Mussels have a cream to orange meat and usually have blue to black pointed, shells. Mussels are susceptible to pollution, so gathering them wild is no longer recommended. For this reason, farming of mussels is becoming more and more popular. 

Though some species may be eaten raw, generally mussels are steamed, made into soups, stuffed, baked and broiled .

Preparation mussels is fairly simply: fill a sink with cold water, dump the mussels into the water, using a brush, scrub the mussels until the sand is washed off. The mussels are now ready to steam.

Mussels   89 calories, 12 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fat