Humana Cooking Demo: June 1, 2023

Recipes: Simple Salmon Patties, Spinach-Quinoa Salad

This month's theme is foods to prevent aging!  In general, a diet rich in whole plant foods and low in processed foods and added sugars is ideal.  

Today I demonstrated a simple salmon patty using canned salmon and a Spinach-Quinoa Salad that can be adapted to fit whatever you have on hand.  

Unlike most salmon patty recipes, this one does not include breadcrumbs which add carbs but little nutritional value.  Since the canned salmon is already cooked, beaten eggs work well to hold everything together.  For the onions, instead of using raw, I used the trick I showed you last session for microwaving the onions before using to remove the "raw taste" and make them easier to digest.  

The recipe calls for fresh chopped herbs (chives, parsley, dill) but you can use whatever you have or like.  If using dry herbs/spices, use only 1/3 the amount.  For this recipe, there are 3 Tablespoons total of fresh herbs.  For dry you would use 1 Tablespoon total. 

I used canned salmon (wild pink from Aldi) in the demo to show you how having healthy items in your pantry can make meal planning and prep easier.  However, you could use fresh salmon (just finely chop in the food processor) if you prefer.  If you are using canned salmon, be sure to remove any skin and/or bones before adding the other ingredients.  

The Spinach Quinoa Salad contains protein rich quinoa and the powerful leafy green, spinach!  The recipe calls for chopped red bell pepper, but for the demo I used an orange pepper since you learned that ORANGE vegetables are exceptionally good for preventing aging!  In fact, buying a different color of your favorite fruit or vegetable (carrots, peppers, cauliflower, kiwi, apples, etc.) is a SIMPLE way to get a wider variety of nutrients into your diet!

Also, feel free to add additional vegetables or herbs to the salad (cucumbers, shredded carrot, tomatoes, etc.).  To make it more hearty and increase the protein, you can add 2 cups of cooked lentils or beans or choice!  

The dressing for the salad was simply olive oil and lemon juice.  I did discuss and demonstrate that adding about 1 Tablespoon of tahini (ground sesame seeds; main ingredient in hummus) to the dressing will make it creamy and change up the taste while adding more healthy fat, protein, and nutrients!  Many of you actually liked the tahini version better!  This was an example of using "special" ingredients that you buy for one purpose in other ways in your cooking!  Too many times we hesitate to buy something new because we don't know what else to do with it.  Having several ways to use the ingredients encourages you to purchase and use it.

If you have any questions, let me know, and be sure to share if you make these recipes at home!