Fresh, homemade salmon salad is such a nice twist on a traditional tuna or salmon salad.  It's bright, fresh, flavorful, and makes a wonderful light lunch or dinner!

Lunch can be one of the most challenging times to make healthy food choices.  Many people work away from home and I find that the majority of my clients struggle with making healthy choices when going out to eat for lunch.  There are a few reasons behind this. 

The first is no secret:  Finding healthy options when eating out can be difficult - most restaurants aren't overly concerned with making healthy foods available for us; instead they're looking to make food taste great so we enjoy it and keep coming back for more.  Unfortunately, this usually means food from restaurants is much higher in salt, fat, and sugar than food we would prepare at home, and is usually served in larger portions than we would eat on our own. 

Another reason going out to lunch can lead us astray from eating well is stress.  Many people have busy, stressful jobs, and the opportunity to get out of the office and enjoy a little "comfort food" is very appealing after a busy morning. 

The best solution for those trying to stay on track with a healthy, balanced eating plan is to pack lunch from home as often as possible.  This will actually end up saving time and money, it just takes a little planning.  And if you're reading this post thinking, "packing lunch is a nice idea, but I just don't have the time..." start slow.  If you eat out everyday for lunch, try setting a goal to bring your lunch 1 day a week to start.  Then, increase it to 2 days, and so on.  It's okay to eat out sometimes, but preferably not everyday. 

This salmon salad makes for a fresh, light meal that you can make the night before, then assemble the next day at lunch.  Here's the easiest way:  At night, cook the salmon and make the salmon salad (it's really easy and comes together in just a few minutes).  Portion out the salmon into single-serving containers, and place the bread, greens, and cream cheese in another container.  The next day at lunch, all you have to do is sit down, spread the cream cheese over the bread, and top with the greens and salmon salad. 

This meal is also a great way to get more fish into your meal plan:  The FDA and EPA encourages everyone to eat at least 8 to 12 ounces (2 to 3 servings) of seafood per week, so most of us need to be getting more seafood into our menus.  And salmon is an excellent source of heart healthy, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats.  This is the kind of meal that will leave you feeling light and energized for the rest of the afternoon!

Fresh Salmon Salad Sandwich

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce salmon fillet
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
  
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 green onions, sliced
  
• 1/4 cup reduced fat whipped cream cheese
  
• 1 cup baby spinach or arugula
  
• 4 slices whole grain bread, fresh or lightly toasted
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place the salmon fillet on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil. 
2. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.  The internal temperature should be 140-145 degrees and it should flake easily with a fork.  Set aside to cool. 
   
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, and green onions.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 
   
4. Use a fork to gently flake the cooked salmon meat into the bowl with the dressing.  Discard the skin.  Mix the salmon and dressing gently to coat all of the salmon.
   
5. To assemble the sandwiches, spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese on each slice of bread.  Place 1/4 cup of the greens over the cream cheese, then top with 1/4 of the salmon salad for each sandwich. 
   

Happy Eating!

~Amber

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