Besides grilled salmon on planks is especially delicious and is simple to do. You’ll be cooking gourmet food right in your backyard!

Health Benefits of Salmon

Salmon is a high protein, low calorie dish that is also rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.  Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fats that are important for adults and children; studies suggest that they can help prevent heart disease and also help with healthy joints.  The USDA recommends that adults eat two servings of fish that are high in Omega-3s every week.   Salmon has some of the highest Omega-3 content.  Beef, chicken, and pork have almost none.

Salmon is also low in calories, with one serving containing only about 200 calories.  That’s better than beef or chicken!  It’s also rich in a number of vitamins.

Grilled Salmon on Planks

So how do you grill salmon?  While you can just throw a fillet of salmon on the grill and grill it, a much more fun, flavorful, and gourmet method is to grill the salmon on a plank of wood.  This was originally done by the Indians of the Pacific Northwest who fastened salmon onto planks of cedar and cooked it by placing the planked salmon near the fire.  You can use the same method, except with a plank of cedar wood laid down on your grill.

Here’s how to grill salmon on a cedar plank.  You’ll need a cedar plank, a fillet of salmon, and some seasonings.  You may be able to find cedar planks in your local area that are made for grilling, but you can also get them here.

I like to use a rub on the salmon, but you can just sprinkle it with coarse salt, freshly ground pepper, and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  To try the rub that I used, mix the following in a bowl and rub onto the salmon fillet before you grill:

• 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Soak the cedar plank in water for at least one hour.  This helps keep the plank from going up in flames as you grill.  To have a bit more flavor, you can add other liquids or seasonings to the water (apple juice and some lemon slices, for example).  You can get even more exotic by soaking the plank in wine instead of water.

The planks can run 13-15 inches long, so you’ll need something long enough to hold the plank.  I used a cooler, but anything long enough will do.  You’ll also need to put something heavy on the plank to hold it down as it soaks.

When you are ready to start cooking, get your grill heated up to 350 degrees.  Remove the plank from the water and put it on the grill.  If you are using a plank that you purchased, there is generally a smooth side and a rough side.  Put the smooth side down.  Close the lid to your grill and let the plank heat up.  This should take no more than 3 minutes.  When it starts to smoke and crack, it’s done. Don’t heat it up too long, or it will start to burn.

Remove the plank with some tongs and flip it over.  Brush a light coating of olive oil onto the plank to keep the salmon from sticking.   Place the salmon fillet on the plank and return it to the grill.  If the salmon is too wide, trim the edges so that it is the width of the plank; you can lay the trimmed pieces on the plank and cook them as well.

Turn down the flame of the burners below the plank to their lowest settings and close the grill cover.  Let the salmon cook for 8 minutes.  Don’t open the grill cover during that time.  The wonderful smoky cedar flavor will start to fill the grill and you want to keep it there!

After 8 minutes, check your salmon and make sure the plank is not burning.  If it is, just put the flames out with a spray bottle of water.  Continue to grill the salmon until it is flaky, which is usually about 12 -15 minutes.  When it’s done, you can cut portions of the salmon right on the plank and serve.

Using cedar planks is a great way to add some additional flavor to your grilling. In addition to salmon, you can use them on your grill to cook other seafood, pork, chicken, steaks, even vegetables.  I hope you’ll give it a try!

I’m guest blogging for Angie this month on healthy grilling.  In case you missed them, here are the other articles that I’m sharing:

Healthy Grilling Tips
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Asparagus
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Corn on the Cob
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Pineapple

I’m already looking forward to the next article, which is grilled asparagus!

Scott loves to cook outdoors–his motto is “It always tastes better when it’s cooked outdoors!”  Check out his Outdoor Cooking Magic Tricks for tips and recipes for cooking delicious meals right in your own backyard.

 

My friend Jedha has this awesome Paleo meal planning program and although I’m not living the Paleo lifestyle, there are some awesome healthy options that I will use.  Like the Lemon Pepper Fish recipe!

Jedha has kindly said I could share this recipe on the blog. Thank you Jedha!

So please take a moment to check out what she has to offer.  I’ll be doing a full review on her Paleo meal plan soon so be on the lookout for that.

Lemon Pepper Fish
Copyright © 2012
Jedha, Paleo Weight Loss Coach

Ingredients:

Serves 2

• 2 pieces white fish
• 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
• 1/2 lemon – squeezed
• 6-8 thin lemon slices
• 1 x 5 cm piece lemon grass
• Butter or Olive oil
• Foil

Cooking Method

1. Break off 2 large pieces of foil big enough to fully wrap fish
2. Slice lemon grass lengthwise and place on top of foil, then top with fish pieces
3. Sprinkle the cracked pepper on fish, pour over the lemon juice, and top with the lemon slices, distributing the ingredients evenly between to 2 pieces of fish
4. Put on some big dollops of butter or drizzle with olive oil
5. Wrap the fish up in parcels
6. Place in a steamer and cook for 20 minutes
7. Serve with salad or vegetables

Note: To make a super fast meal, chop up some vegetables and after 10 minutes throw them into the top of the steamer with the fish. Then you can sit down to some lemon fish with steamed vegetables. A super fast and easy meal.

Tip: You can leave the fish wrapped in the foil and eat it cold or heat it up for lunch.

We actually used Lemongrass gel from a tube that we can get at our local grocery store and instead of steaming we baked the fish.  This is hands down THE BEST fish I have ever had. I couldn’t stop talking about it and we’ll be having it again this week if we have the right kind of fish.  And yes, I had it as a leftover the next day and it was delicious cold.

Side Dish

The 2nd part of this meal were the Polenta Stuffed Mini Peppers from the Cooking with Trader Joe’s Skinny Dish cookbook (page 78).  Jennifer, the author was kind enough to send over the link to the recipe online.  You have to check out the book, it has some awesome recipes in it.

We changed around the recipe to use curry instead but we will be making the polenta mixture again using her recipe.  Might try adding the mixture to mushrooms next time!

And there are more awesome recipes on her Cooking with Trader Joe’s website.

So this entire meal was a total win!  I’m impressed that I was able to cook it.  I really enjoyed the Polenta, have you ever cooked with it?

 

Nutty BBQ Tempeh Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 package Trader Joe’s Tempeh, cubed
• 1 package Trader Joe’s Broccoli Slaw
• 1 large handful spinach
• 10 pecan halves, cut up into small pieces
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce plus water to equal 1/2 cup

Directions:

Start by browning tempeh in lightly oiled pre-heated skillet. Cover.  As tempeh begins to brown add pecan pieces and heat thoroughly.

While browning tempeh, preheat a larger skillet for the broccoli slaw, lightly oil if needed.

Add approximately 1/4 cup thinned BBQ sauce to tempeh, shake skillet to make sure tempeh and pecan pieces are coated well.

Cover and cook another few minutes then turn off heat, leaving tempeh in skillet.

Broccoli Slaw & Spinach

Add broccoli slaw to skillet, cover and cook down halfway (this will take a while) then add spinach. Continue cooking until both are done, then add remaining thinned BBQ sauce (approx. 1/4 cup).

Mix well!

Plate broccoli slaw and top with tempeh.

Such a great meal!  Yum!

I had good intentions to workout this weekend but pulled a muscle in my groin area OUCH. So needless to say I napped and got a lot of work done today while relaxing on the Fombag.  Love that thing!  Just finished writing a guest blog post that should be up this weekend and wanted to share this recipe from dinner.

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

Do you have any tempeh recipes to share?

 

I love quick meals and this one was pretty healthy so I thought I would share it.

Angie’s Healthy Taco Salad

• Baked tortillas for chips
• Lettuce & spinach
• Thai Jasmin rice
• Cooked mushrooms
• Black beans
• Tomatoes
• Trader Joe’s corn salsa
• Taco sauce

Crush up some baked tortillas and place on bottom of bowl.

Add lettuce and spinach. Scoop some Jasmin rice over top of that.

Add mushrooms, cooked black beans and tomatoes.

Top with corn salsa and taco sauce if desired.

Delish!

 

Kale is full of vitamins, has no fat, is an anti-inflammatory, helps lower cholesterol and much more.

I like kale chips plain but I have seen people put ketchup on them.  I am trying to limit the use of condiments now but I might have to try a little ketchup with my kale today.

And you can vary the spices too, from mild to spicy.

Go try this!

How to Make Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• Bag of kale (remove stems if desired)
• Olive Oil
• Spices (We have a spice that is a mix of garlic, pepper & sea salt)

1. Preheat oven to 350-400
2. Drizzle kale lightly with olive oil and spices then massage to evenly coat kale.
3. Place on foil covered cookie sheet and put in oven to crisp.

Depending on the heat you’ll leave the kale in for 6-20 minutes.  We were cooking something else in the oven at 350 so the kale was in the oven for about 16 minutes.  Just be sure to keep an eye on the kale so it doesn’t burn.

Enjoy!

Do you like kale?

 

All you need to do is put all ingredients in the largest bullet mixer cup and blend! Might take a few shakes to get it all mixed up.

You could even drink it right from that cup if you just can’t wait but I like to put my smoothies in my Starbucks cups. Paid for them, might as well make use of them.

So here you go, some tasty and healthy breakfast, lunch or after workout smoothie options!

Homemade Fruit Smoothies

The Black and Blue Smoothie

1/2 c. Blackberries (fresh)

1 c. Blueberries (frozen)

2 tbsp. Plain Chobani Greek yogurt (generous amount)

2 handfuls Spinach

1/2-1 scoop Protein powder

Water as needed

Strawberry Blackberry Spinach Smoothie

10 Strawberries (frozen)

10 Blackberries (fresh)

2 tbsp. Plain Chobani Greek yogurt (generous amount)

2 handfuls Spinach

1/2-1 scoop Protein powder

Water as needed

As you can tell, I’m not creative when it comes to naming them!  Hope you enjoy these thick and delicious homemade fruit smoothies.

Do you have a favorite smoothie?

P.S. And please tell my mom and dad that spinach in smoothies IS good.  Hi mom and dad *wink*

 

I came across some awesome recipes this week and had some saved on my Pinterest healthy foods/recipe board. Thought I would share a few with you.

Plus I keep adding new vegan and vegetarian cook books to my wish list.  I’ll probably do some online shopping tonight.

Enjoy the recipes!

Source: stuftmama.com via Angie on Pinterest

And this smoothie looks and sounds really good!

Source: sarahlearns.com via Angie on Pinterest

I also found a great way to make your pre-cut fruits and veggies easily accessible.

And a fellow FitFluential ambassador has an awesome homemade hummus recipe. Must.make.this.

Did you make anything awesome this week or come across a tasty recipe?

 

I am not the best at photos so don’t hold that against me. One day I’ll figure out how to take good photos but the taste will totally make up for it. I promise!

And if you want to learn more about quinoa benefits, I wrote about that too.

Quinoa Burgers: Pizza Style

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• English Muffins
• 1/2 cup Quinoa (we used yellow)
• 3/4 quarter cup Trader Joe’s pizza sauce
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 can of DelMonte diced tomatoes (Basil, Garlic, & Oregano, no salt added)
• 1/4 cup Green onions/chives
• 2 Trader Joe’s jumbo green olives, sliced
• Fresh parmesan

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa as directed adding 2 tbsp of worcestershire sauce to the water.
2. While quinoa is cooking, toast English Muffins
3. Heat the pizza sauce
4. After quinoa is cooked add pizza sauce to it
5. Line tray or pizza stone with tinfoil, spray with olive oil
6. Lay out muffins and top with quinoa mix, olives, green onion/chives, canned tomatoes and cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Serve up and get ready for a mouth watering tasty meal!

 

Pin It

You will need:

• Extra Firm Tofu
• Honey
• Panko bread crumbs
• Black Pepper
• Other spices of your choice

1. Drain tofu (I wrapped tofu in towel for only a few minutes to get any excess liquid off).
2. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with olive oil.
3. Cut tofu into sticks, place in bowl and drizzle honey over each piece.
4. Dredge in bread crumbs mixed with pepper/other spices (separate bowl).
5. Place tofu sticks on foil.

Bake at 350  for 30+ minutes. Higher temp for crispier tofu sticks.

*You could mix cornmeal and wholemeal flour with the breadcrumbs if you want better coating and more of a breaded tofu stick.

Serve your baked tofu sticks with sweet potato fries or rice and a veggie.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite way to make tofu?

 

Anyway, I came across some awesome healthy dinner ideas and wanted to share them with you real quick.

One of our go to meals is soba noodles with veggies and crushed tomatoes so that will be on the menu plan.  I’ll write up a recipe and share it with you after we make it sometime soon.

I’m a vegetarian but still eat fish and dairy so these recipes will reflect that.

Simple Black Bean Burgers

We have made black bean burgers before but this recipe sounds really yummy!  Can’t wait to try it.

Spicy Smoked Maple Tofu

I love tofu but Kev doesn’t so he will make something different for himself on nights I want tofu.

Qunioa Taco Salad

So pretty!  I really want to try this one.

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Oh my!  Doesn’t that meal look awesome?

So those are just a few that I found.  Whenever I come across a recipe I think I might want to try, I pin it on my Healthy Recipes Pinterest page.

Do you meal plan?  Know of any menu planning services other than Menu Planning Central (linked to above)?  Any yummy simple vegetarian recipes?