Healthy Recipes - Honey-Mustard Salmon

Healthy eating's the topic again as I give you a recipe of honey-mustard salmon with asparagus, a high-protein, low-carb meal, great for recovering from an evenings training session. Nearly 40g of protein, , virtually carb-free, over 50% of your RDA of folate and 40% of your RDA of vitamin C (both essential for muscle repair), and it's only 360 calories.
Not only a great post-workout meal but also holds other essential health benefits in the ingredients. As mentioned in an early blog post, salmon can help reduce eye fatigue, which is ideal if you're sat in front of a computer screen all day. The asparagus can also keep your eyes healthy, as well as help fend of gum disease, lower blood pressure and fend off signs of ageing. 

So, onto the recipe, and first, the ingredients;

Serves 4

- 4 salmon fillets
- 450g of asparagus
- 1tbsp of butter
- 1tbsp of brown sugar
- 1tbsp of honey
- 1tbsp of soy sauce
- 2tsp of Dijon mustard
- 2tbsp of olive oil
- 50g of parmesan
- Salt & Pepper

How to make;


1) Heat the oven to 200 degrees/gas mark 6. Then combine the butter and brown sugar in a bowl, and microwave until the mix melts together. This should only take about 30-40 seconds. Remove and stir in the mustard, honey and soy sauce.

2) Toss the asparagus in a bowl with half the oil, and grate in the parmesan, and season to taste. Place the asparagus in a baking dish and roast until al dente. 

3) Heat the remaining oil in a pan over a high heat. Season the salmon and add to the pan, flesh-side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until browned. Then you want to turn them over, and brush half the honey-mustard mix over the fillets, and place in the oven. Bake for around 5 minutes, until the salmon is firm, and flakes easily.

4) Remove from the oven, and brush them with the remainder of the honey-mustard mix. Plate them up with the asparagus and serve.

And there you have it, a quick and simple healthy meal that can be cooked up in 20 minutes, enjoy!

Healthy Eating - Perfect Food Combinations

Perfect Food Combinations, with Huge Health Benefits

Having looked around at various healthy foods and their benefits over recent times, I came across a great article, which listed foods which were beneficial being consumed together, as well as having their own individual benefits. Below, I have listed some of the food-combinations and their benefits.

Salmon & Broccoli Pasta Bake

Salmon and Broccoli - Eat these together to fight against ageing. Sulforaphane, an antioxidant found in broccoli, is 13 times more effective of fighting the free radicals responsible for your skin losing its elasticity when combined with the selenium in fish.
Broccoli is high in vitamin C and magnesium, helping to process toxins much quicker. 
Wild salmon is beneficial for lowering cholesterol and protecting your heart. It also fights liver damage due to the omega 3 fats in the fish. 

Tomatoes and Olive Oil - Cooking your tomatoes in olive oil enhances the body's absorption of the flavanols. The skin contains 98% of it, so don't peel them. 
Flavonols shield your heart against disease and guard against infection.

Grapes and Apples - Enjoy these together to improve circulation. Barry Halliwell, a professor of nutrition at the National University of Singapore, says that the combination of the quercetin in apples and the catechin in grapes has an anticoagulant effect. The compounds fuse to make blood platelets less sticky, improving circulation.

And there you have it, a few food combos to try together, and to get healthy at the same time.