Monday Mayhem and Super Food of the Week

There aren’t many days where I feel as though my world is turned upsidedown; however, today happened to be one of those days. I can’t really formulate any logical reason for my disorder, but all day, I have felt unorganized, frazzled, and disarrayed. Do you ever have those times when you feel as though you just can’t get it together? Well, that was me at work this morning. Luckily, I managed to get through unharmed and now I can start fresh tomorrow with hopefully a better approach.

Since I failed to post my Super food of the week yesterday, I will catch up with a quick review today. Toly and I both love seafood, but particularly, one of our favorite dishes is my Special Salmon. I haven’t made this in awhile and had been wanting to for quite some time, and since salmon is a mighty super food, it fit perfectly. Before I reveal how I used and will use this SF into the week, allow me to educate you with some simple health benefits to this magnificent fish.
Salmon is low in calories and saturated fat, yet high in protein, and a unique type of health-promoting fat, the omega-3 essential fatty acids. As their name implies, essential fatty acids are essential for human health but because they cannot be made by the body, they must be obtained from foods. Fish contain a type of essential fatty acid called the omega-3 fatty acids. Wild-caught cold water fish, like salmon, are higher in omega-3 fatty acids than warm water fish. In fact, the fat composition of salmon has recently been evaluated as superior not only because of its rich omega-3 content, but also because of its great ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s and its health-supportive balance of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. Each of these features in the fat composition of salmon helps reduce risk of unwanted inflammation and help maintain the integrity of our immune and circulatory systems. In addition to being an excellent source of omega-3s, salmon are an excellent source of selenium, a very good source of protein, niacin and vitamin B12, and a good source of phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin B6.

Yesterday, while shopping, I picked up two nicely pre-portioned pieces of 60z boneless skinless Atlantic salmon. Like I mentioned before, one of our most enjoyed meals that I make is a Honey Teriyaki Glazed Salmon that I have adapted and mastered over the years. We’ve tried the fish many other ways; however, we ALWAYS agree that this is our absolute favorite way to make it. To make, I marinate the salmon in a mixture of soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, and garlic for a few hours. We prefer it grilled (but since our grill is out of order for the season) the grill pan had to make due. I allow the pan to get really hot and sear the salmon on one side for about 4-5 min and flip. I then throw the whole pan in a 400* oven for another 10 min or so until the fish is cooked all the way through. PERFECTION!

(His Plate with Baked Potato and corn/peas)

(Her Plate with mashed squash and kale and roasted aspargus and broccoli)

So that was the first way I used the SF of the week and found another way to sneak it in today. I ate about a 4oz piece last night and saved the rest for my lunch today. It went beautifully on top of a salad for a nice well balanced, nutritious lunch. I also bought a new product that I plan to use this week as well. It’s Star Kissed pouched salmon in a mango chipotle flavor…sounded interesting and I’m sure I will find an exciting way to use it.

I will leave you today with a little “good-to-know” info that came to me in my inbox this morning. The following is a list of foods that you should NEVER feed your dog. Apparently these foods are extremely harmful to the canines so be sure to make a mental note.

1. Grapes and Raisins: Contain a toxin that can cause kidney damage.
2. Bread Dough and Yeast: Can expand in the digestive system and cause severe damage.
3. Chewing Gum: Sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol can be deadly. (Same goes for any food containing xylitol.)
4. Macadamia Nuts: Can upset the digestive and nervous systems.
5. Chocolate: Contains caffeine and theobromine, which affect the heart and nervous system and can be toxic.
6. Onions and Onion Powder: Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. (P.S. Keep garlic out of reach for the same reason.)

I’m now anxiously awaiting the finale of The Bachelor. My vote is for Melissa but from the sounds of it, there may be a few dramatic surprises!!! Oh, how exciting!

Hoping you all had a fabulous Monday!