Easy Seafood Chowder (One Pot!)

Are you looking for more ways to incorporate fish into your diet? You’ll love this easy seafood chowder packed with cod, shrimp, and smoked oysters. Don’t think you need to save this dish until the weekend, either. This one-pot meal comes together fast enough for a weeknight entrée! Try this low-calorie chowder for a protein and veggie-packed meal that will keep you feeling satisfied.

I love to cook, but I’m not so enamored with doing the dishes. As much as I find creating complicated meals relaxing, sometimes I want to make something less time-consuming. And by less time-consuming, I mean little to no clean up afterward.

That’s where recipes like this easy seafood chowder may come in. This dish comes together in a single pot, so dishwashing has been minimized. It works for me!

Instead of the bacon found in traditional chowders, I chose to use chopped smoked oysters for their complex flavor. I first picked up this idea from the “Pescatarian Cookbook,” and have been using it every since.

If you want some additional tips for getting more seafood into your diet, that book is a great resource. Alternatively, you could search “seafood” in the menu bar on this site for some healthy recipe ideas right now.

Oysters are delicious, and they also provide more protein, zinc, and iron than you’ll get with the bacon. Experimenting with recipes like this easy seafood chowder is a great way to get more variety in your diet. You’ll discover new flavor combinations to love and (at least in some cases) increase the nutrient-density of your dishes.

We all have challenges to cooking, here’s one of mine

I talk a lot on this site about recipes, their nutrient value, and how they may fit into a healthy diet. However, many of us face barriers, sometimes in the form of unexpected events that can make cooking a challenge. I thought I’d share one of mine.

There are positives and negatives to living just about any place. Sometimes it can be easy to see how the grass is greener elsewhere, without seeing the downsides. So I’m going to tell you, as an insider, the downside of living in beautiful, forested semi-rural Connecticut.

We’ve lived in Connecticut since 2010. Since that time, we’ve lost power numerous times. A couple of times it was for 7-10 consecutive days.

No power means no lights, no heat, and no water (since we have well water).  Why does this happen, you may be wondering?

Our beautiful trees take out the power lines, and it happens fairly often, not only during severe winter storms. The photo above was taken in July of last year, on the morning of my RD exam.

The large branch fell right next to our driveway, and we could not get our cars out until they moved the downed lines. I was becoming increasingly nervous as the time crept closer to when I was supposed to leave for the testing center.

I made it on time, but only because I had an evening exam, a seemingly serendipitous event. I had waited until the last minute to register for the exam, and limited time slots for taking the test were available. As it stood, I only ended up taking an evening exam because all of the morning slots had already filled at the testing center.

How will you handle the obstacles that life throws your way?

More recently, we lost power again, this time due to branches that fell on Halloween. Since we’ve come to expect the outages, we’ve learned the importance of owning a small generator. It powers our fridge and freezer, so at least our food doesn’t spoil.

A whole house generator would be better, but that is an expensive investment. Thus, we still have issues with losing lights, heat, and water. We’ve learned to roll with it.

Our son went to a friend’s Halloween party while my husband and I headed to the library with our computers. We were able to get some work done, which was nice, though not the best way to spend a holiday evening. We had originally wanted to relax at home with a Halloween-themed movie.

As the library approached closing time, we headed back to our house. We could have dined out, but I had coincidentally planned sub sandwiches for dinner, so I did not need to cook.

And so we had dinner over the light of lanterns and lit jack-o-lanterns. How is that for ambiance? Haha

We were considering heading to a hotel for the night when the lights came back on. And so life continues as usual until the next tree decides to shed a large limb in an inconvenient place.

“Inconvenient” may be the keyword here; I understand that things could be worse. Other areas of the country occasionally face fires, floods, tornadoes, and other obstacles that place inhabitants at risk of losing everything.

How are you prepared for the risks that are most common in your area? Having a plan for the challenges that may arise is just as important as your obstacle-free healthy lifestyle plan. Don’t go without it!

And now for the disclaimer…

All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.

The calorie information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.

For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to this post. Let’s get cooking!

What are the biggest weather-related challenges in your area? Do you have a one-pot recipe that the world needs to know about? Drop some links, and let me know if you try this easy seafood chowder recipe!