Balsamic Salmon Salad

My mom recently commented that it is easier for celebrities to be fit and healthy because they have people to prepare their food and make them exercise. My brother astutely replied that she has me. And thus we began our two week challenge where she eats only what I make for her. I am excited because I finally have the chance to make her eat tons of vegetables and other healthy food to help out her insides. She is excited because it is day five and she has already lost the couple pounds she gained recently from sangrias on her summer vacation, plus an extra three that she has not been able to lose, no matter what she tried. She is liking the results on her outsides. She normally does an intense weight and cardio circuit with a trainer for an hour three times per week and she also goes for long walks on several mornings, but this week she has been a bit under the weather so she has not kept up her usual exercise regime, and yet she still lost some weight. This is the power of eating clean, nutrient dense, fiber rich, fresh, natural foods in the right combinations at the right times. It is the most important way to support your body in achieving a healthy body weight. Being an accountant and devout rule follower I know that she has not gone crazy and hidden a chocolate stash anywhere, and she even said that she has not had any cravings and has (mostly) not even been hungry.

This is a salad that I prepared for us for dinner the other night. The salmon and hemp seeds are great sources of protein and healthy fats and the vegetables all have important vitamins and minerals. Most of the vegetables and the hemp seeds are in their raw state so they are still abundant in enzymes, which are important catalysts for all the cellular reactions in our bodies and they work closely with vitamins and minerals to ensure that we are able to digest our food well and absorb all the good stuff once it is broken down. This salad serves two people but the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to feed more.

Balsamic Salmon Salad
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS:
  • ½-3/4 lb wild salmon fillet
  • 4 cups spinach
  • 1½ cups raw broccoli, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ cup raw hemp hearts
  • ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced
  • ¼ cup fresh basil, torn into bite sized pieces
  • ¼ balsamic vinaigrette (if buying from the store look for a brand that uses olive oil and and check the ingredient list to make sure there are not any added sugars or words that don't sound like a known food item)
  • Optional: a few grinds of fresh black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Lay the salmon out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and black pepper then bake for 20 minutes. When you remove it from the oven set it aside for a couple minutes to cool then peel off the skin from the underside, that way you don't have to worry about avoiding it when the fish is already in the salad. The salmon can be baked earlier in the day or the night before if you are short on time before eating. Add all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl, toss to combine then divide them into large bowls and place the salmon on top.

 

2 Thoughts on “Balsamic Salmon Salad

  1. marie on July 21, 2014 at 9:04 am said:

    I need you too! can you send me a list of what you are feeding your mom??

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