Apple and Avocado Salmon Salad

So in the last six months my diet has gotten a complete overhaul. I restricted my calorie intake for YEARS and did as much cardio as I could tolerate- which wasn't much because I hated it. I've learned that if I'm eating real food that I can actually eat three full meals a day...I know that sounds obvious, but for years I didn't really eat much...looking back it's certainly possible I had a borderline eating disorder. I had always heard people talk about how eating this or eating that made them feel better, but I never noticed a difference...that was until I changed my diet radically and started truly eating clean. I'm talking cutting out all food items that come in a package- you know the ones- they are overly-processed, over-salted, and full of sugar...and they are delicious (confession: I still eat those things, they just are no longer the majority of my diet). It didn't take long and I started to notice how much better I felt- how was I supposed to notice that I was depressed, tired, and lethargic when I had just always felt that way?? It was normal for me...until now I realize that it wasn't normal at all, just a symptom of the Standard American Diet (SAD).

This is one of the first recipes that I tried out on my new health journey- and it originated from one of Kristal Nielson's TBG programs (which I love!), but over the last five months I've tweaked it so much that it's become something different entirely. My husband Kris and I LOVE this recipe. We basically eat it everyday for lunch, if we don't eat it for lunch chances are it's because we ran out. I usually make a large Tupperware of it every Sunday to get us through the week. I've learned that some things are meal prep friendly and some definitely aren't (ie- I typically hate eating leftovers for dinner) and this one is absolutely something you can meal prep. It's a pretty versatile meal as well, we both eat it completely differently depending on the day, I have wrapped it up in Bibb lettuce cups (this is a great low-carb option), Kris usually pours salsa over it and eats it with Siete tortilla chips, we also both often put it on a piece of toasted sprouted bread (my favorite!). Lately I've been lazy and I just pile it on top of some fresh spinach and eat it as a salad. It really can do no wrong.

Originally this was a tuna salad recipe, but after reading Food, by Dr. Mark Hymen I changed it to salmon when I learned that tuna can have much higher levels of mercury. I also learned that when shopping for salmon you want to find wild-caught Alaskan salmon so you aren't eating farmed fish that are fed processed food. I don't want to eat processed food so I don't really want my food eating it either whenever possible.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 avocado, cubed

- 1/2 apple, cut into bite sized pieces

- 1 pickle spear, cut into bite size pieces

- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

- 2 teaspoons vegan mayo

- 1 tablespoon golden raisins

- 2 tablespoons pickle juice

- 1 5-6 oz can of wild-caught Alaskan salmon (drained)

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Take the avocado half and slice it into sections while still in its skin, with a spoon scoop it into a medium mixing bowl.

2. Rinse and chop half an apple into small bite size pieces and add it to the bowl, I love using my slap chop, but any knife will do. I prefer to not remove the apple skin because that's where a lot of the nutrients are hiding!

3. Next, chop up your pickle spear into bite size pieces. I love using Grillo's Pickles, but any pickles will work! If you don't have spears, about 5-7 pickle chips will also get the job done. I also add my pickle juice at this time since I have the pickles out- and this is what I consider the secret ingredient- it really makes it go from tasty to SO delicious.

4. Now, add in the dijon mustard, vegan mayo (it doesn't have to be vegan, but I do prefer to use a mayo that has healthier ingredients), golden raisins, salt, pepper, and wild caught salmon (make sure to drain that can).

5. All that's left is to mix it all up! I like to use a fork to stir it because it helps break up the salmon.

6. Now, just scoop it into some bibb lettuce leaves, put it on top of a toasted piece of sprouted bread, or a bed of spinach!

Please let me know if you try this recipe and what you think! It's definitely a favorite at our house.