A huge part for me to stay on the whole30 plan is to have some varied flavors. I can only eat so many baked chicken, broccoli and tossed salad meals in a row before the sirens of sweetness start calling my name and chocolate tempts me at every turn. It is very hard for me to resist deliciousness . In my brain anything chocolate is delicious and everything else pales in comparison. Which is why it is best for me to go cold turkey when it comes to sugar. I seem to have no willpower in its presence.(Shhh! Don't tell anyone that I fell off the wagon after the party Wednesday. I had about 50 mini cupcakes I had made leftover, along with a huge bowl of Hershey's kisses and though I did not make a big dent in either, I did consume more than 1 of each, several more in fact.) I had to to hop back on the plan before the gods of Hershey sabotaged me completely. And this brings me back to flavor. If I vary flavors regularly I can lull my mouth into some form of complacency. (That is providing there is not a big bowl of Hershey's kisses on the dining room table,.)
The upside of this is that I am a pretty good cook and have all the herbs and spices on hand to add extreme taste to foods. I am also willing to experiment and play with foods, plus I use recipes only as a road map and will add and subtract anything I think might be better. (Works sometimes and others__well, we have eaten less than stellar meals on occasion.)
The downside of this Whole30 meal prep thing is that I can't make rice or pasta as the base for quick tasty meals. This requires a little more thought and planning than I like to do. I don't know if I would call myself a spontaneous cook or just an impulsive one, but meal planning is not my strong suit. My distaste for advance planning is fine for the chicken, broccoli, salad meals but not a great habit when my stomach is truly hungry and my mouth wants something tasty.
Last night was one of those nights. I have no idea what was wrong with me but I was just in a pissy mood. I was not angry with anyone or anything but I was disagreeable and ornery and nothing was making me happy. And I was hungry!
We were supposed to go to the lake place, but TheHub has been caught in an intense situation at work which was finally resolved Friday afternoon (This had been going on for months.) He and one other co-worker who had spent an equal amount of time trying to pull everything together decided to go have a drink (or 2) to celebrate its completion. When he called me to let me know we would be leaving later than expected, I suggested we just stay home. It's not like I don't have plenty to do around here anyway. So at about 7:45 I started to think about dinner. (When we go to the lake we usually stop at Publix on the way and pick up something to throw on the grill, or grab some take out meal so I don't have to think in advance.)
Nothing was thawed, nothing sounded good or bad, but I had planned on having salmon patties at the lake place Saturday night since I knew we had a can of salmon there. I had found this Whole30 salmon patty recipe and had already thrown a lot of the ingredients in a container to take to the lake. So our throw together meal featured salmon patties with tarter sauce.
Salmon patties of the Whole30 variety
1 can salmon, skin and bones removed
1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 egg
½ cup almond flour
2 teaspoons parsley (more if using fresh)
2 scallions, chopped
2 teaspoons dill weed
1 teaspoon hot sauce
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil, melted
parchment paper
Preheat the oven to 425. Put a piece of parchment on the bottom of a jelly roll pan and coat it with the melted ghee or coconut oil (Coconut oil is cheaper but does give a very slight flavor to the salmon. Next time I will use ghee.)
Mix everything else together and make 7 -1 inch thick patties. Place them on the parchment and pop into the preheated oven for 20 minutes, flip the patties and bake another 10 minutes. Serve hot topped with tarter sauce.
Tarter sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dill pickle, minced
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons capers, minced
1 scallion, minced
1 teaspoons dried chives
1 teaspoon pickle juice
2 teaspoons whole grained mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix together and let sit for about 30 minutes before using.
OK, where to begin? These aren't your mother's salmon patties. I would strongly advise anyone making these to use ghee instead of coconut oil to coat the parchment, however; if you are not doing Whole 30 I would just use olive oil or whatever other oil you prefer.
The sweet potato gives the patties a slightly sweet, but not unpleasant flavor. (I think using 1/2 cup white potatoes and 1/2 cup sweet potatoes would be a better flavor and would still be Whole30 compliant.) The texture is a little softer than a traditional salmon patty but hey held together well and were firm enough with a decently crisp exterior. (Obviously not as crisp as one fried in a pan, but still decently crisp). When I make them again I will most likely add a little minced celery, minced bell pepper and additional hot sauce to it. The patty just needed a little more texture, at least I think it did. I will also use minced onion rather than the scallions. I think a mild onion would punch up the flavor. I will also change the seasonings a little and add some cayenne, chili and a little ground coriander. Oh and a squeeze of fresh lemon right before serving would help too!
The tarter sauce was perfectly good. I added about a teaspoon of additional pickle juice to thin it a little, but that was a personal tactile preference. Since pre-made tarter sauce has sugar in it it's a no-go for me, but I probably would not bother making it if I were not doing Whole30 and would just opt for the bottled stuff. I liked it on top of patty, but TheHub preferred ketchup on his.
Over all this was perfectly fine, not delicious, but fine. It did not satisfy my personal yen for strong taste other than the strong flavor inherent to canned salmon, but I think the few modifications I mentioned earlier might help it substantially. I will make this again, mainly because it is a super cheap meal. I find canned salmon occasionally for 99 cents a can and that is my price point for purchasing it. I always have 1 can in the pantry, so I need to be on the lookout for a sale to restock.
I am thinking of buying some lump crabmeat and trying this with some seasoning alterations. Will let you know how it works.
Because I had salmon and was thinking of the sea, I was listening to sea shanties while writing this post. This one is TheHub's favorite. (I think he sang this in Men's Chorus when he was in high school and that was many, many moons ago!) Thought I would share.
The upside of this is that I am a pretty good cook and have all the herbs and spices on hand to add extreme taste to foods. I am also willing to experiment and play with foods, plus I use recipes only as a road map and will add and subtract anything I think might be better. (Works sometimes and others__well, we have eaten less than stellar meals on occasion.)
The downside of this Whole30 meal prep thing is that I can't make rice or pasta as the base for quick tasty meals. This requires a little more thought and planning than I like to do. I don't know if I would call myself a spontaneous cook or just an impulsive one, but meal planning is not my strong suit. My distaste for advance planning is fine for the chicken, broccoli, salad meals but not a great habit when my stomach is truly hungry and my mouth wants something tasty.
Last night was one of those nights. I have no idea what was wrong with me but I was just in a pissy mood. I was not angry with anyone or anything but I was disagreeable and ornery and nothing was making me happy. And I was hungry!
We were supposed to go to the lake place, but TheHub has been caught in an intense situation at work which was finally resolved Friday afternoon (This had been going on for months.) He and one other co-worker who had spent an equal amount of time trying to pull everything together decided to go have a drink (or 2) to celebrate its completion. When he called me to let me know we would be leaving later than expected, I suggested we just stay home. It's not like I don't have plenty to do around here anyway. So at about 7:45 I started to think about dinner. (When we go to the lake we usually stop at Publix on the way and pick up something to throw on the grill, or grab some take out meal so I don't have to think in advance.)
Nothing was thawed, nothing sounded good or bad, but I had planned on having salmon patties at the lake place Saturday night since I knew we had a can of salmon there. I had found this Whole30 salmon patty recipe and had already thrown a lot of the ingredients in a container to take to the lake. So our throw together meal featured salmon patties with tarter sauce.
Salmon patties of the Whole30 variety
1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 egg
½ cup almond flour
2 teaspoons parsley (more if using fresh)
2 scallions, chopped
2 teaspoons dill weed
1 teaspoon hot sauce
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil, melted
parchment paper
Preheat the oven to 425. Put a piece of parchment on the bottom of a jelly roll pan and coat it with the melted ghee or coconut oil (Coconut oil is cheaper but does give a very slight flavor to the salmon. Next time I will use ghee.)
Mix everything else together and make 7 -1 inch thick patties. Place them on the parchment and pop into the preheated oven for 20 minutes, flip the patties and bake another 10 minutes. Serve hot topped with tarter sauce.
Tarter sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dill pickle, minced
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons capers, minced
1 scallion, minced
1 teaspoons dried chives
1 teaspoon pickle juice
2 teaspoons whole grained mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix together and let sit for about 30 minutes before using.
OK, where to begin? These aren't your mother's salmon patties. I would strongly advise anyone making these to use ghee instead of coconut oil to coat the parchment, however; if you are not doing Whole 30 I would just use olive oil or whatever other oil you prefer.
The sweet potato gives the patties a slightly sweet, but not unpleasant flavor. (I think using 1/2 cup white potatoes and 1/2 cup sweet potatoes would be a better flavor and would still be Whole30 compliant.) The texture is a little softer than a traditional salmon patty but hey held together well and were firm enough with a decently crisp exterior. (Obviously not as crisp as one fried in a pan, but still decently crisp). When I make them again I will most likely add a little minced celery, minced bell pepper and additional hot sauce to it. The patty just needed a little more texture, at least I think it did. I will also use minced onion rather than the scallions. I think a mild onion would punch up the flavor. I will also change the seasonings a little and add some cayenne, chili and a little ground coriander. Oh and a squeeze of fresh lemon right before serving would help too!
The tarter sauce was perfectly good. I added about a teaspoon of additional pickle juice to thin it a little, but that was a personal tactile preference. Since pre-made tarter sauce has sugar in it it's a no-go for me, but I probably would not bother making it if I were not doing Whole30 and would just opt for the bottled stuff. I liked it on top of patty, but TheHub preferred ketchup on his.
Over all this was perfectly fine, not delicious, but fine. It did not satisfy my personal yen for strong taste other than the strong flavor inherent to canned salmon, but I think the few modifications I mentioned earlier might help it substantially. I will make this again, mainly because it is a super cheap meal. I find canned salmon occasionally for 99 cents a can and that is my price point for purchasing it. I always have 1 can in the pantry, so I need to be on the lookout for a sale to restock.
I am thinking of buying some lump crabmeat and trying this with some seasoning alterations. Will let you know how it works.
Because I had salmon and was thinking of the sea, I was listening to sea shanties while writing this post. This one is TheHub's favorite. (I think he sang this in Men's Chorus when he was in high school and that was many, many moons ago!) Thought I would share.
I love salmon! You will make so many substitutions that I might like to see that recipe. I love to leave in the bones. If I take them out, I eat them. If I had the choice, I would rather have catsup. So, are potatoes on the whole30 diet?
ReplyDeleteWhen I lost 46 pounds in 3.5 months, a Hershey was planned after dinner each night. One day, I saw Hershey's Kisses, individual kisses, for sale on the counter of the gas station, bought one of those instead and from then on just bought one Kiss and was satisfied. I should do that again...lol. Now, I would just eat a handful or the whole bag. I may make salmon croquettes for dinner.
I am just not good at limiting myself to 1, so I have to do totally without.
DeletePotatoes, both white and sweet are allowed on Whole30, but should be eaten only occasionally. I limit them to once or twice a week
Your version of the salmon patties sound good! I made some salmon patties, once, with leftover spicy sauted (curried) potatoes and my daughter loved them. The next time, I made with regular mashed potatoes and neither of us liked them! Thank you for the reminder to keep a can of salmon on hand. I usually have tuna and mackerel, but salmon will be a good addition, too (the dollar store has them for $.99). I think I'll prefer ketchup or some of my spicy, homemade tomato chutney with them, myself.
ReplyDeleteI bet it was really good with curried potatoes. There is a lot of flavor in those. I would love this with chutney or ketchup but there are no sugars allowed in W30. Chutney and ketchup both have a decent amount of sugar.
DeleteI've wanted to try tuna cakes-not a salmon fan, particuallrly for something different on Friday nights during lent and summers at the lake-something I can make up quick. What's your thought on trying your version with canned tuna?
ReplyDeleteI think if you used the white solid tuna it would do just fine. I would probably bake a small white and a small sweet potato peel and mash them together before mixing all the ingredients. The sweet potato alone could possibly overpower the tuna. I would definitely put minced celery and minced onion (a red onion maybe, a little lemon zest and probably some whole grain mustard in the mix. I am going to buy some lump crabmeat and try a variation (different seasonings) of this. We love crab cakes and this would be a much healthier way of cooking them.
DeleteWe have been eating tuna cakes recently at our house because my son doesn't like the texture of the bones in the canned salmon. They are good, but not as many ingredients as your recipe. What we do differently from "our mother's recipe" is added chopped tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteI have to get rid of the bones and the skin. Fortunately Shelby, the dog, loves them. I bet the addition of tomatoes is really good.
DeleteSounds delicious! I have the Whole30 book and want to try it but I'm so scared! I have heard that people get bad headaches when they start Whole30 and I already get migraines, I'm scared it will trigger a horrible migraine. Have you had issues with headaches?
ReplyDeleteTania
Hey Tania I do not get headaches with it. This is the third time I have done it and have learned to make sure I eat more than what I think I want or need the first 3 days. This is not a traditional diet and they actually want you to be full, just fill of good stuff. Also right before you go one it I would suggest you make your mayo (or buy the whole 30 approved one), make ketchup, buy coconut aminos, make a couple of salad dressings, have your salad greens washed and ready and some salad toppings cut and ready to toss.
DeleteOh, and avocados! The first couple of days of days I eat a small avocado (either in homemade guacamole or sliced on a salad.
The same would work well with tuna as well I would think. I've never tried the Whole 30 thing but the basic recipes seem healthy
ReplyDeleteI think so too, but I am not positive. I am going to try it with crab too. The recipes, though different from traditional recipes are really just replacing things we don't really need with things that are a little better for us. Plus vegetables out the wazoo.
DeleteI love salmon . . . and chocolate.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I am not crazy about canned salmon but I keep it for emergency meals anyway. Chocolate__you are speaking my language.
DeleteI like then also. When I started listening to the music yesterday I gravitated to them as soon as I saw them.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your weekend plans fell through! I'm a chocoholic. sugaraholic... I need to get back on a diet and stay there for at least 2 weeks but the weekends get in the middle and we usually have company. Good food abounds....
ReplyDeleteI do best when good stuff is no where near me. This time I am incorporating what works for me with additions for everyone else. It is working most days.
DeleteI love salmon patties, so does Kazi. Like you we add things to spice them up as Kazi likes all of her food to be spicy hot! This is another of those meals where you can use up leftover items. I'll usually use up whatever crackers are sitting around rather than buy bread crumbs. Sometimes I get a little carried away with the cayenne and red pepper flakes. I wish I had your know-how though - I don't always know which spices I should be using when I'm experimenting. Kazi doesn't complain...too much :)
ReplyDeleteAs long as no one complains too much it is all good! I like heat in my food too and have been known to overdo it on occasion.
ReplyDelete