Salmon Sushi Bowls

Over the weekend we hit up a grocery store that we don't often get to, but they have a great seafood section and I was determined to get a nice piece of Sockeye for my lunches this week.  The plan was to have salmon in my salads or wraps and I meant to cook it up just for that purpose until I was inspired by a recipe I saw on Pinterest.  

I'm always looking for healthy and delicious recipes over there and pinning lots to share with my tribe.  I tweaked this one to use what I had on hand and simplified it as well. I had lots of chives growing in the garden but no green onion so I used chives fresh from the garden instead, I also swapped the sugar for honey and made a few other minor tweaks.  

This bowl was SO good I decided to use the rest of the baked salmon to prep this same meal for lunches through the week.  I added a portion of rice and salmon into each bowl which I will warm up slightly before adding the other ingredients to it.  

I was able to make 3 lunches with this recipe and it was super simple to put together!  I'm not sure which of the sauces made it really pop more or if it's both together but I don't suggest skipping either!  If you don't have Sriracha you can easily use any hot sauce you have on hand, I actually had to use Frank's hot sauce instead.  As you can see I had a very helpful sous chef to help me stir all my sauces up!

Having fresh salmon like this makes me want to get Gord to tune up the boat and get out on the water with his Dad ASAP!  But with our move just 3.5 weeks away and his parents reno-ing the condo, I think it's going to have to wait :( 

BUT I'll happily take donations of fresh-caught salmon if any of my lovely friends have fishermen or fisherwomen in the fams!  I'll trade for fresh baked goods ;)  

While I've got you I wanted to remind you that when you are looking for salmon in the grocery store, just make sure you select Wild-caught salmon NOT Farmed. Here's why...

• Wild salmon are more nutritious than farmed with eight times more Vitamin D and three times more Vitamin A per 100-gram serving.
• Wild salmon range in colour from pink to red because of the food they eat. Since farmed salmon do not benefit from a wild diet, natural and artificial colorants are added to their feed to alter their flesh from an unappealing grey to a marketable “salmon” colour (YUCK)

P.S. I'm loving this summer weather we are having!!!  Can't get enough. 

Salmon Sushi Bowls

Ingredients

For the Salmon Sushi Bowls

1 1/2 pounds wild-caught salmon (I like Sockeye) drizzled with a little lemon juice, sea salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

1 cup Jasmine Rice or Brown Rice

1 Avocado, sliced

1 cucumber or 3 mini cucumbers, peeled and sliced

3 green onion or chives, sliced

sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Sriracha Aioli (see recipe below)

Soy Ginger Dressing (see recipe below)

For Soy Ginger Dressing

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil (Olive oil works well too)

1-2 Tablespoons fresh grated ginger root

3 garlic cloves, minced

For the Sriracha Aioli

1/2 cup high-quality mayonnaise

1-2 Tablespoons Sriracha (to the desired spiciness)

Tip: You can also Sub in Yeshi Dressing for the Sriracha Aioli!  Yeshi Dressing is a nutritional yeast-based creamy dressing that comes in 5 different flavors. All of them are free of gluten, nut, dairy and egg!

Directions

1.    Bake salmon in the oven on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through.

2.    Prepare Rice.  I used my rice cooker but prepare it according to package instructions. Allow rice to cool slightly before using it in your bowl.

3.    Prepare the sriracha aioli by stirring together the mayonnaise and sriracha, set aside.

4.    Prepare the soy ginger dressing by stirring together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.  Whisk until sugar is dissolved.  Set aside.

5.    To assemble Salmon Sushi Bowls, add rice to the bowl.  Top with a portion of salmon, avocado, cucumber slices, and green onion slices. Drizzle with sriracha aioli and soy ginger dressing.  Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.

Recipe modified from Fox and Briar 

BTW this recipe could be easily made 21 Day Fix friendly by measuring all your portions out of the containers.  The Sauces aren't Portion Fix approved by I'll let you decide what you would like to do with that... I measured my portions with the containers and still enjoyed the sauces cause life is all about balance! 

Cauliflower Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce

I picked up a Clean Eating Magazine for my trip to Texas last week and was super inspired by a few of the the recipes within it and have been trying to weave them into our meal plan since I've been back!  One of the recipes that interested me was the Chipotle Cauliflower Tacos with Jalapeño Cilantro Sauce so I thought I would give it a go!  

The recipe was surprisingly easy to put together and I did change it up a little bit based on what we had on hand.  Actually my homemade taco seasoning recipe which I used for mine has quite a kick lately and I've been trying to figure out what's going on!  I think that the Chili Power I've been using is spicy perhaps!  I've been using a Mexican chili powder for years and never had a problem with it being spicy until recently so maybe I need to switch up the chili powder!  Whatever the reason our Taco Seasoning has been seriously spicing up our meals lately so I decided that I would leave the Jalapeño out of the sauce which I was grateful for as it helped to cool the spice down!

I also used Large Living Butter Lettuce leaves instead of corn tortillas since I'm following the Portion Fix right now and only have 2 Yellow containers per day available!  I love these Living Butter Lettuce packages, I find them perfect for doing lettuce wrapped tacos with any filling and have used them in several recipes.  You can also use large Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves.  

I had 3 Lettuce Wrapped Cauliflower tacos and I would count them on the Portion fix as 2 green containers so that's a win!  I topped my tacos with a little thin sliced yellow pepper and then drizzled with the Cilantro Lime Sauce.  

Cauliflower Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce

Ingredients

Tacos

1 Large Head of Cauliflower but into bite-sized florets

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tsp Taco Seasoning

8 6 Inch whole wheat tortillas or Large Living Butter Lettuce leaves. 

Cilantro Lime Sauce

1 Cup Fresh Cilantro leaves

1/2 Cup Avocado Oil Mayonnaise

2 Tbsp Lime Juice

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Clove garlic, rouhly chopped

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt

1/4 tsp sea salt

Pinch Black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside

Prepare tacos:  Bring a large sauce pan of water to a boil.  Add cauliflower and cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.  Drain Well; transfer to a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.  Set aside. 

In a large bowl, stir together Oil and taco seasoning.  Add Cauliflower and toss gently to coat.  Arrange in a single layer on prepared sheet.  Bake, turning once, until golden, 20-30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare your sauce.  In a blender, food processor or handheld smoothie blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. 

Divide cauliflower among tortillas or lettuce leaves.  Add toppings of your choice and drizzle with sauce.  Enjoy!

7 Day Sugar Detox

I am kicking off a 7 Day Sugar Detox group on Monday May 8th and I couldn't be more thrilled to finally host this group!  I've been wanting to talk about sugar in greater detail for a very long time and I'm finally ready to share what I've learned along the way and help change some lives for the better! 

This group is going to act as a support system for those who find them selves consuming more sugar than they would prefer, or for those who hadn't realized how much sugar is in the every day thins we consume.  We will be learning as we go, sharing our struggles, coping with cravings and reaching our goals over these 7 days and beyond! 

If you aren't already part of the group you can click here to request to join! 

Sugar is lurking everywhere so my hope and intention for this group is for those participating to become more aware of the ingredients in their food.  It’s pretty shocking if you go into a grocery store and grab a box of cereal or a jar of tomato sauce—you’ll quickly see there’s added sugar lurking in almost everything that comes packaged in a carton or can. It’s no wonder we’re addicted.

Below you will find a little more information about the group and info on how and why we are structuring it the way we are.....

Make the Decision

Comit yourself to this 7-day detox.  These changes will reset your brain and body.

Why is sugar so hard to quit??

You’re probably thinking, ‘I get it—the stuff has little to no redeeming value.’ But if you’re trying to quit, it helps to understand why it’s so hard to cut the sweetness out of our diets.

Believe it or not, sugar hijacks the brain chemistry much like drugs such as nicotine, cocaine and heroin do. Sugar, just like certain drugs, makes our brains release dopamine—which signals that something is pleasurable. Each time we eat it, it sugar activates a “reward” pathway in our brain that leaves us feeling as if we always need more. So regular sugar consumption can actually change the gene expression and availability of dopamine receptors in both the midbrain and frontal cortex. Simply put, our brains become tolerant to sugar, thus the increasing need for more.

Quit Cold Turkey

When a sugar addict eats even a small amount of sugar, they want more and more.  We must break the cycle and going cold turkey gives us a window to allow significant withdrawal and detox to take place.  Stop all forms of refined sugar:  white flour, artificial sweetners, hydrogenated fats and pre-packaged foods. This also means no honey, no maple syrup, no agave nectar, no artificial sweeteners and nothing sweet except for fresh fruit.

Don’t Drink your calories

No sweetened teas and coffees, no sodas and no juices.

Add Protein to every meal

Include eggs, nuts, seeds, fish, chicken or grass-fed meats.

Consume ½ cup of of beans per day

Beans prevent that insulin spike associated with cravings and fat storage, plus beans are high in protein and lessen the glycemic reaction at your second meal. 

Eat slow foods

Slow foods are foods that take a long time to digest, and these squash sugar cravings because they provide you with a steady stream of calories in your bloodstream, verses a flood all at once.  Fast carbs, like white bread and pasta turn into sugar, spiking insulin and leading to a wide swing in glucose; setting you up for fat storage and cravings. Eat slow foods at every meal.  Go for beans, whole grains (such as steel-cut oats) and high carb vegetables such as butternut squash, carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, lentils or peas.
The key, is to eat whole, unprocessed foods that keep you full and prevent insulin spikes.

Meal ideas: Whole grain like steel-cut oats with seeds and berries for breakfast. A salad with a nut-based dressing for lunch and bowl of bean soup or chili.

Include good fats at every meal

Go for nuts and seeds (with meals), avocado and fish, which offer omega-3 fatty acids.

Keep your blood levels stable
Research shows that when you are hungry, you are more likely to crave and eat sugary foods. This is simple to avoid if you just take a little time to plan ahead.
Plan to be hungry about every 2-3 hours. Plan out your meals and snacks ahead of time, or at least have convenient options of healthy food nearby.
If you know you will be gone for more than 2-3 hours, plan ahead and bring healthy snacks with you. Add healthy sources of protein to your meals and snacks, to keep you more satiated for longer.

Manage your stress

When your stressed, your cortisol shoots up.  This will drive up your hunger and can fuel sugar cravings.