Tilapia question

MickeyN64
MickeyN64 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've read a bunch of articles about Tilapia...some way over the top in my opinion...but..who knows. I don't like fish very much...but I do like tilapia with its mild taste & light texture once a week or so. I buy mine as frozen fillets at the grocery store. Does anyone have some facts regarding if it really is an unhealthy fish to eat? If it is...what fish is comparable in flavor?

Replies

  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Couple other threads w/lots of people saying that they don't like the "taste" of tilapia but I don't think it has any taste at all and, as a very firm fish, can be used in any dish - - soup, stew, fried, sauted, poached, whatever - - and will take on the flavor of anything you pair it with.

    Don't know who would say it's "unhealthy" to eat. If it was, I doubt the govt would allow it to be sold. I buy mine at Costco and it's never made me sick. As for taste, it is said that tilapia is susceptible to a bacteria in water that can give it a muddy flavor but that's most likely the result of poor quality control because almost all tilapia sold commercially is now farmed - - not harvested from the wild.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.
  • BigJes37
    BigJes37 Posts: 82 Member
    MickeyN64 wrote: »
    I've read a bunch of articles about Tilapia...some way over the top in my opinion...but..who knows. I don't like fish very much...but I do like tilapia with its mild taste & light texture once a week or so. I buy mine as frozen fillets at the grocery store. Does anyone have some facts regarding if it really is an unhealthy fish to eat? If it is...what fish is comparable in flavor?

    If only eating eating it once or so a week I definitely wouldn't worry about it ;)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Yeah most people I know are pretty much anti tilapia too. I'm not very fond of it either.

    I like cod a lot though (and catfish, if you can find it sustainably farmed I guess).
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Don't order rabbit then :D
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Don't order rabbit then :D

    Ewww...I wouldn't anyway *hurl*
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Don't order rabbit then :D

    Ewww...I wouldn't anyway *hurl*

    Lots of tiny bones, but it tastes like chicken :p
  • obpyum
    obpyum Posts: 9 Member
    Cod is super cheap and light texture and flavor.. And not farmed in Thailand. Give it a try!
  • obpyum
    obpyum Posts: 9 Member
    Also, if you have a trader joes, they have great frozen Mahi Mahi filets that are delicious and affordable
  • provencal73
    provencal73 Posts: 1,275 Member
    I've seen these articles as well. I read Haddock is a better substitution but honestly couldn't say how true that is. I personally eat a lot of fish. My preps for this week have tilapia as the dinner. I wash and cook almost everything I prepare, it's food.. and it fits my budget. Call me nasty but I've had no issues with this fish.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Better lay off cod and ALL fish then.☺
  • MickeyN64
    MickeyN64 Posts: 3 Member
    Well..if Kopi Luwak...made directly from monkey poop and sold for $100 to $600 a pound is touted as such a great coffee...I'm not too worried about what tilapia eat. Thanks for the tips of cod, Mahi mahi, Haddock, and flounder.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Don't order rabbit then :D

    Ewww...I wouldn't anyway *hurl*

    Lots of tiny bones, but it tastes like chicken :p

    It tastes nothing like chicken
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Tilapia tastes funny to me and I love fish but not tilapia. You could drown it sauce and I would know it is tilapia. My hubby goes deep seas fishing for tuna, therefore I am spoiled :)
  • ConcordDiet
    ConcordDiet Posts: 26 Member
    As many have said, there is no such thing as wild tilapia. All farm raised in various stages of polluted water. (Some better than others). I stick to wild salmon or pollock. Man, try to find wild caught shrimp. Almost impossible in my area.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    Just eat it. Seriously ever watched fish? One craps in the water and the other ones fight to eat it. Just as your body detoxes naturally so does theirs.

    Same happens with pigs, chickens(especially free range) and most animals we eat.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    People all over the world have been eating a lot of tilapia for a very long time. If there was actually something wrong with it we'd know by now. And all fish eat their own poop.. that's kind of their thing.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    markrgeary1 wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Better lay off cod and ALL fish then.☺

    ::thumbsup::
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Don't order rabbit then :D

    Ewww...I wouldn't anyway *hurl*

    Lots of tiny bones, but it tastes like chicken :p

    It tastes nothing like chicken

    *shrug

    Rabbit legs taste like strong chicken to me and I could eat that all day. The saddle is nasty though. The smell of it cooking is so gross.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    I didn't mind tilapia until people here ruined it for me with the "they eat their own poop" thing. I know, I know...if I knew all the dirty secrets about all of my food I'd starve, but this one got into my head too much. I don't like fish much to begin with anyway, but I tend to eat cod mostly.

    Don't order rabbit then :D

    Ewww...I wouldn't anyway *hurl*

    Lots of tiny bones, but it tastes like chicken :p

    It tastes nothing like chicken

    *shrug

    Rabbit legs taste like strong chicken to me and I could eat that all day. The saddle is nasty though. The smell of it cooking is so gross.

    I'm one of those types who will eat chicken sashimi and love it, and yet I can't eat rabbit at all. I'd rather eat crickets. Different strokes I guess.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    obpyum wrote: »
    Cod is super cheap and light texture and flavor.. And not farmed in Thailand. Give it a try!

    Seafood fraud, mislabeling....it's hard to tell where any seafood really comes from.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    edited August 2016
    Most fish is very expensive per pound, and for many people, tilapia, which is the cheapest white fish, is an affordable source of fish protein, and it's versatile. I often use it to make fish tacos. Once in a while, I can get a nice piece of cod for around $5 a lb., but haddock can be as high as $8. While we're all encouraged to eat fish as a good source of protein and omegas, we're not offered too many affordable options. If you're feeding fish to your family, you're talking $10-$15 a meal, just for the protein. I typically need to buy 1.5 lbs. to feed myself and 2 adult males.

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