The best of the Baja and your budget’s best friend: fish tacos

By Nancy Van Patten, Marketing/Food Writer

I wish I could tell you what got me to thinking about fish tacos.  You’d think that with fall weather just around the corner (I know, I know, it’s in the high 80’s today but bear with me) I’d be daydreaming about bison chili, or digging around for butternut squash recipes. But for some reason I’m jonesing for the crunch and spice of a fish taco all loaded down with fresh slaw, so I started stumbling around on the internet looking for fish taco tidbits. Luckily, I didn’t have to stumble too far.

Fish tacos, like many food trends, had a humble beginning. The skinny stretch of the Baja, Mexico peninsula evidently groans under the weight of fish taco stands on the edge of the sea, where lucky locals and tourists alike get a warm corn tortilla wrapped around a fish fillet that’s been fried to a satisfying crunch and squirted with a creamy chile-lime dressing of the cook’s creation. (Note: I have never been to the Baja peninsula, but just the vision of these taco stands on the beach has me checking flights.) The fish taco made its way out of scruffy surfer’s hands and across the border to California, where it was promptly plopped onto many a white tablecloth restaurant’s menu before it nudged its way into casual and fast food eateries.  I remember when they first started showing up on menus here in the Atlanta area, a welcome and fresh change to the usual beef and chicken taco options in many restaurants.  I liked them so much I started making my own, and that’s when I discovered that fish tacos are a natural fit for tight food budgets and weekday meals that don’t leave a lot of time for preparation and cooking.

Here at Whole Foods Market Johns Creek, we like to make it easy for you to create the most delicious fish tacos ever with quality ingredients that won’t break your budget. Our “Whole Deal” newsletter, now available in our stores and online at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/wholedeal/budget-recipes.php, features a fish taco recipe that feeds a family of four for approximately $3.56 per serving. It features some ingredients that are unique to our store, too, at great values. For example, the “Farmed Responsibly” tilapia in the dish was raised with strict standards towards sustainability and the environment. It’s also one of our sure deals at a price of $2.99 a package. The crunchy taco shells in the ingredients list are none other than our exclusive label 365 Everyday Value® organic Taco Shells, with no mystery ingredients and a bang-up value price of only $2.99 for a box of 12 (yellow or blue corn, you choose.)

So do yourself a favor and hop online and check out our “Whole Deal” newsletter and that great recipe for fish tacos. It’ll save you money and buy you back some time. Best of all, it’ll make your family’s tummy full and happy with the Baja’s tastiest import!