Grilled Maple Salmon Salad

I was reading one of my contracted model’s blog the other day and she was asking for diet tricks and recipes.  I have to admit that the word “diet” scares me till no end and I much prefer to keep a healthy everyday lifestyle and work on my portion control then go on a diet because most of the time I don’t stick to it and I get either frustrated for not eating what I want or I loose too much energy by not eating enough or the right things.  Plus, most of the time when the diet is done and you’re back at your normal eating habits, you gain everything you had lost and sometime a bit more.

As a model, worrying about my waist line is part of my everyday job you’ll say and that’s kind of true.  But I don’t believe in dieting and I don’t believe in starving myself.  Yes, I’m a model and what I look like is important but I will never starve myself because I simply love food way too much.  Over the years I had to adjust my eating habits, learn to work out the right way everyday and stop myself from buying easy and fast processed food.  I learned to make everything myself from scratch and to be honest, I’m glad I did!  These days I much prefer to never eat pizza again because I’m too lazy to make my own dough, sauce and everything than buying one of those pre-made versions.  If I haven’t made it from scratch, I simply don’t eat it.  It’s that simple.

Agreed, it’s annoying at time because you’re really craving for something specific that you just don’t have on hand but it’s a great way to learn self control.  If you really want to eat that specific thing, you just have to make it from scratch and try to make it healthier than the store bought version.  Everything is possible and as long as you keep to this rule and work out everyday, you’ll be fine in my book.  It has been working for me for the past 5 years now and I’ll never go back to my old eating habits.

Now to talk about about this salmon recipe…  It’s easy, fast and very good for you.  I don’t think I need to convinced anyone about the greatness of omega 3 and fatty acids.  It’s good for you, good for your brain and so dam delicious.  Like any other “fatty” fish like the salmon, we have to eat it in moderation but I think once a week is ok if you’re really a salmon addict or at least once every 2 weeks.

The contrast of the salty fish with the maple syrup (my obsession) and the sourness of the green apples drench in lime juice is amazing!  This amazing salad will keep you feeling full for the rest of the night or pump you up full of energy to go do over 1 hour of cardio.  Hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as I do 🙂

– INGREDIENTS –

2 salmon filets

baby spinach

mache lettuce

1/2 of a small red onions, in think slices

1 cup of corn bits

1 small green apple, without the skin, cut in small cubes, drench in lime juice

2 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce

For the marinade/dressing:

3 tablespoons of maple syrup

1 teaspoon of mirin

3 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon of white sesame

1/2 teaspoon of black sesame

1 teaspoon of lime juice

1- In a bowl, mix together all the marinate/dressing ingredients and let your salmon filets marinate in it for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  You can let it in there longer if you want a more intense taste but if you’re on the go like I am most of the time, you’ll be fine with 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2- Prepare your salad bowl with the baby spinach, mache lettuce, corn bits, red onions slices and green apples.  Reserve.

3- Grill your salmon to your liking with a bit of olive oil and keep the rest of the marinade in the bowl beside you.  Once your salmon is grilled, put it on top of your salad and go back to your hot pan.  Pour the marinade in it and add your 2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce.  Let simmer in there for 1-2 minutes while rubbing the bottom of the pan to get all the juices.  Then pour the dressing on top of your tow salad bowl and here you go!