Truth be told, i’m not a big fan of salmon. You will never find me ordering it at a restaurant but…I cannot resist THIS salmon recipe. When I eat this, I literally say ‘yum’ out loud and gobble it down fast. I especially like how fast this cooks up, under 25 minutes from preparation to plate. So thanks to this recipe, I am a salmon convert.
I also prefer wild caught salmon so that I’m eating the healthiest version salmon. I do not purchase farm raised fish of any kind because of the gmo pellets they are fed to artificially bulk up the fish. And since I primarily stick with organics, it just makes sense for me and my health preferences. But, that being said, this recipe will work with farm raised or wild caught.
zest from 1 lemon (then use the remaining lemon for slices)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400.
Line a baking pan or dish with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine butter, dill, garlic, salt/pepper and lemon zest.
Microwave thoroughly until melted but be careful not to burn the butter. About 25 seconds.
Using a pastry brush, brush melted mixture generously onto each fillet. Place a lemon slice on top of each fillet at the fattest part.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes on the middle or top rack. I checked mine at 10, using a fork to check for flakiness and decided it needed another 2½ minutes because I like my salmon on the firmer side. Whatever your preference, check it at 10 minutes and go from there.
Easy Greek Lemon Chicken with Olives and Artichoke Hearts
When I say this recipe is easy, I really really mean it. Not only is it easy but its paleo, gluten free and low carb. Not to mention, delicious.
I found this recipe at Beauty and the Foodie, a great food blog that I found recently. Check it out if you get a chance. I made a couple of changes to their recipe like using boneless chicken breasts and kalamata olives for example.
Start to finish, this delicious Greek chicken bake took less than an hour. And it really could not have been easier. Serve topped with some crumbled feta if that’s your thang or some lemon slices for some extra zing. Yum-may!
Easy Greek Lemon Chicken with Olives and Artichoke Hearts - Paleo, Gluten Free, Low Carb
1 - 10 ounce package grape or cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, canned
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
2½ teaspoons minced garlic
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
*Optional: crumbled feta cheese for topping
*Optional: lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cut chicken breasts into large pieces. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, lemon juice, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and olive oil. Stir gently until everything is thoroughly mixed.
Pour mixture over chicken evenly.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Check at 35 minutes. Slice the largest piece of chicken to see if it is cooked thoroughly. If not, put back in oven for another 5 minutes and check again.
Using a slotted spoon, serve and spoon a little of the lemon juices over the top.
I needed a quick and easy side to go with lunch today so I opened the fridge and remembered I had just bought a bag of organic broccoli slaw at Trader Joe’s yesterday. As soon as I bought it, I knew tahini was going to be involved.
This slaw literally took me 5 minutes from start to finish. If you have a last minute bbq or party to go to and want to bring something healthy and delicious, this can be your go-to dish. It feeds 10+ people as a side dish. If you make it for the family and have leftovers, they keep really good too.
This slaw is right up my alley. It was already shredded, only has 25 calories per serving, 2 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber just from the slaw. There is even more protein from the tahini so it makes a great meal on its own. So easy, so tasty, so healthy.
I love adding a slice of fresh lemon or orange to my water or tea. It really helps me get in my bodies required water for the day. Especially when exercising where I lose A LOT of water through sweating.
Having fresh slices of citrus on hand isn’t exactly convenient. My solution is to dehydrate mine so that I can have them on hand any time I want. Not only do I add them to my water and tea but I use them for soups and cooking too. As long as they are dehydrated thoroughly, they won’t go bad and I can make a big batch at one time.
One of my first kitchen appliances that I actually called “my favorite” was my food dehydrator. I originally purchased it after buying dried veggie chips at the grocery store and wondered how I could make my own. I did a little research and found out that food dehydrators don’t have to be super expensive.
What I also learned was that by dehydrating foods or heating them a very low temperature, they retain their natural nutrients and attributes. When we cook at higher temperatures, we lose some of those awesome benefits because they are cooked or boiled away. That’s why nutritionists will tell you that it’s much healthier to eat raw fruits and veggies rather than cooking them so you can maximize the benefits.
The dehydrator I use is a Nesco dehydrator. It’sone of the most inexpensive ones out there. Since I was just starting on my dehydrating journey, I got myself a 20% off coupon and went to my local Bed Bath & Beyond. I ended up paying a little over $50.
Let me tell you, I’ve really gotten my money’s worth out of this handy dandy super easy to use dehydrator. I’ve had my dehydrator for almost a year and have used the crap out of it! Sometimes I’ll have it running for days at a time.
I dehydrate all kinds of things:
Fruits (citrus, bananas, pineapple, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, grapes, apples, pears, etc) to use in homemade granolaor just to snack on.
Making dried citrus slices is among the list of super easy, almost fool-proof things to dehydrate. There are only ingredients: citrus and coconut palm sugar. You can use regular sugar if you want but I prefer coconut palm sugar for several reasons. I love the taste of it (it resembles light brown sugar) and it’s lower on the glycemic index list.
I sliced my organic citrus about a quarter inch thick, maybe a little less, spread them out on parchment paper and sprinkled with coconut palm sugar. I rubbed the palm sugar in with my fingers to make sure it got it into the rinds as well.
You can actually dehydrate all the foods listed above in a conventional oven but it does tie up your oven for a long period of time but if that doesn’t matter to you then you can set your oven to a temp of 200 degrees.
Make sure you flip the citrus half way through the drying process whether you are using an oven or dehydrator.
Your choice of citrus. I used 1 pink grapefruit, 1 seedless orange and 1 lemon (all organic)
¼ - ½ cup of coconut palm sugar (or white sugar)
Instructions
Slice citrus about a ¼ inch thick, maybe a little less if you can.
Place slices on parchment paper and sprinkle with coconut palm sugar.
Either place citrus in your dehydrator trays and set to 135 degrees for 8 to 9 hours, flipping halfway through.
Or place citrus on the parchment paper on a cookie sheet in the oven at 200 degrees for 6 hours, flipping halfway through.
After drying, take a piece or two from the dehydrator or the oven and let it cool for a few minutes to see if after cooled all the moisture is out of the slices. The rinds should be very hard and no moisture in the flesh. If there is still moisture, the slices can go rancid so you want them as dry as possible so they have a long shelf life.
I like to snack on my slices, not so much the rind because it can be bitter sometimes but when I use them for water, tea or cooking I include the whole slice, rind included. One slice flavors my water perfectly and lasts through a couple of refills. Plus you get a little dose of vitamin C with your water.
