Nut Crusted Salmon

This nutrient dense, delicious recipe is also good brain food.

Salmon is rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids that

  • help build brain cells
  • fight inflammation in the brain and
  • increase production of brain growth hormones that give your brain the ability to grow and change

Nuts have a mix of protein, healthy fats and slow-burning carbohydrates. They’re also rich in fiber, zinc, iron and essential vitamins.

You can add veggies tossed with olive oil, sea salt and minced garlic to roast with the salmon. Some of my favorites are:

  • asparagus
  • green beans
  • broccoli

Leftovers make a filling second meal.

  • Toss roasted salmon and veggies with greens, add rainbow vegges (carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, etc)
  • Add to a grain bowl, mix in additional veggies and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette or pesto
  • Make a wrap with pesto and greens
Nut Crusted Salmon
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Nut Crusted Salmon
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a baking pans with olive oil. Place salmon in center of pan of pan. Dust with salt and pepper
  2. In a small bowl mix Dijon, honey (and red pepper if using it). Brush evenly over top of salmon.
  3. With a spoon carefully spread chopped nuts over salmon, gently pressing to stick.
  4. Please in center of oven and bake 15 minutes or until center is barely cooked through. It will continue to cook a couple of minutes after removing it from the oven. Let it rest 5 minutes before serving.
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Crunchy Healthy Broccoli Salad

Some of the most nutrient-dense (nutrients per calorie) foods on the planet are:

  • Greens (including cruciferous like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage)
  • Beans
  • Onions
  • Mushrooms
  • Berries
  • Seeds/Nuts

Eating lots of these vegetables give us optimal amounts of immune-protective micronutrients that can fend of disease.

This salad combines 4 of those superfoods: broccoli, onions, nuts, and berries. It’s a delicious, nutritious way to eat more broccoli and change up dinner salad from leafy greens. Leftovers make a great lunch topped with some chicken and/or leftover grains.

Variations

  • Add leftover bacon, chopped
  • Add avocado, diced
  • Use pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of nuts
  • Use raisins or other dried fruit instead of cranberries
  • Add 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
  • Mix in arugula or baby spinach for a more robust salad
  • Add leftover quinoa, brown rice or other grain for a “meal salad”
  • Top with leftover chicken
Crunchy Healthy Broccoli Salad
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Crunchy Healthy Broccoli Salad
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
White Wine Vinaigrette
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Instructions
  1. Toss, broccoli, green onions, half of cranberries and half of nuts with CMF vinaigrette.
  2. Put into serving bowl
  3. Top with remaining cranberries and nuts.
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Spinach Citrus Salad

In our garden in Cochabamba lives a wonderfully enthusiastic orange tree. It produces truly an astonishing amount of fruit; we’ll harvest 200+ oranges and the tree looks still fully loaded.
The garden is also home to a grapefruit tree, more modest in its output.
With such abundance, orange and grapefruit ended up in this pretty and delicious combination.

Variations:

  • Use only orange or only grapefruit
  • Use orange and beet (roasted or steamed) slices (cut into similar shape as orange segments
  • Use peach or nectarine in place of citrus
  • Add toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or slivered almonds
Spinach and Citrus Salad
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Spinach and Citrus Salad
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
Salad Dressing
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Instructions
  1. Cut away all peel and pith from grapefruit and orange. Separate segments from between membranes
  2. Place spinach and chopped green onion in large bowl. Toss with 2 – 3 tablespoons salad dressing.
  3. Place tossed spinach and green onions on a platter.
  4. Arrange orange and grapefruit segments on top of spinach.
  5. Drizzle another 3 – 4 tablespoons of salad dressing over the salad
Salad Dressing
  1. Mix salt an apple cider vinegar until salt dissolves
  2. In a slow steady stream add extra-virgin olive oil, whisking
  3. Whisk in 2 tablespoons water. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons water if to strong for your taste. Adjust salt and pepper
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Sweet Potato and Russet Potato Salad with Greens and Bacon

Skip the bacon and make it vegetarian.

Did you know sweet potatoes are not the same as yams? Sweet potatoes, native of North America, are a superfood loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Yams are starchy roots native of Africa and also grown in tropical parts of Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

Nutritionally, sweet potatoes greatly outweigh yams. They are sweet and moist. Yams are starchy and dry. I recognize sweet potatoes by their tapered ends and thin, smooth skin. Yams have rough, dark skin.

The original recipe calls for yams. I use sweet potatoes instead, and kale rather than mustard greens. For dinner parties, if vegetarians are among the guests I split the potato salad in half and mix bacon into one half only, leaving the other half for the vegetarians. Or leave the bacon on the side, but I find it more flavorful if the bacon is mixed in.

I’ve made this the day before. But it is thirsty and soaks up the dressing. So if I make it the day before, I make extra dressing add additional dressing before serving.

Finally, for a prettier presentation I like to serve it on a platter over a bed of shredded kale (with dressing mixed in prior to putting the kale on the platter).
How to tell the difference between sweet potato and yam?

Sweet Potato and Russet Potato Salad with Greens and Bacon
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Servings
6 servings
Servings
6 servings
Sweet Potato and Russet Potato Salad with Greens and Bacon
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Servings
6 servings
Servings
6 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper.
  2. Steam russet potatoes until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon dressing.
  3. In the same pot steam sweet potatoes until tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon dressing.
  4. Fry bacon in large skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towels. Drain. Crumble bacon.
  5. Add green onions, half of bacon and sweet potato to russet potatoes. Toss salad with salad dressing to coat.
  6. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Can be made ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature. If made ahead, add additional dressing and toss again before serving.
Recipe Notes

Source: Epicurious: Yam and Russet Potato Salad with Greens and Bacon

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Crunchy Cruciferous Salad

Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) have more micronutrients than any other food. Micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber) are essential for our survival and longevity.

This salad is great on its own, but I often make a double batch to use as a base for different salads throughout the week.

Variations:

  • Exchange the broccoli or cauliflower with shredded cabbage or Brussels sprouts
  • Replace carrots with beets
  • Toss some Crunchy Cruciferous Salad  with leafy greens (spinach, arugula, mixed greens  – whatever is on hand).
  • Mix with leftover grains (rice, quinoa) for a quick meal
  • Or make a tortilla wrap adding greens and an extra drizzle of salad dressing.

 

Crunchy Cruciferous Salad
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4 servings
Crunchy Cruciferous Salad
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4 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Whisk together lemon juice mustard, garlic, salt, olive oil and 2 tablespoons water until thoroughly blended. Adjust flavor by adding water (1 tablespoon at a time), salt and pepper to taste.
  2. In a bowl mix broccoli, carrot, green onion.
  3. Add salad dressing, mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of seeds/nuts, toss.
  4. Serve with remaining seeds/nuts on top.
Recipe Notes

Variations

  1. Use other cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage) instead of broccoli
  2. Use raw beets instead of, or in addition to carrots
  3. Toss with leafy greens (spinach, arugula, romaine etc)

A Color My Food original recipe

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Salmon with Orange Lentil Salad

This is a lovely combination of color and flavor – the salmon, lentils, orange and mint.

Serve it with CMF Quinoa or brown rice and a spinach, broccoli salad.

Get an extra-serving  of salmon (about 4 ounces), and double the lentils portion of the recipe and the quinoa or rice. Toss together the next day and serve over greens for a quick lunch or dinner.

 

Salmon with Orange Lentil Salad
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Salmon with Orange Lentil Salad
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400°F.
  2. In a bowl, whisk orange juice and zest, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, mustard and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
  3. Gently stir in lentils, chopped mint and onion.
  4. Arrange fillets on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with remaining 1 extra-virgin olive oil; season with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
  5. Roast until fish is opaque and just cooked through, 10 minutes.
  6. Spoon lentil salad onto plates; top with fish.
  7. Garnish with orange slices and mint sprigs.
Recipe Notes

Modified from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-arctic-char-with-orange-lentil-salad-51101040

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Rosemary Honey-Glazed Salmon

Raw salmon fillet
Rosemary Honey-Glazed Salmon
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Servings Prep Time
8 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Raw salmon fillet
Rosemary Honey-Glazed Salmon
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Ingredients
Adjust servings: servings
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 2 rimmed 17 by 12-inch baking pans with extra-virgin olive oil. Place half of salmon in center of pan of one pan. Repeat with the other pan, placing the second salmon in the second pan.
  2. In a small bowl mix together Dijon, honey and rosemary. Brush evenly over top of salmon then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Bake in preheated oven 18 - 20 minutes, or until center is just barely cooked through (it will cook another couple of minutes after it comes out of the oven. Remove and let rest 5 minutes. Cut salmon into portions. Serve warm.
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Roast Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Garlic

The simplicity of this dish makes it one of my favorite ways to prepare pork tenderloin. Rosemary has a lovely fragrance and flavor, but did you know it also has strong health benefits?

[su_expanding_quote_web source_site=”Organic Facts” source_url=”https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/rosemary.html” full_quote=”Some of the most interesting and unique health benefits of rosemary include its ability to boost memory, improve mood, reduce inflammation, relieve pain, protect the immune system, stimulate circulation, detoxify the body, protect the body from bacterial infections, prevent premature aging, and heal skin conditions.ertain types of cancer, offer protection against asthma and heart disease and delay aging and body degeneration.” short_quote=”Some of the unique health benefits of rosemary include its ability to boost memory, improve mood, reduce inflammation, “]

This pairs nicely with the Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Red Bell Pepper and Kale and Brussels Sprouts . Salad

Or serve it with Mushroom Barley Risotto and Spinach Orange Salad

Tenderloin leftovers can be stored to use later in the week, sliced thinly for sandwiches or in a Tuscan Rice Salad.

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Garlic
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Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Garlic
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Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Finely chop garlic and rosemary. Mix in a small bowl with salt and Dijon mustard
  3. Spread all over pork tenderloin, sprinkle black pepper all over
  4. Roast in oven 40 minutes or until thermometer inserted into thickest part of loin registers 140°.
  5. Remove from oven, cover and let rest 10 minutes.
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Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apple and Walnuts

This can be a satisfying entree by adding 1 cup of leftover (cooked) quinoa or brown rice, and avocado.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Joel Fuhrman, MD” source_title=”Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body’s Natural Defenses” full_quote=”Cruciferous vegetables are twice as powerful as other plant foods. A 20% increase in cruciferous vegetables intake corresponds to a 40% decrease in cancer rates. All vegetables contain protective micronutrients and phytochemicals, but cruciferous vegetables have a unique compounds with proven and powerful immune-boosting effects and anticancer activity.” short_quote=”Cruciferous vegetables are twice as powerful as other plant foods.”]

Variations:

  • Use any nuts or seeds (pumpkin, sunflower) instead of walnuts
  • Use pear or mango instead of apple
  • Or use dried cranberries
Kale Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Apple and Walnuts
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Kale Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Apple and Walnuts
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Toast walnuts in small skillet over medium heat, mixing occasionally. Cool. Chop coarsely.
  2. Whisk lemon juice, mustard, shallot, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a medium bowl, then whisk in oil in a slow, steady stream. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
  3. Mix together kale and Brussels sprouts in a large mixing bowl. Add about 3/4 of the dressing, and use your hands to massage dressing into greens. Taste and add more dressing as needed Reserve any leftover dressing for another use.
  4. Add apple and half of walnuts; toss together to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl, and top with nuts and remaining radishes.
  5. Do ahead Dressing can be prepared 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Nuts can be toasted and chopped 1 day ahead; cover and keep at room temperature. Kale and Brussels sprouts can be sliced 1 day ahead; place in an airtight container and chill. Salad can be tossed together 30 minutes ahead; keep at room temperature.
Recipe Notes

Modified from Epicurious: Kale Salad with Brussels Sprouts and Apples

You might also like my Kale Salad with Apricots.

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Dijon Chicken Breasts

This is a quick recipe. You can double it and use left over chicken for sandwiches the next day—cut thin slices and replace processed ham or turkey. Or make a chicken salad with a nice crunch of bell peppers or celery.

Dijon Chicken Breasts
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Dijon Chicken Breasts
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Combine first 5 ingredients in heavy large skillet.
  2. Bring to gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
  3. Add chicken to skillet. Cover and poach about 15 minutes. Add spinach and cook another 5 minutes until chicken is just cooked through.
  4. Transfer chicken to platter. Boil liquid in skillet until reduced to sauce consistency, about 2 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
Recipe Notes

Adapted from Epicurious: Dijon Chicken Breasts

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