FIVE WAYS TO PREPARE... COD

MAKE a healthier breaded cod by mixing half breadcrumbs with half Parmesan and pressing a layer on to cod before oven baking. You’ll save around 100 calories per serving and get some calcium from the cheese.

SIMPLY steam or bake the fish with fresh herbs for a low-calorie protein source. Cod has 75 calories per 100g — that’s around 30 per cent less than chicken breast (106 per 100g).

SERVE it with asparagus if you’re pregnant — cod is one of the richest sources of iodine and asparagus provides folic acid, both of which are key to physical and mental development in the womb. POTATOES and white sauce complement each other nutritionally. Cod is a good source of energising vitamins B3 and B12, but is not as high in B1 or B2 — which are provided by the potatoes and milk in the sauce. MAKE cod and crab cakes (equal amounts cod and mashed potato, plus a third of crab with mayonnaise and a dash of Tabasco). Crab and cod have selenium and iodine, which help make thyroid hormones needed to regulate the metabolism.