In the Name of Being Healthy

Smoked salmon salad with avocado and cucumber

I'd like to think that I'm an overall healthy eater, but most of the time I just fantasize about being one. Even worse, sometimes I find excuses to congratulate my attempt at eating healthy by eating something unhealthy. I eat a salad and then reward myself with fried chicken, for example.

Well, last week I decided to go on a smoothie detox cleanse, but that didn't last very long. I was one or two smoothies in before I decided I needed to munch on some kind of protein. Next thing I knew, I was gnawing on chicken wings. BUT, because I had been so determined to carry this through before I caved, all I had in my grocery stock aside from the chicken were veggies. Lots of them. Well, my scheduled detox is over (did it even really begin? I don't know) and I still have these veggies to deal with. I'm not a huge salad eater unless I'm at Tender Greens, which I am every time I got to the UTC mall, so when I came across this smoked salmon and avocado salad recipe, I was both excited and skeptical.

After making a few trips to the grocery store (I'm very bad at remembering to make grocery lists, so I always tend to forget something), I finally got everything I needed and assembled my salad. I didn't have arugula, but I have a huge box of baby spinach waiting to be eaten, so I used that as a substitute.

The process was easy. Cut up the avocado, dice the cucumber, toast the sesame seeds, tear apart the smoked salmon slices, toss them all together, and drizzle the dressing (olive oil, lime juice, sesame oil) over everything. 

What a pretty salad!

It was definitely tasty, and the salmon itself had enough saltiness to balance everything out. The toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil also added another level of complexity and flavor. However, even though I definitely felt full from the heaping serving of spinach, I was dying to sink my teeth into some buttery carbs after I finished my salad. Oh well, maybe for dinner...