Eat.Fit.Be.Fit – Paleo Inspired Salmon

I must first tell you all as you’re probably watching my video for this week, you’re probably wondering how in one frame I had bare hands, and the next BOOM. Butterfly tape. Today was a day that coach Jen almost took the top of her finger clean off. The pups were wrestling around the kitchen and as I was chopping, I heard a yelp, and there it went! But, nothing a little butterfly tape can’t fix 😛

Now onto the real business. As most of you know, ever since about February, my gut has been unhappy. Doesn’t really like anything I put in it! I tried so many different changes in exercise, timing of my meals, sleep, stress, stretching/meditation/self care, and even some dietary changes. Which all helped! But I am still struggling with a regular system. So this month, I was directed by my doc to go paleo. Now I have never done paleo, although my diet is pretty darn close to it already. But there are some things I am changing out, because I am going to fully commit for 30 days to see if my gut likes it or not. Trying to be optimistic, but honestly, not much is changing for me with it. But let’s give it a whirl.

One thing I will say, is if you really are interested in a diet, and think it’s going to work, in order for you to say such and such diet lead you to success, you have to follow it to a T. If you stray away, and follow your own rules, then it’s now YOUR temporary diet, not A temporary diet. And I also want to continue to use this blog post to help you all find what kind of diet can fit into your lifestyle. Some weeks, there might be some great ideas that work well, while other times it may seem completely unrealistic for you. This week is a salmon dish that has all paleo friendly spices and sides.

Some of you might be wondering, what is Paleo? Putting it simply, it’s a way of eating that limits the amount of sugars, dairy, and glutinous grains. Specifically, the Paleo dietary model encourages us to base our diets on the following foods:

• Animals (especially a “whole animal” approach, including organs, bone marrow, cartilage, and organs)
• Animal products (such as eggs or honey)
• Vegetables and fruits
• Raw nuts and seeds
• Added fats (like coconut oil, avocado, butter, ghee)

This allows the gut to rid off excess yeast in your system, which usually is created by sugary drinks and foods, refined carbohydrates, starchy carbohydrates, highly processed foods, and dairy, which we all know and love to an extent, but could a pastry really be considered food?

I was quite happy with how this dish turned out. First time I have baked salmon in a liquid sauce before, particularly tomatoes, and it really kept the moisture tucked right in, and the aromas that are flowing through the house right now; AMAZING. For the next 30 days, I will give regular and paleo options for recipes, as they are easily transferrable. And you might find you like one better than the other! I’m a big fan of coconut oil, so the side in this dish were just so darn good! Crunchy, with a little kick! You can always go without oil, but this girl needs to put on some pounds! 😛

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together tomatoes, oil, shallots, and garlic. Enjoy that quintessential Italian aroma.
3. Add lemon juice and herbs, salt and pepper.
4. Place salmon fillets (skin side down) into glass 9×13 inch casserole dish and cover with tomato mixture.
5. Bake for 25 minutes.
6. When the salmon is done, remove the pan from the oven and place the fillets on a separate dish. There will be a beautiful sauce remaining in the pan, complete with rustic bits of salmon.
7. Stir chopped fresh basil leaves into the hot sauce, while it is still in the pan. (Or bake it with it like I did)
8. Place one fillet onto each plate, directly on top of the sauce and tomatoes.
9. Finish with Green Beans (see recipes below)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flake, or to taste
• 1.5lbs green beans (I didn’t trim the beans, nobody got time for that)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir to coat in the oil. Add green beans and cook, stirring often until the beans are blistering and browning in areas, 5 to 7 minutes MAX. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly. Serve immediately.

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