Every other Friday Whole Foods will have a special on something whether it’s blueberries or roast, but last Friday it was salmon. It was $7.99 versus the regular $14.99 so I had to take advantage, especially since I’ve been wanting some lately anyway so this was perfect!
Anyway, my sweet neighbor has been telling me about her favorite salmon and parchment paper recipe for literally years now so thought it was time to try it. I was looking for a new way to cook salmon, especially because this salmon was sockeye and it tends to be more dry when I cook it. Anyway, it turned out amazingly well! It was so moist and so yummy! Thanks Drennen for this recipe!
Here’s what I used:
1 lb wild salmon
fresh asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 scallions
1 lemon, halved
parchment paper
Here’s what you need to do:
Preheat your oven to 400.
Pull out a large piece of parchment paper (big enough that you’ll be able to wrap it around the fish tightly.
Put the paper in a baking dish and put the fish on top.
Cut a lemon and squeeze all of the juice from the lemon.
Then add olive oil, chopped asparagus, scallions, salt and peper.
Now place the lemon halves on top of the fish.
Fold over the parchment paper so you can seal it up (the steaming effect is what makes this so moist).
Cook for 400 for 20 minutes and enjoy!
Next time, I think I’m going to add gluten free Tamari soy sauce to it, or even just some fresh cilantro or basil. There are so many ways to make this, I’m just excited to know how to make my fish so moist!
Oh, and I know I said this before, but the thought of left over fish kind of grosses me out, but I promise, this was even better the next day for lunch!
Drennen -I do love this dish!
I like to cook sweet potatoes along with this meal as a side – clean them, poke them, rub a little olive oil around them and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in top of oven for 45-50 minutes or until done.
While the potatoes are cooking, you can prepare your salmon.
I like to top the salmon with the asparagus (cut into 1″ pieces) along with the chopped scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper or some Beau Monde Seasoning or Nature’s Seasoning.
I like to squeeze an entire lemon on each fillet and then top each fillet with a lemon half. This makes it good and juicy. Place each pouch on a cookie sheet.
After the potatoes have been cooking for about 25 minutes, place the salmon on the lower rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes while the potatoes finish cooking. Enjoy!ReplyCancel
Lisa Bell -delicious and so easy to make!ReplyCancel
So I’ve talked to numerous people doing the Whole 30, and have heard different results across the board. First, if you did it (or are still doing it), be so proud of yourself — whether it lasted a few days, a couple of weeks or if you’ve almost made it to the finish line (you’re getting SO close!)! You took steps to make yourself feel better, which will benefit not just you, but also those around you. Undertaking this challenge was, is a big deal. By the way, if you are about to make your Day 30 goal, you TOTALLY deserve a shirt or tattoo or something!!! And regardless of how long you did it, I’d love to hear your experiences. Please feel free to post in comments if you are willing to share so we can all learn!
Okay, back to the reason I’m writing this post. So I’ve been eating healthy for years, and honestly, it’s been a work in progress and a total evolution for me. I started out about 10 years ago by reducing and then dropping sugar when I learned I was hypoglycemic. And then, I dropped the fried foods when I developed IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Next, I cut out all whites (e.g. flours, rice, anything high glycemic) and went to whole grain (which is still high glycemic so not really sure of my justification there) to try to feel even better.
Then came an Ulcerative Colitis (autoimmune disease) diagnosis and then lupus symptoms (a year later) so the next logical step for me was going Paleo. When I first heard about it, I said “There is no way I could do that. I love bread too much!”. But after reading and researching it to death, I realized, this was a change I had to make. But, I wanted to make it a realisitic goal that I would stick with. It was so different from the way I was eating, and I was such a carb addict, I wanted to start out slowly. The first week, I took out the whole wheat bread/grains I was eating at dinner time. Then the second week, I dropped them from lunch. And finally, the third week, I cut carbs from breakfast. For me, it was a simpler and more realistic way of tackling this. Some people are so good at going cold turkey, and, well, some are like me and need to ease into new things. I still allowed myself a cheat meal once a week or so. With Paleo, to really feel the effects, you need to eat this way 90 percent of the time, and I think that is a great goal. Though, to this day I still would never add gluten back in, even on cheat meals.
So maybe figure out how you work best, and what you need to eliminate first, then just go for it! Don’t be afraid of failure because you will only get stronger and better and learn more each and every time you try. The only failure is not trying.
Okay, last couple of things to think about if you are going to go with the slower paced route, and I’m going to keep this short and to the point. One, work on getting rid of the gluten (that doesn’t mean eating a bunch of “gluten free” things). Two, get rid of the sugar. Three, reduce the dairy, or bad hydrogenated inflammatory oils, or whatever it is that is making your body unhealthy, and see if you don’t feel better. I never thought I had an allergy or problem with dairy, or grains for that matter. This was an earlier conversation I had with my doctor, years before going Paleo:
Dr: “You must take 6 pills a day. Two at breakfast, two at lunch and two at dinner.”
Me: “For the rest of my life?”
Dr: “If you want to try to stay well.”
Me: “What are the side effects of these drugs, and what is expected in the long run with UC”.
Well, the rest of the conversation was pretty depressing needless to say since this is an “incurable” disease, like most autoimmune diseases. Anyway, my point is, I haven’t had a doctor prescribed pill or steroid since I changed my diet, nor have I had a flare up of any kind, and it’s been over 3 years! Did my diet cure it? Who knows. But…so far, so good!
And lastly, don’t be afraid to eat good fats. Olive oil, avacado oil, coconut oil and butter, eggs, raw almonds or nuts (2 servings a day max if trying to loose weight since they are calorie dense), grass fed meats because it all has so many nutrients and again, (good) fat won’t make us fat. Say it, “fat won’t make me fat.” It’s true, so enjoy it!
Oh and if you do nothing else, please read Wheat Belly. This book is for everyone and as one of my good friends said, “It’s life changing!”. It really is.
Read it for yourself, and for your family and friends, because I think we all know someone with at least one of these issues (below), and maybe, just maybe, we can share what we learn and help them. 🙂
Melanie -Landria –
I have worked real hard at making small changes for me and my family. Megan and I have been eating clean for about 4 mths now and neither her nor I have even had a cold. Thanks to your blog. My husband and Mandy are still the stubborn one’s. He just asked me “where are the chips”? My response… “there are none… we have eliminated them this week”. I made him an apple sliced up and he seemed OK…haha. Last night we had fish (luckily they all like fish) with your yummy roasted broccoli. Mandy was the only one that wouldn’t try the broccoli. My hubby ate all of it which I was surprised. Both him and Mandy were sick a few weeks ago and Megan and I felt great. Keep it up girl… you are making a difference. I just enjoyed a really yummy salad for lunch with roasted flax seeds, chopped chicken, avocado, artichoke hearts and palms and some parm cheese. So even for us really non veggie eaters we are starting to conform. PS. I had apple cider vinegar which to my family’s dislike I can drink it and I love it!!!ReplyCancel
landriav -HA! I LOVE hearing all of that Mel!!! First, how amazing that you and Megan are eating so well, and are the ones not getting sick. The difference it makes is so clear, isn’t it? Stick with it, as I know you guys will, and I bet you, your husband and Mandy will figure it out and follow at some point. Eating healthy will spread! It just takes some longer than others to warm up to change, regardless of what kind of change. You are making a HUGE difference in your family and developing such good life long habits for your girls. That is awesome. And, thank you so much for your kind words. It is really nice to hear!! 🙂 Oh, and the apple cider, it’s really not THAT bad, is it? Thanks again for posting! It means a lot!ReplyCancel
Whitney -I have just bought this book, can’t wait to read it!ReplyCancel
landriav -Good for you. Can’t wait to hear what you think about it! I think you will absolutely love it!ReplyCancel
Kathryn -Great post! Thanks for sharing!ReplyCancel
Shana -Great post and interesting read. Just to update you on my progress with the Whole 30…I did it really strictly for the first couple of weeks, but I think I realized pretty quickly that it’s unsustainable for me in the long run, so I made the following changes:
-I now skip rice with a meal, unless it IS the meal like risotto
-All my potatoes are sweet not white
-Cauliflower stands in for mashed potatoes
-No added sugar, honey, etc.
-I added back GF oatmeal for breakfast
-Added veggies for breakfast most mornings along with eggs
-Obviously, everything is gluten-free for me these days
-Am consistently having a salad of some type for lunch
Generally buying WAY more fruits and veggies each week
I realized that my first priority has to be keeping the gluten out and if that means leaving in some other things like oats or beans so I don’t go nuts, then so be it. I would say I have lowered my high-glycemic starch intake by 75% or more, and I feel great! Appetite way more under control these days, I don’t snack or have cravings nearly as often. And once each weekend I allow myself a bowl of ice cream and a glass of wine.
For me, right now, it feels like a good balance, and I know that over the past 6 months I have improved my diet immensely! Your recipes and posts are crucial to my success, I read every one!ReplyCancel
landriav -Shana, I think the best thing about doing the Whole 30 is one, getting to “reset” and get back on track, and two, getting to figure out what you actually need to eat well. Otherwise, I think we underestimate ourselves and don’t eat quite as well but I think it sounds like you’ve got a fantastic balance, and some really worthwhile changes!! And isn’t the whole appetite thing just such a bonus to all of this to the feeling great, and staying well. And I bet you appreciate that bowl of ice cream or wine oh so much, and you deserve it so enjoy every bite! I really appreciate you sharing because I think everyone can really learn from tips like there so thank you! Glad to hear you’re feeling and doing so well. Sounds like you’ve really come a long way!!! And thank you for the words on my blog. They are very inspiring and motivating! 🙂ReplyCancel
Shana -I do appreciate the ice cream and wine!! And you’re right, they are much more enjoyable when it’s not something you have every day!ReplyCancel
April -Lan, thank you for sharing your story and your knowledge with us. Over the past couple of years, I began having health problems. It started with inflamation of the joints to which the doctor just said some people are just prone to it. Well, I am in my early thirties and shouldn’t hurt all over. Then started the severe acid reflux, which the doctor wanted to remedy by taking Nexium everyday. Things started to get worse and I was scheduled for an endoscope after already having a colonoscopy that showed intestinal inflammation. I am happy to report that since reading your blog, cooking your recipes, and starting the Whole30, I have had zero symptoms. I am off the nexium, got to cancel the endoscope, and have zero inflamation in my joints. It will still take a while for this to become a lifestyle. The Whole30, cold turkey is a tough gig for someone who ate out almost all the time. Learning how to cook and shop and menu plan is all new for me, but I feel great about what I am feeding my family. Love the recipes and the tips. Please keep up the good work. You have become my virtual menu planner! P.S. Although we are not supposed to weigh ourselves, I have lost 10 ‘lbs on Whole30! Bonus!ReplyCancel
landriav -April! That is unbelievable! I can’t tell you how much your note warmed my heart. Thank you for your kind words. I’m so happy I could actually help! 🙂 And, more importantly I’m so overwhelmingly proud of you for going cold turkey and sticking to it for so long. And I’m glad you did it that way so you could see how it can, and does change your health so dramatically. It’s crazy the direct correlation to health, wellness and food, isn’t it?. I’s a shame the doctors don’t know what to do (most get less than 10 hours of “nutrition education”, so how would they know), or don’t care enough to help because they could read (because of course they won’t make any money on helping you change your diet). And congrats on loosing the 10lbs! WOW!
Thanks for taking the time to update me. I REALLY appreciate it!ReplyCancel
I dont know if it was the nasty weather here yesterday or what but Scott and I were both craving something hearty and having recently learned that cauliflower can be used as rice, I decided to make a jambalaya. It might have been my husband’s appetite but he said “this is definitely my new favorite!”. Tate and I loved it too (Alice hasn’t been around to try it yet). I thought it was going to be daunting to make but it was actually quite easy, and with Scott’s help, the cleanup wasn’t as bad.
Here’s what you need:
1 andouille sausage (I used Whole Food’s Wellshire turkey)
6-8 garlic cloves (Trader Joe’s pre-pealed in the orange bag by the bags of spinach)
1 yellow onion
1 green bell pepper
1 head cauliflower
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
When I first woke up, I got the chicken ready for the slow cooker. I added a few shakes of salt, oregano, and thyme to cover the chicken, and then let it cook on low for 5 hours. Around lunch time, I cut up the sausage and cooked that in a large pan until almost brown. Set that aside, but still in the pan. Then, to make life easier, and since I was going to have to pull out my food processor anyway, I let it chop up my onions, green peppers, and even my garlic cloves. That was quick. I need to use that more often! Then, I added those veggies to the pan with the sausage, mixed it all together and let it cook on low for about 10 minutes. Then, back to the food blender, I added in the cauliflower to blend it until it because rice like, and then added that with the sausage and veggies. I mixed it all together so the flavors would mix but didn’t need to cook it much more.
Last few steps! Now, take the chicken out of the slower cooker but leave all of it’s juices in there. Debone the chicken, put all of the meat back in the cooker. Pour in all of your veggies and sausage with the chicken. Lastly, add in the tomato paste, a can of tomatoes, and all of the spices above and mix together. Place the lid back on the cooker for a bit longer to make sure the caulflower is cooked. Let it sit maybe 10 minutes and then enjoy! It was pretty awesome if I do say so myself!
Jenn Godfrey -This looks fantastic! Can’t wait to try it out!!ReplyCancel
Erin -How long do you need to cook the chicken? And, do you need any liquid in there when you start, or is it a dry slow cooker? Thanks!ReplyCancel
landriav -I cooked it on low for 5 hours in my crock pot/slow cooker. And nope, no liquid at all. Just chicken spices and cover. You will end up with plenty of yummy juices from the chicken for the jambalaya. Great questions, thanks for asking!!ReplyCancel
Lisa -I made this tonight and it was a-ma-zing!!! The crockpot chicken is genius – so easy and delicious. I would have been happy just eating the chicken! I think I chopped the veggies up too fine – it was nowhere near as pretty as yours, but still yummy! Thanks for the great recipes. We have also been trying veggie appetizers and my 3 gals are eating them!ReplyCancel
landriav -That is awesome Lisa!!! Love that you guys liked this, and love even more that the girls are eating their greens! 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment! I really appreciate!ReplyCancel
Jen -Hey! I think this looks yummy and am going to try it tonight, but have a question. I only have a couple of chicken breasts and was thinking of adding some shrimp to make up for the lack of meat. Since I don’t have a whole chicken I was just going to boil the chicken breasts. I figured I could substitute the “chicken juices” for some stock…..do you think that would be ok and couple you give me an estimate of about how much stock I should use for it to all come together? TIA!!! :0)ReplyCancel
landriav -Hey Jen! I think that would likely work well. I would guess maybe use 1/2 cup but pour slowly so you can gauge. You can always add in, you can’t take any out. Hth! Let me know how it turns out. Sounds yummy!!ReplyCancel
Carmen Genuardi -I am new to this site and love the easy to follow and kid friendly recipes.
I wonder if there is a way to add a “print” this recipe button?
So over the past few months I have referenced or linked to many things that I love (from hand blenders to coconut oils) so I thought it would be easier to have one page where all of the non-perishable things (too bad I can’t link to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods!) are listed. Anyway, if you look at my menu section, look for “My Favorite Things” and click there. I hope this helps you to organize your kitchen so you can easily order what you need, or at least have a visual of the product so you’ll know what to look for. And now I don’t have to post boring pictures like this knife, although it is my favorite and perfect for finely cutting veggies in the colander. Anyway, sorry, I just felt I couldn’t have a post without a picture and this was the best I could do with so little time today.
Also, and more importantly, I wanted to really thank everyone for first reading my blog. I know your down time is limited so it means a lot to me you spend some of that time reading here! And second, thank you for those who make comments on the site. I LOVE the interaction and that is really what keeps me motivated. Please keep it coming and as always, feel free comment on, or about anything!!
Again, sorry for today’s post but know that I do have a great meal that I made today so will post that tomorrow! Enjoy your Saturday!
The kids have been into granola lately and wanted to be able to offer them something without the oats, even though there are some good gluten free (Udi’s) granolas out there. Anyway, they wanted to help put something together so thought this would be ideal. I got this recipe from my friend Marla, and her amazing blog, so thanks M! Here is what you need:
Use any nuts you guys love. We had some, but also wanted to get a few more so we went on a Trader Joe’s run. I love their raw nut selection, and price. In particular, I used:
1 cup almonds
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup roasted flax seeds
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1 cup raw dark honey
Pour all of the nuts in a food processor and blend with a few quick pulses. You want it still to be the consistency of very small nuts, and not nut flour. Then add the salt and cinnamon to the mix.
No bossing around going on here…
Next is the messy, and fun part, if you’re kids are helping. With some good raw honey (thanks for the awesome honey Whitney; the kids LOVED the honeycomb if you can’t tell!), pour 1 cup into a sauce pan and cook on low. Add the vanilla. You don’t need to cook this long, just a few minutes so it gets thinner and so it will be easy to pour.
Lots of teaching, I mean teamwork, going into this…
Now go back to your nuts while the honey is warming and put them in a large bowl. Once you’ve done that, your honey should be ready, so pour the honey all over the nuts and mix together well. Pour your concoction on a cookie sheet that is covered with parchment paper and spread it out. It will be gooey and might seem like there’s too much liquid but it will cook up fast, I promise.
This was a little before it was cooked, but I wanted to put some on an apple while it was still spreadable, and let’s face it, the kids didn’t want to wait the 15 minutes to cook it and 30 to let it cool….Yum! This stuff is awesome already.
Preheat oven to 350. Now, put cookie sheet in stove and let it cook for 10 minutes and then pull it out. Grab another piece of parchment paper, cover what just came out of the stove, and flip the whole thing. Now, let it cook another 6-8 minutes. Once it’s done, allow for it to cool for 30 minutes or so, so it can harden up. Now crumble apart and enjoy! My husband said it was the perfect snack with his coffee!
Susan -Yummy! Just made this today and my kids devoured it. I will say I had to go through to her blog (I’ve followed her for much of this year) to check the oven temperature but everything else worked out.ReplyCancel
landriav -Yay, so glad the kids loved it!! Sorry about the oven temp. Thanks for telling me so I could add that to the post!ReplyCancel
Rob King -Lan, Had some friends over for the Euro cup final today and wanted to throw out some Paleo friendly snacks so made this one today! It was hit! Thanks so much.ReplyCancel
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Drennen - I do love this dish!
I like to cook sweet potatoes along with this meal as a side – clean them, poke them, rub a little olive oil around them and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in top of oven for 45-50 minutes or until done.
While the potatoes are cooking, you can prepare your salmon.
I like to top the salmon with the asparagus (cut into 1″ pieces) along with the chopped scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper or some Beau Monde Seasoning or Nature’s Seasoning.
I like to squeeze an entire lemon on each fillet and then top each fillet with a lemon half. This makes it good and juicy. Place each pouch on a cookie sheet.
After the potatoes have been cooking for about 25 minutes, place the salmon on the lower rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes while the potatoes finish cooking. Enjoy!
Lisa Bell - delicious and so easy to make!