finely crush in food processor).

In shallow bowl, mix cereal, lemon peel, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper. In another shallow bowl, place milk. Dip fish pieces into milk, then coat with cereal mixture; place in pan. Drizzle oil evenly over fish.

Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients except cilantro until blended. Stir in cilantro. Serve sauce with fish.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

1 Serving: Calories 300 (Calories from Fat 140); Total Fat 16g (Saturated Fat 2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 70mg; Sodium 480mg; Total Carbohydrate 16g (Dietary Fiber 7g, Sugars 2g); Protein 23g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 15%; Vitamin C 4%; Calcium 8%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 3 Lean Meat; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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Visit FiberOne.com for more great recipes.