Curried Pumpkin Squash Fish Chowder recipe for Lenten weight loss, gluten-free, keto diet food swaps

 Hello my friends of Great Food 4U! We are this blog are in the midst of Lent. As Catholics we abstain from meat on Fridays and part of our Lenten fast includes abstaining throughout Lent. I'm also on a mission to lose weight through keto diet, calorie restricting and intermittent fasting. Part of how I lost weight 12 years ago was with diet food swaps and eating more gluten-free foods. Here's a weight loss fish recipe that addresses all of those, perfect for Lenten Fish Fridays. It also works great for leftover use-up recipes and meals in minutes! 

Currying Flavor Curried Fish Chowder

So I did that thing I do too often where I thaw fish, planning to make my Cajun fried fish, and then I get busy and tired and don't feel like it. So I came up with this quick recipe that I could throw in the oven. And we ended up loving it. I was able to do a fresh vegetable leftovers use-up too. 

Start with some not too dense fish like tilapia, whiting, blue whiting, catfish, pollock or cod. Rinse and  place pieces in baking pan. Season with celery salt, pepper and dill. 

Prepare sauce. I took a short cut and used Aldi Pumpkin Squash pasta sauce. It did have more cream and sugar than I'd have liked. But it was quick and delicious. For a low carbohydrate, vegan fish sauce, blend canned pumpkin or squash or leftover cooked squash, carrots or pumpkin. You can mash canned carrots if easier.  For a creamier taste, add whole plain Greek yogurt. Add sugar-free salsa or chopped mire poix vegetables: garlic, red or yellow onions, colored peppers and celery. 

Blend curry spices or use prepared curry. My curried fish blend includes: red pepper, white pepper, turmeric, ginger, curry powder, cardamom, coriander, celery salt, celery seed, cloves, cumin, fenugreek (just a little).  Season sauce to taste. Pour sauce over fish and add two or three bay leaves. Bake till bubbly and done. Add fresh chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves. 

Serve as whole fish with sauce or break into pieces and serve as curried fish chowder. We had fish pieces the first night and ate the leftovers as curried fish chowder.