Hawaii MyPlate Meal – Scrumptious Salmon Salad

Every seed holds a tiny plant inside of it, not something we often think about unless you decide to plant a garden. A pic of ours:

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Then you think of seeds in a whole new way. Seeds are potential food for my family. Buying a packet of seeds hopefully means filling the refrigerator with garden goodies.

This month’s Recipe ReDux theme was showing how to use a favorite seed in a recipe. Now, I have yet to try carrots seeds or lettuce seeds in a recipe – but who knows what the future will bring! And there are many seeds sold in the supermarket like chia, sunflower, pumpkin, and poppy. But I wanted to go with one that I often use to dress up our favorite fish dish: Sesame seeds.

Speaking of seeds and their potential, a seed was planted long ago in my family when my kids were born – a desire to teach them how to cook with me in the kitchen and grow a garden to build a lifetime of memories. I remember looking into their eyes as babies thinking about spending time with them in the kitchen. Last year’s Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Cookbook inspired me to be intentional with my desire and create our own challenge: The United States of MyPlates Challenge , where my kids and I cook our way through the USA by using the winning recipes each week.
So my kids were eager to hear the results yesterday of the Second Annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge because they actually entered this year! They created some great recipes (of course, their mother would say so) and they entered those recipes in May to win a chance to be invited to The White House for The Kids’ State Dinner with Mrs. Obama. They didn’t win but they really tried hard! I’ll post those recipes soon.

This week we went to Hawaii – not for real (but hopefully someday!), but through the food. Here’s last year’s adapted winning recipe:

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Scrumptious Salmon Salad

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Adapted from The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Cookbook, recipe submitted by Stefani Shimomura-Sakamoto, of Hawaii. I added ingredients for a salmon glaze that my family loves to give it extra flavor. (And no seaweed, not readily available).

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
4 (4 ounce) fresh salmon fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon mustard (any type you have, I like Dijon or whole grain mustard)
2 teaspoons lite soy sauce (lower sodium)
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
6 cups fresh spinach
1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Preparation
1. Season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. Place on grill or in pan over medium heat. Cook approximately 4 minutes on one side, then flip.
2. Meanwhile, stir together brown sugar, mustard, soy sauce and ginger. When salmon is flipped, evenly spread glaze over the four fillets as the underside cooks. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
3. Serve salmon with a bed of spinach and strawberries. Add dressing if desired. (My favorite is poppyseed dressing).

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Make it a MyPlate meal by adding a glass of fat-free milk and a slice of whole grain baguette.

MyCart Shopping Tip: When buying salmon, look for freshness. You should not smell a fishy odor, the flesh should not be slimy and it should look bright, reddish-orange in color. Don’t be afraid to ask your seafood manager how fresh it is.

Star Ratings:
Husband: 5 – The glaze is the savior.
Adventurous Son: 5 – All these ingredients are his favorites.
Cautious Daughter: 5 – Again, the glaze is what makes this dish.
Dietitian Mom: 5 – We will make it over and over and over.

It’s time to hula (Hawaii’s state dance) and surf (Hawaii’s state sport) on over to learn more cool facts about Hawaii! And print out the lesson plan for a worksheet perfect to help keep your kids learning this summer.

Here’s a full listing of the states we’ve already covered in the United States of MyPlates Challenge.

Don’t forget to visit my dietitian friends below for their seedy recipes!


12 Comments

  1. tspbasil on June 21, 2013 at 7:29 am

    Love everything about this post! I just saw yesterday about the winners of the healthy lunch challenge and how incredible cool that you are doing the United States of MyPlates challenge -brilliant! Oh, and this salmon recipe looks scrumptious 🙂

    • Jen Haugen on June 21, 2013 at 7:30 am

      Thanks Deanna! I just love cooking with my kids and hope to inspire others to as well! It’s a great way to make lots of fun memories.

  2. Betsy on June 21, 2013 at 2:02 pm

    Love how simple and easy this recipe is! This really shows people healthy can be simple. Beautiful pics! When’s dinner? I am coming if you make this!

    • Jen Haugen on June 21, 2013 at 2:42 pm

      Thanks Betsy! You can come over anytime! Maybe we could plan a virtual dinner? 🙂 It really is simple and so good.

  3. gretchen on June 21, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    this looks delicious… i’ve been craving salmon lately. love the image too, and the cool red surface.

    • Jen Haugen on June 26, 2013 at 1:28 pm

      Thanks Gretchen! Gotta love old barn boards! Just got them and I love them too.

  4. dr barb, nutritionbudgeteer on June 24, 2013 at 3:26 pm

    Will have to try your recipe, especially the glaze with so many of your family members lovin’ it. Love your idea of trying the wining recipes. What a great way to expand your collection of kid-friendly recipes.

    • Jen Haugen on June 26, 2013 at 1:27 pm

      Thanks Barb! This challenge has been so much fun and inspiring to us as well – new recipes to discover and savoring time in the kitchen with my kids. Dreams come true!

  5. serena on June 24, 2013 at 3:34 pm

    Your kids are awesome and such an inspiration. Can’t wait to read their recipes! The salmon looks amazing….gotta try the glaze popular w/ your fam!

    • Jen Haugen on June 26, 2013 at 1:26 pm

      Thanks Serena! I can only hope that they will carry these memories with them always! And yes, the salmon is a winner. Enjoy!

  6. Kelly Sloan on June 27, 2013 at 12:57 am

    Salmon is my favorite and I like the glaze recipe you have. I will definitely have this for dinner soon!

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