Weekly Healthy Recipe: Smoked Salmon + Arugula + Avocado Mélange

We are in the midst of the hottest part of the summer in Central Texas; your body is working hard, and it’s essential to replenish all the vital nutrients it needs!

Omega fatty acids can help lower the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, fight against depression, dementia, and arthritis. It’s important to remember that our body cannot produce them on its own; you have to consume them in food, or take supplements. The best source of omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, is in fish.

High intakes of dietary nitrate, like that found in arugula, have been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the amount of oxygen needed during exercise, and enhance athletic performance. This is great when your body is working extra hard during the heat! Consuming 2 cups of arugula will provide an intake of 20 percent of vitamin A, over 50 percent of vitamin K, 8 percent of vitamin C, folate, and calcium needs for your day.

Did you know that Avocados contain more potassium than a banana? Avocados are packed with essential nutrients, and ideally should be consumed daily!

In avocados, you will find:

Vitamin K: 26% of the daily value (DV)
Folate: 20% of the DV
Vitamin C: 17% of the DV
Potassium: 14% of the DV
Vitamin B5: 14% of the DV
Vitamin B6: 13% of the DV
Vitamin E: 10% of the DV

Avocados also contains magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, phosphorous and vitamins A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin).

Safe to say, in this yummy medley, you will be consuming a meal of superfoods.

Ingredients You’ll Need

4 (5- to 6-ounce) wild caught salmon filets
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups baby arugula
1 ripe Hass avocado, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

The Dressing

2 tablespoons fresh juice from 1 lemon.
Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 cloves of minced garlic
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh dill

Instructions

Begin by prepping your dressing so that the ingredients may have time to meld together. Mince your fresh garlic, and mix into the olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon mustard. Add in the fresh dill, cayenne pepper, fresh ground black pepper, and Himalayan salt.

Place freshly sliced smoked salmon in a bowl, and pour the dressing over, set aside, and allow the fish to marinate.

You may leave the arugula in whole leaves, or slice into smaller bites. Dice the fresh avocado into cubes, and mix into the greens. Add in the salmon, and pour the remainder of the dressing over the ingredients, stirring together.

Host With Intention Plant Based Recipes

Weekly Healthy Recipe: Green Goddess Buddha Bowl

When we think about nature and health, we think of green.

Green vegetables contain an abundance of carotenoids-antioxidants that protect our cells. They also contain high levels of fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Leafy greens give the body folate. The word folate describing the B vitamin originates from the Latin root word folium, which means leaf. The function associated with folate is varied and works in conjunction with other nutrients. Folate deficiency is common, and leads to a multitude of health problems including digestive disorders, cardiovascular disease, and most famously perhaps, birth defects. Folate is also crucial in epigenetics (external or environmental factors that switch genes on and off without changing the DNA sequence), through a process known as methylation, where folate acts as a methyl donor promoting cellular differentiation. Folate is also essential for DNA and RNA synthesis, amino acid production, and cell division. To put it plainly, you really, really need folate in your diet.

Greens lead to longevity.