The Other Pink Meat – Crawfish is Gluten Free, Keto-Friendly, Low Carb
Enjoying a traditional crawfish boil can be an excellent way to eat healthy during crawfish season. Louisiana’s favorite crustacean is not only a staple of Southern cuisine, but also a low-fat source of protein. Among crawfish health benefits are the high amount of essential vitamins and minerals, and their low calorie count. The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommends eating more seafood as part of a healthy diet, and Louisianans enjoy an abundance of some of the tastiest, spiciest seafood during crawfish boil season!
Crawfish Health Benefits
Crawfish is Keto-friendly and packed with plenty of high-quality proteins, making them a great stand-in for red meat or chicken in your diet. A 5-ounce serving of crawfish contains close to 25
grams of protein and contains about 130 calories, half the calories of roasted chicken breast. Crawfish are also high in B vitamins and essential minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc and Phosphorus while remaining low in fat and containing only trace amounts of carbohydrates.
Depending on how your boil mix is prepared, crawfish also is Gluten Free. At Deanie’s Seafood Restaurants & Seafood Market, we prepare our own special signature boil mix without the proteins that make up gluten, such as barley, rye and oats.
Using Crawfish in your Diet
Now that you know about the health benefits of eating crawfish, here are some ways to incorporate
more crawfish into you diet:
- Purchase Louisiana crawfish tails when in season to freeze and use throughout the year.
- Crawfish may be substituted for any recipe that calls for shrimp, just remember the tails are already cooked, so add them closer to the end.
- Liven up soups, salads and pasta dishes with crawfish instead of chicken or other fish
- Add to omelets, quiches, stir fries, enchiladas, quesadillas, corn bread, dips and more.
- You can purchase Louisiana crawfish tails year round and order live or boiled crawfish seasonally and have them overnighed from Deanie’s at Shopdeanies.com.
- Want to throw a crawfish boil? Order from Deanie’s Seafood online to have boiled crawfish, andouille sausage and boiled corn delivered tomorrow, or we can ship you live crawfish along with boil seasoning mix to throw your own crawfish boil at home.
More Facts about Crawfish
- It’s crawfish not “crayfish.”
- The average person eats 3 lbs. of boiled crawfish, which equals approximately 6-8 oz. of meat; 6-7
lbs. of crawfish is approximately 1 lb. of crawfish meat. - When you suck the heads, you’re actually getting some of the fatty organ surrounding the brain that absorbs the flavor.
- Like some seafood, crawfish is high in cholesterol. A 5-ounce serving contains close to 200
milligrams. The USDA recommends no more than 300 milligrams per day.
Deanie’s Seafood has a long history of offering some of the best crawfish in New Orleans, serving over 30,000 Ibs. of boiled crawfish annually at its restaurants. Louisiana crawfish prepared in Deanie’s signature season mix can be ordered at any of our three restaurant locations, and at Deanie’s Seafood arket in Bucktown and our online seafood market, Shopdeanies.com.