Healthy Choices

the best salmon salad ever

The title is no joke.

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Salmon salad sandwich06

I’ve made this recipe three times. The first was a practice run. I always practice when I’m coming up with new recipes. Sometimes they’re a home run, sometimes not. The second  time I made this recipe it was perfect and yes, the best salmon salad sandwich I could ever imagine. I made this recipe for the third time today for a very special reason. Here’s a hint. Keep in mind this is the blog’s birthday week and we’re celebrating big time over here.

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Frozen wild salmon filets, I love you. You’re always there (in the freezer) when I crave you. They can literally be defrosted after just 5-10 minutes of soaking the package in warm water.

For those of you who have never baked salmon before, you might be a little weirded out by that white stuff all over the filets. I know because I was the first time I saw it. Don’t go wiping it off. It’s protein, similar to that of an egg white!

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The sauce for the salmon salad is a happy and healthy combination of equal parts 0% Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and mayonnaise plus some chives, lemon juice and honey. Sweet and simple.

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I whipped it up while the salmon was baking and folded everything together once the salmon had cooled.

Take note of the big lumps of meat. Pretty, aren’t they? We don’t want this looking like canned salmon salad so be gentle with the salmon as you break it up and fold it into the sauce.

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The flavors really start to meld together if you can resist the urge and let this chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two… but if you can’t (not judging, I couldn’t) it still tastes amazing served immediately on a little toasted Ciabatta bread.

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Salmon salad sandwich08

Makes ~4 large sandwiches

  • 1 pound salmon, fresh or frozen & thawed
  • 1 cup red, seedless grapes, quartered
  • 1/4 cup cottage cheese
  • 1/4 cup mayonaise
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons chives, chopped and divided
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/4 tablespoons honey, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/2 lemon, zested
  • Fresh bread such as Ciabatta or Foccacia

Preheat oven to 275F. (That’s not a typo. Baking at low temps allows the fat to slowly melt between the layers of fish producing more tender, moist meat.)  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush with 1/2 tablespoon oil. Place salmon fillets, skin side down on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 tablespoon honey, 1 squeeze of lemon juice, dry mustard and 1 tablespoon chives until well combined. Brush mixture over salmon fillets, dividing equally. Season with sea salt and pepper and let stand for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Bake salmon until just opaque in center, about 15-18 minutes depending on the thickness of your filets.

Meanwihle, mix together another squeeze of lemon juice, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, honey and remaining chives until well combined. Fold in grapes. When salmon has done cooking, cool for 10 minutes and then lightly break up into large chunks. Delicately fold into sauce, being careful not to over mix to preserve chunks of salmon.

Use remaining oil to griddle fresh bread if desired and top with ~1/2 – 3/4 cup of salmon salad per sandwich. 

Chobani Giveaway

I’ve already finished my sandwich but the best part for you guys is yet to come. Since we’re celebrating the blog’s birthday this week, Chobani has graciously offered a birthday gift giveaway, a custom case of their delicious yogurt! I love their yogurt but I also love the friendship we’ve developed over the past two years. They’ve been one of my biggest supporters and so fun to work with, so this means a lot to me! 

To enter:

There are more than a few ways to enter. The more ways you enter, the better chance you have at winning so make sure you comment once for each of the following things you do:

  1. Tell me which flavor of CHO you like best OR your favorite way to cook with it.
  2. Tweet about this giveaway: I want to win a custom case of @Chobani from @nutritionella! http://wp.me/p1jK0b-3gU
  3. Follow or Like nutritionella on 

One entry per follow!

Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. A winner will be randomly selected and announced some time on Friday, November 16th so check back to see if it’s you!

P.S. A little reminder there’s still time to enter yesterday’s giveaway! The winner will be chosen tomorrow.

xoxo

GIVEAWAY UPDATE: The winner of the Chobani case is Lindsay of Live. Love. Nutrition. Congrats!

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