Lighten Up in the New Year with Salmon!

New Year's means New Year's Resolutions! Mine: post more awesome healthy recipes! So tune in weekly for some killer dishes to help keep you on track with any health oriented goals you may have set up for yourself for 2010. It's a new decade, might as well start it off right!
I figure we'll start strong with one of my favorite Salmon Recipes that has more health benefits than I can even list here! Here's the health breakdown:


Salmon- It's winter and none of us are getting enough sun, so none of us are getting enough Vitamin D, that vital nutrient for bone health...Enter Salmon. 3.5 oz of Salmon (approx size of a deck of cards) contains nearly 90% of your daily recommended intake. Salmon also gets great attention due to its high content of Omega-3 Fatty Acids. (We talked about these in my post about Flax ) Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fats- the good kind- that help fight heart disease, and help keep skin and joints healthy.

Tomato- It's become common knowledge that tomatoes are a good source of lycopene, but I'm sure we're all asking the same question here... why does that even matter? Lycopene, a carotenoid, may act as an antioxidant in the human body. There are studies linking lycopene consumption from tomatoes with decreased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration. Tomatoes also contain high levels of Vitamin C, folate, & potassium.

Jalapeño- Capsaicin is the nutrient that gives all peppers their kick. The hotter the pepper, the higher the content of Capsaicin. This phytochemical has been shown to kill off prostate cancer cells in mice. Capsaicin can also help allieve a stuffy nose by stimulating secretions which help clear mucus from your nasal passage. On top of that, Capsaicin is known as an anti-inflammatory nutrient that can help with arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

Seriously, I apologize for the length of this post but this is a great recipe. It's a variation of a recipe I saw in Cooking Light. Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions for improvement :)


Salmon w Jalapeno, Tomato, & Red Onion Salsa
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
1/2 Lemon
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
1 lime, divided
1/2 Clove Garlic
1 tsp Ginger

Season salmon with salt & pepper to taste and a spritz of lemon juice. Then in a covered non-stick skillet, saute for about 8 mins. Note: Salmon will continue cooking slightly when you take it out of the pan! Also good thing to know, when sauteing Salmon, heat the pan until a drop of water will sizzle on it then reduce heat to med-high and add Salmon, this will prevent the fish from sticking to the pan. When this is done cooking, place it on a dish and cover with tin-foil to keep warm.

While the salmon is sauteing, you can get started on your salsa! Grab another skillet and coat with olive oil. Bring stove top to med-high heat. Add garlic and saute 1 min, add ginger then saute another min. Add onion & jalepeno and saute for approx 6 mins. While this cooks you can check and see how your Salmon is coming along... Then add tomatos and saute for about 2 mins. Place salsa mixture in a small bowl and squeeze the juice of half the lime on top.

Plate the 4 Salmon filets and divide the salsa mixture over top. Serve w/ 1/2 c brown rice and garnish with a lime wedge. This meal is so delicious and the bright colors make it a real pick-me-up in the dark, cold winter!


http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/03/29/capsaicin-7-powerful-health-benefits-of-the-stuff-that-makes-peppers-hot-004.htm
http://salmonfacts.org/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lycopene/NS_patient-lycopene

Asian Chicken Packets w Veggies

I love, love, love the below recipe! Got it from South Beach Living, made it for my family & there was not a single bite left over it was soo good! Another great thing about this recipe is if you're having a date night, you can just cut everything in half and have a super impressive, colorful meal for 2 with very little effort- Super impressive :)

Health overview:

Red & Green Bell Peppers- 1 cup of Bell Peppers has over 100% of your Recommended Daily Intake for both Vitamins C & A! These vitamins contain powerful antioxidants (i.e.- beta-carotene) which effectively neutralize free-radicals that slowly breakdown cells in the body. Free radicals also contribute to the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries- Gross! The antioxidants found in Vit A & C also help reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, & even cataracts
For another Vit A rich recipe check out my Sweet Potato Fries Recipe :)

Garlic- No surprise here, garlic is a very impressive food.
Garlic, a member of the Allium family (think Onions), is sulfur rich. Why is consumption of sulfur rich food important? Because every cell in the body contains sulfur but the body does not produce it, therefore you gotta get it from foods like garlic! Sulfur is especially found in cartilage and the keratin of skin and hair. Want healthy skin, hair, & nails... eat foods from the Allium family. Sulfuric compounds also help maintain oxygen balance for proper brain function.
Sulfur rich foods also aid in liver detoxification. This food sounds magical I'm not going to lie- so cook the below recipe and do your body some good!!

Asian Chicken Packets w Veggies

3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil1/4 cup copped scallions1 tsp grated ginger1 tsp chopped garlic4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes

1 red bell pepper

1 green pepper

1 package (10 oz) snow peas

1/2 can water chestnuts

Preheat oven to 450 F mix soy sauce, oil, onions, ginger, & garlic in a bowl. Add chix, peppers, peas & water chestnuts. Toss to coat evenly

Center chicken mixture on 4 12''x18'' sheets of aluminum foil. Bring up foil sides, double fold the tops and ends to seal packets. Bake 15-18 mins on baking sheet.

Pair w/ 1/4 c. quinoa per serving. This recipe was so great my family ate every bite!

Chix w/ Apple, Onion &Brussels Sprouts

I invited a good friend over to cook dinner the other night and using mostly what we found already in the kitchen we were able to put together this great & simple recipe!... Why is it so healthy? Here's a quick over view

Brussels Sprouts- See below recipe for health benefits of this amazing cruciferous veggie!

Apples- Granny Smith apples are packed with anti-oxidants (disease fighting compounds). They are rich in flavonols which can help reduce your risk of pancreatic cancer. Even better apples are packed with fiber (both soluble & insoluble)! This helps keep your digestive system regular and who doesn't love that. Foods high in fiber also help fill you up faster in fewer calories.

Red Onion- Onions belong to the Allium family. They are sulfur-rich and therefore aid in liver detoxification. The liver is one of my favorite organs just given it's hugely important function of processing and eliminating toxins. Eating sulfur rich foods (onions, garlic, cabbage, daikon radish...) helps the liver perform its job more efficiently. Between the fiber in apples & sulfur-rich benefits of Onions this recipe can definitely help your body function maximally :)

Chix w/ Apple, Onion, & Brussels Sprouts:

Olive Oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic, divided
1 tbsp fresh chopped ginger, divided
1 granny smith apple (Jullienned)
1/2 red onion (Julienned)
1/2 cup thinly sliced b. sprouts
2 chicken breasts

Season chicken breasts w/ salt & pepper. Take 1/2 tbsp garlic & 1/2 tbsp ginger and rub evenly into chicken breasts. Cover w/ plastic wrap and let sit in fridge for 20-30 mins

Place brussels sprouts in sauce pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until water evaporates & sprouts are soft. On another burner heat approximately 2 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add 1/2 tbsp garlic & saute 1 minute. Add 1/2 tbsp ginger and saute another minute. Add red onions and saute until soft. Add apples & cook another 10 minutes (Until apples soften). Combine Apple/Onion mixture with cooked brussels sprouts and place to the side.

Take chicken out of fridge. Add 2 more tbsp olive oil to saute pan and bring to med heat. Add chicken breast and cook thoroughly.

Plate chicken w/ Apple, Onion, Sprouts mixture and whatever grain you'd like to pair with (Recommend brown rice or quinoa) and ENJOY!