Salmon, Spinach and Avocado Salad

It's been too hot to cook around here so last night I made this easy salad using a wild sockeye salmon fillet that we got from a "buy one, get one free" offer at our local grocery store. There are some variations to this salad so you can add or subtract items depending on your preferences that I'll add to the recipe. I'm still experimenting with the low lectin diet that I talked about in my last post and this recipe is low lectin. I am reading the book The Plant Paradox that basically goes beyond a gluten-free diet and eliminates foods with lectins which the author claims is the cause of a lot of health problems. I'm realizing that The Plant Paradox book is a diet itself because the author outlines other dietary restrictions besides low lectin when following his regimen like limiting sugar and only 4 ounces of meat daily. So, the P.P. diet (Plant Paradox diet) is actually more than a low lectin diet. (My chocolate cake from my last post would not be compliant on the P.P. diet because it's too much sugar) Anyway, I'm still experimenting with this because I want to follow a anti-inflammatory diet to help with my arthritic knees and they do say that sugar causes inflammation. So, I guess you could say there are various extents of the P.P. diet depending how strict you would need to be for your particular health concern. I don't really think it's that hard to follow. I've been able to find all the alternative gluten-free, grain-free foods at the local grocery store since gluten-free is so popular now. And I found out that this is the diet that Kelly Clarkson followed to lose the 36 pounds she recently lost, plus she got off her thyroid medication. It's health issues like low thyroid, that the author claims his P.P. diet can help people overcome. Anyway, this salad is still good regardless of any special diet and it's real easy to make and a great summer choice.

Serves 4

Salad
1 pound salmon filet (about four 4 ounces portions)

9-10 oz. bag of baby spinach
leaf lettuce
crumbled feta cheese
sliced green onions
slivered almonds
avocado, sliced
(sliced red onions)
(peeled fresh peach segments or fresh orange segments)

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper

1. Heat a heavy skillet on medium heat with a small amount of olive oil.

2. Turn heat up to medium/high and place salmon fillets in pan, skin side up, and cook for about 3 minutes.

3. Turn fish over and cook until it feels firm to the touch and the skin is crisp, if desired, about 3 minutes more. The skin can be served or removed easily with a knife or spoon.

4. Mix together all the salad ingredients using the quantities you prefer and using items in the parenthesis, if you wish.

5. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk together until well blended.

6. Pour dressing over the salad.

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Oatmeal, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't have very many gluten-free cookies on my blog because quite frankly, I usually don't like gluten-free. But occasionally, I do find a good recipe and this is one that is from the back of the Trader Joe's oatmeal and it's a good one. My friend brought some over to our house last weekend when Nick and family were here for our birthday celebrations and we all loved them. My friend lives a few blocks away and we walk the neighborhood together on weekends. We can easily go 5 miles in no time, talking non-stop. She loves exploring our neighborhood as much as I do and we discover so many favorite little spots. We even found a property with a horse (or more like a pony, I should say.) The views are always quite lovely, too. Bruce and I had our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary on July 18th and I made a point of walking past the house where we had our wedding reception. I told my friend, "Thirty-nine years ago today, t...

Meatloaf by Mark Bittman

Once again, I turned on the television yesterday and saw that Mark Bittman was on the Today show and was making his version of meatloaf . This must be meatloaf season. It was surprisingly similar to the Pioneer Woman's version who was also recently on. I was a little surprised of his version because Mark Bittman is into healthy eating and has lost a lot of weight and improved his health by changing his diet which he writes about in his book, Food Matters . His meatloaf recipe also included bacon and cheese! I must be doing something wrong. The thing to remember, which he writes about in his book, is that you can eat healthy without going extreme or changing your whole life. If you don't know who Mark Bittman is, he is a food writer and a four star chef with multiple cookbooks who loves to eat but changed his food philosophy to improve his health. He tells his story in Food Matters and provides ...

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

This hearty vegetarian soup warms up chilly nights. Use any type of canned beans you happen to have on hand and add chicken or Italian sausage for a heftier dish, if you prefer. Makes 4-6 servings 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 tsp. salt, divided 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups vegetable broth, divided 7 cups stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch) 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained and divided 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary 1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and saute 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and garlic; cook 1 minute. 2. Stir in 3 cups vegetable broth and kale. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simme...

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