It has come to my attention that I make A LOT of fat filled foods. If you are new here then this, this and this is what I mean.
When I say “come to my attention”, I mean the abs that I once had has started to hibernate behind a rather thick blanket of fluffiness following the holiday feasts. To put simply: I am getting squishy. Have you ever heard of the phrase “fight fire with fire?” Today, I am fighting fat…with fat.
Did you know that not all fat is bad! This Seared Salmon With Tzatziki is actually filled with fat (the good kind). The fats from the greek yogurt, extra-virgin olive oil and salmon play a vital role in keeping your body in tip top shape. However, like most foods, eating them a few times really don’t make much of a difference to your overall health. It is what you eat on a consistent basis that will ultimately determine your longevity. Duh?
I believe in moderation when it comes to food, so nothing is ever completely off limits. I found that restriction inevitably leads to depression. Let me explain with a sample of my previous weight loss diet plan.
- Monday: 2100 calories of “healthy” foods (Great adherence)
- Tuesday: 2100 calories of “healthy” foods (Great adherence)
- Wednesday: 2100 calories of “healthy” foods (Great adherence)
- Thursday: 2100 calories of “healthy” foods (Good adherence)
- Friday: 2100 calories of “healthy” foods (OK adherence)
- Saturday: 2300 calories of foods (ate a little extra from blog recipes)
- Sunday:
2100 calories of “healthy” foods10,000+ calories of junk consumed as I am sitting in a dark room binge watching Netflix (including but definitely not limited to: a jar of peanut butter eaten with a rather large spoon, BBQ chips, Oreos, ice cream and water (not because of guilt but because it helps the peanut butter go down!).
Yeah, I lived a pretty miserable existence. Hehe, I am way more sane now. You may see a lot of calorie dense foods on my blog but these recipes only make up a small fraction of my diet. I have found my balance.
As for this dish. It’s salmon, in a herbaceous Greek yogurt sauce (fatty but light, savory but refreshing). Would it be redundant if I said that this dish is very well balanced? *du dum tschh*
- 2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1 whole Hothouse Cucumber
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt Plus more to taste
- 4 clove Garlic Minced
- 3-4 tbsp Dill
- 3-4 tbsp Mint Leaves
- 1 tbsp Extra-virgin Olive Oil
- Grounded Black Pepper To taste
- Fresh Lemon Juice To taste (I used 1tsp)
- 2 lb Salmon Filet See notes
- Sea Salt To taste
- Grounded Black Pepper To taste
- Cayenne Pepper Optional
- Olive Oil To coat the pan
- For best consistency, grate your cucumber. If you want a less awesome Tzatziki then you can just manually slice them into thin strips. The addition of skin is up to you.
- Throw you grated cucumber in a bowl with 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. Mix and allow it to sit for 20 minutes (this will release some water).
- Pour off the cucumber juices. Place the cucumbers in a cheesecloth of some think paper towel and squeeze out as much water as possible.
- Mince the garlic and cut up your dill and mint leaves.
- Mix the Greek yogurt, drained cucumber, garlic, dill, mint leaves and extra-virgin olive oil together. Season with salt, black pepper and lemon juice to taste.
- Throw the Tzatziki in the refrigerator for a few hours (go for at least 4, it will taste much better)
- Take your salmon out of the refrigerator 20 minutes prior to serving (this allows for even cooking).
- Pat the salmon dry with some paper towels, season with sea salt, black pepper and cayenne.
- Add some Canola Oil (or any high smoke point oil) to a pan over medium-high heat and place the salmon in.
- Cook until 2/3 of the salmon has changed color. At this point, flip and cook until the whole piece of fish appears fully cooked (It should be medium rare). See notes for more details
The cook time for the salmon will depend on the thickness of your fish. Mine was 1 inch thick and cooked for 2-3 minutes on one side and finished with another minute on the bottom (for medium rare).
For a completely cooked salmon: After flipping (when the fish appears to be fully cooked (allow it to sear for another minute).