Mustard Crusted Salmon & Dill Creme Fraiche





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Dear fit girls, Sarah Burnett is cooking for you today! Enjoy!

Can I just say, I am so excited to be doing my first guest post! Not to mention on a blog that I love! Monica’s blog is chock full of amazing workout tips just for us ladies, deliciously healthy recipes and so many motivating photo’s.

I wanted to provide a simple yet incredibly healthy dinner recipe for her blog, so I went with a beautiful whole-grain mustard crusted salmon. This recipe is incredibly low in carbohydrates, loaded with vitamins and gluten-free!

Wild salmon is loaded with protein and the two blockbuster omega 3s — DHA and EPA — that make us happy, smart and pain-free. As the body can’t make omega-3 fatty acids, the best way to obtain them is through the food we eat.

Salmon is a sustainable source of omega-3 fish. I recommend eating it at least twice a week, but be sure you’re getting it from a sustainable source.

Seven health benefits of salmon

Eating salmon is beneficial in the treatment of osteoarthritis and other inflammatory joint conditions. Salmon contains small proteins called bioactive peptides. One in particular, called calcitonin, has been shown to increase, regulate and stabilize collagen synthesis in human osteoarthritic cartilage. This salmon-found protein also improves bone density and strength. Eating salmon makes you smarter and happier. The brain is 60 percent fat and most of that is the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. Thirty percent of the grey matter in the brain is DHA showing how critical it is to brain function and a healthy nervous system. Eating salmon regularly has been shown to reduce the risk and incidence of depression, hostility in young adults and cognitive decline in the elderly. Eating salmon increases your cardiovascular health. As noted, salmon contains high levels of the omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA. These fats are responsible for many cardiovascular benefits such as reducing inflammation, keeping the blood from clotting excessively and relaxing and dilating the arteries. When eaten two to three times per week, salmon can protect you from problems such as heart attack, stroke, arrhythmia, high blood pressure and high triglycerides. Salmon protects your eyes. Eating salmon twice a week has been shown to significantly decrease the risk of macular degeneration — a chronic eye condition that leads to loss of vision. For the treatment and prevention of a condition called dry eye syndrome, eat two to four servings per week. Salmon helps build children’s brains. Eating salmon while pregnant and nursing can boost learning capability and academic performance in children. Salmon contains high levels of DHA (decosahexaenoic acid) which is the main structural fatty acid in the central nervous system and retina. Feeding salmon to preschool children also aids in the prevention of ADHD and can even boost academic performance. Salmon’s an excellent source of vitamin D. Sufficient vitamin D is crucial to maintaining optimal health. A deficiency of this essential vitamin has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type-1 diabetes. One can of salmon, for example, contains a day’s worth of vitamin D. Salmon helps you sleep. Salmon is an excellent source of tryptophan, an all-natural sedative. Studies show that tryptophan increases sleepiness in subjects with mild insomnia and helps to shorten the time it takes to fall asleep.

So now that you know why you should be eating salmon, let’s get on to the recipe!

You can purchase these salmon filets pre-portioned at grocery stores & fish markets to make your life a little bit easier. Remember to always buy wild-caught as opposed to farm-raised. Farm-raised salmon is fed a terrible diet of GMO corn and soy and end up being dyed red because their meat is so pale in color. Blah!

[recipe title=”Mustard Crusted Salmon” servings=”2″ time=”25 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

Two 1/3 pound center-cut salmon fillets

kosher salt

cracked pepper

2-3 T Whole grain mustard (or dijon mustard- any mustard works well, except plain yellow)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 F Sprinkle salt and pepper on all sides of salmon. Line a sheet pan with one piece of parchment paper and place salmon filets on it. Generously coat salmon with mustard, using a brush or the back of a spoon. Bake until desired doneness – about 10-12 minutes. Serve with dill creme fraiche as a light & healthy sauce. *recipe below

[/recipe]

[recipe title=”Dill Creme Fraiche” yield=”¾ cup” time=”5 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

½ cup creme fraiche

½ bunch of fresh dill, coarsely chopped

½ lemon, juiced

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined.

[/recipe]

This amazing recipe was brought to you by Sarah Burnett from The Primitive Palate. Head over to her blog, packed with tons of healthy and delicious recipes!

And don’t forget to share it with your friends! Bonn appetite!

Daniluk, Julie, RHN. “Seven Health Benefits of Salmon to Improve Your Vitality – Chatelaine.” Chatelaine. Rogers Media, 11 June 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.