Sunday Night Salmon
Food is so amazing. It's made by God for us to enjoy, and when it's eaten the right way it gives us energy, lowers pain, boosts mood, helps us sleep better, and makes life a lot easier. If you've never felt this way, then maybe....just maybe....you have never really eaten optimally healthy for a prolonged period of time?
The problem is, we sometimes eat more of one food than we should. Or we eat foods that have been refined, tampered with, or have chemicals or sugar added. These foods will NOT make us feel better. Our bodies will not heal. Energy will not thrive. We will feel dull, sad, achy, and may even think we are about to get sick....all the time. Sound familiar?
Then you start taking lots of supplements to try to make up for it. Don't worry. I've been there. The supplements help, so you take a little more, but you don't change how you eat. Or worse, you start taking a prescription or two to help your symptoms. But there's a problem with this approach.
Big problem.
In only a matter of time (1 month? a year? 5 years?) the chemicals in the unhealthy food, vitamins and prescriptions will cause the inflammation level in your body to rise. It will rise to a point where you WILL be at an increased risk of cancer, heart disease or diabetes. No vitamin can make up for eating junk repeatedly. Your body isn't deficient in any drugs. It doesn't need them. It needs healthy foods. Vegetables. Fruit. Fish, legumes, organic meats, healthy fats, etc.
If you have joint pain or muscle aches, or trouble sleeping.... your body is talking to you. It's ready for a healthy change.
Maybe you just need a new healthy habit to get things back on track.
One healthy habit can lead to another.
One of the healthy habits I started for our family while I still worked full time was....Sunday Night Salmon (also with a small salad and hummus). My husband and I both wanted something healthy and light on Sunday nights, and after eating it we felt better on Mondays. We noticed it was easier to think. Our joints were getting better, and it was easier to wake up because we slept better. Starting the week with a healthy habit can change your whole week.
In full disclosure I was taking supplements, too, and supplements can be really good to take. You just have to be careful that you don't use vitamins to cover up unreasonable eating habits. Yes, it's ok to cheat, but the rule of thumb is to try to eat healthy eighty percent of the time. The other twenty percent is an allowance for being human. You will still see benefits from eating healthy as long as you are diligent about eighty percent of the time.
Salmon is the spotlight food this week. I've chosen it because of it's multiple benefits. The omega 3 fatty acid that it contains is shown to lower inflammation and improve brain health. By lowering inflammation it helps lower pain all over, and in particular in joints (where our bodies tend to ache more). Every cell in your body, and in particular every brain cell, benefits from omega 3 fatty acids, because it's used in the cell membrane. When brain cells have sufficient omega 3 fatty acids they communicate better and faster. This is how it improves memory. Salmon are smart fish....they swim upstream to get back to original breading grounds...maybe because they have a great memory? Just pondering things here.
Omega 3 fatty acids in salmon are also effective for treating mild depression, anxiety, memory issues and joint pain. It's really good for joint pain. Be sure to select organic wild salmon if at all possible. Fish oil is one of the supplements I do think most people should take, because the benefits of this healthy oil are SO pronounced. Take 1,000-3,000 mg daily. For help with mild depression symptoms take closer to 3,000mg*. Make sure it's a high quality totally pure supplement. I used to take Nordic Naturals but there are other good brands out there. Look for "molecularly distilled" on the label. That's a good sign it's pure.
Let's eat salmon!
There are several ways to enjoy salmon....here are my favorites.
*Do NOT take fish oil, or even eat fish if you have a blood clotting disorder or are about to have surgery within a week. It tends to be a natural blood thinner.
The problem is, we sometimes eat more of one food than we should. Or we eat foods that have been refined, tampered with, or have chemicals or sugar added. These foods will NOT make us feel better. Our bodies will not heal. Energy will not thrive. We will feel dull, sad, achy, and may even think we are about to get sick....all the time. Sound familiar?
Then you start taking lots of supplements to try to make up for it. Don't worry. I've been there. The supplements help, so you take a little more, but you don't change how you eat. Or worse, you start taking a prescription or two to help your symptoms. But there's a problem with this approach.
Big problem.
In only a matter of time (1 month? a year? 5 years?) the chemicals in the unhealthy food, vitamins and prescriptions will cause the inflammation level in your body to rise. It will rise to a point where you WILL be at an increased risk of cancer, heart disease or diabetes. No vitamin can make up for eating junk repeatedly. Your body isn't deficient in any drugs. It doesn't need them. It needs healthy foods. Vegetables. Fruit. Fish, legumes, organic meats, healthy fats, etc.
If you have joint pain or muscle aches, or trouble sleeping.... your body is talking to you. It's ready for a healthy change.
Maybe you just need a new healthy habit to get things back on track.
One healthy habit can lead to another.
One of the healthy habits I started for our family while I still worked full time was....Sunday Night Salmon (also with a small salad and hummus). My husband and I both wanted something healthy and light on Sunday nights, and after eating it we felt better on Mondays. We noticed it was easier to think. Our joints were getting better, and it was easier to wake up because we slept better. Starting the week with a healthy habit can change your whole week.
In full disclosure I was taking supplements, too, and supplements can be really good to take. You just have to be careful that you don't use vitamins to cover up unreasonable eating habits. Yes, it's ok to cheat, but the rule of thumb is to try to eat healthy eighty percent of the time. The other twenty percent is an allowance for being human. You will still see benefits from eating healthy as long as you are diligent about eighty percent of the time.
Salmon is the spotlight food this week. I've chosen it because of it's multiple benefits. The omega 3 fatty acid that it contains is shown to lower inflammation and improve brain health. By lowering inflammation it helps lower pain all over, and in particular in joints (where our bodies tend to ache more). Every cell in your body, and in particular every brain cell, benefits from omega 3 fatty acids, because it's used in the cell membrane. When brain cells have sufficient omega 3 fatty acids they communicate better and faster. This is how it improves memory. Salmon are smart fish....they swim upstream to get back to original breading grounds...maybe because they have a great memory? Just pondering things here.
Omega 3 fatty acids in salmon are also effective for treating mild depression, anxiety, memory issues and joint pain. It's really good for joint pain. Be sure to select organic wild salmon if at all possible. Fish oil is one of the supplements I do think most people should take, because the benefits of this healthy oil are SO pronounced. Take 1,000-3,000 mg daily. For help with mild depression symptoms take closer to 3,000mg*. Make sure it's a high quality totally pure supplement. I used to take Nordic Naturals but there are other good brands out there. Look for "molecularly distilled" on the label. That's a good sign it's pure.
Let's eat salmon!
There are several ways to enjoy salmon....here are my favorites.
- when it's not too hot to turn on the oven, my favorite way to eat it is to brush with olive oil, use salt and pepper, and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the cut.
- brush with olive oil, use salt and pepper, and pan sear on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- canned salmon is great to make fritters that the kids WILL eat. You just mix the salmon with 1 egg, 1 cup oat flour, salt, pepper, minced garlic and onion. Pan fry with unflavored coconut oil.
- pan seared salmon is AMAZING on a bed of spinach, avocado, citrus fruit slices and a few walnuts. So good!!
So, you still have time to get to the store before next Sunday to get your salmon, and you have a few ideas on how to prepare it. It really will help your week start on a healthier note. Please do me a favor, if you learned something or were encouraged by any of this, please like my post and share with a friend. I'm on a mission to help people connect food choices to disease risk (and how they feel), so that we can lower disease rates!
Making healthy changes isn't always easy. If you need support, hiring a certified nutritionist to do some research for you and cheer you on to greatness is a wise investment. I can provide 1 month of support (an initial meeting plus 3 check-ins) for $100. This includes a meal plan and plenty of great ideas. You can do this. I can help!!
*Do NOT take fish oil, or even eat fish if you have a blood clotting disorder or are about to have surgery within a week. It tends to be a natural blood thinner.
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