There are evenings where I cook, and there are evenings where I don’t. Too often lately though I’ve been landing on the don’t nights, which means take out or processed food that really isn’t going to benefit my body in the long run.
I just finished the audio book for Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis and oh boy were there a few things that I absolutely took away from it. One of them is that you are in charge of your life, and that you can make the changes you want if you just do it. She also brings up the act of keeping promises to ourselves. When we constantly blow off working out to watch Netflix, or we get Five Guys instead of cooking dinner even though you PROMISED yourself this week you’d stick to your schedule – well then no habit forms and in the end nothing changes. So, I’ve been on the search for easy but healthy dinners that I can’t talk my way out of, and I definitely found one for the books. It’s delicious, it’s Paleo and Whole30 if you’re into that, and it’s fast.
I’m a lover of salmon during the week because at 400 degrees and 13ish minutes out from my oven comes a yummy dinner. The seasoning is simple on this one, just salt, pepper and smoked paprika with a little olive oil. Voila dinner is basically done.
For the noodles I have to give a massive thank you to Trader Joe’s for now carrying sweet potato spiral noodles – best invention ever guys. Ok maybe cookie butter was the best invention but this is 2nd favorite right now. Cook some bacon, sauté some kale and onions, mix in the noodles with some coconut milk, parmesan cheese and some seasoning and you get this incredible, slightly creamy but totally healthy “pasta” dish that doesn’t even make you want the real thing.
I’m not always going to win the perfect cooked dinner + work out + bed early nights, but with recipes like these it makes it a bit easier.
Salmon Sweet Potato Noodle Bowls
Adapted from: Real Good Simple
Ingredients
2 salmon fillets (of about even size)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
Pinch of sea salt and pepper
6 pieces bacon, diced
1 bag spiraled sweet potato noodles (or spiral 2 sweet potatoes)
2 cups greens (kale or collard greens)
For sauce:
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp)
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit
For prep, dice the bacon, onions and garlic, placing the bacon in a pan to cook until crispy (don’t put in onion and garlic yet).
While bacon is cooking, put salmon fillets in a ceramic baking dish and season with the smoked paprika, garlic powder and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Place in the oven to bake for 12-15 until flaky with a fork. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your fillets.
After bacon is done and on a plate, add onions and cook for 4-5 minutes. Once done, add in whatever greens you are using and sauté till softened, another 4-5 minutes.
Add in coconut milk, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine everything. Turn heat to low and simmer until the salmon has about 5 minutes left. Heat back to medium, and add sweet potato noodles to the creamy sauce, cover and cook until they are the texture you like (we prefer “al dente” noodles so only cooked for about 5 minutes)
Once salmon is done, remove from oven. Mix cooked bacon into the sweet potato mixture. Place noodles in a bowl, place salmon on top and spoon extra sauce over everything!
Enjoy!
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