Support your immune system - with mussels!

Support your immune system - with mussels!

Want to support your immune system as we settle properly into winter? Next time you get yourself to the supermarket, get yourself some mussels for dinner!

Iron and zinc are super important for your immune system and mussels are packed in both, as well as being a great way to get protein and iodine. Plus, they are VERY affordable and a sustainable way to enjoy seafood and I have started buying them every time I shop recently.

Here's two tasty serving suggestions:

Pop into a pot with 1 cup of stock, 1 onion roughly chopped and a few crushed cloves of garlic. Steam for 3-4 mins until the shells open.  If your rations of wine allow at the moment, a splash of white wine in place of some of the stock is delicious! Serve with a cob of corn for a quick meal.

Or - fry a chopped onion in a little oil with a tablespoon of green curry paste for a few minutes until fragrant, added ½ can of coconut milk and heat through, add mussels, pop the lid on and steam for 3-4 mins, serve with rice and any veggies you have to hand. I am keen to try grilling them and making fritters, that will be my next experiment!

Tips:

• It is a good idea to give the mussels a quick rinse just before you are going to cook them

• Mussels will last for 48 hours in the fridge

• Marinated mussels are a good thing to have in at the moment for a quick nutrition-boosting snack

Nutritional values: 100g of cooked mussels (about 7 mussels (raw weight, excluding shell) has:

• 14.7g protein (as much as 2 large eggs)

• 4.1mg iron (men need 8mg total/day and ladies 18mg)

• 1.6mg zinc (men need 14mg, ladies 8mg)

• 140ug iodine (we need 150ug total/day)

• 70ug selenium (men need 70ug, women 60ug)