healthy salmon chowder

Living on the Oregon Coast we are surrounded by wild, fresh fish and it's a big part of our family diet. One of my favorite meals in the winter is a big hearty bowl of chowder. But these days, I am eating very clean and healthy with zero gluten and very little dairy so I've come up with my own version of a salmon chowder. It's not the same as that heavy chowder loaded with butter, cream and sodium that I can get at my local fish market. Instead it tastes light, crisp and totally satisfies my chowder cravings.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of fish stock (homemade stock is even better)

2 cups of coconut milk

2 poached wild salmon fillets

2-3 tsp coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

3 stocks of celery, chopped

3 potatoes, cubed

1bay leaf

1 teaspoon of fresh dill, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook the vegetables in coconut oil on low for about 20-30 minutes.

Pour the coconut milk and fish broth over the vegetables and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.

Add cubes of salmon to the vegetables and broth and cook on low heat.

Dish and serve with fresh dill and parsley sprinkled on top.

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Healthy Spring Rolls

Can I just tell you that I am in love with fresh healthy food- the color, the smell, the texture...pretty much everything. While I cook a lot, lately I've been taking more time to savor the process of grocery shopping, hunting for fresh local ingredients, prepping and treating everything that I cook like one of my art projects - simple, lots of creativity and tons of color! My most favorite thing to make and eat are fresh Vietnamese inspired spring rolls- they are healthy, quick and easy to prepare!

I started by cutting up all of my favorite veggies and fruit- carrots, cabbage, cucumber, arugula, apples, cilantro, avocado.

Is it just me or do these bracelets that I am working on sort of resemble all those chopped veggies?! Sorry I digress- my creative ADD has kicked in!

Next I made a batch of rice- if you want to be REALLY healthy- go for brown rice.

I grilled some tofu with a little oil and garlic.

After all of my ingredients were prepped, it was time to fill the wrappers!

The key to the healthy spring rolls are wrappers that don't have to be fried- they are made from rice flour and can be found at asian markets or even some grocery stores.

The wrappers are crispy in the package but become pliable once soaked in water.

Soak wrapper for about 10-30 seconds or until they are pliable but not mushy.

Add veggies to the middle of the wrapper,

fold the ends up,

and then roll up (like a burrito).

Cut in half- I was in such a hurry to eat these that my knife skills were sloppy.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce- mine is peanut sauce :)

Enjoy!

Spicy Peanut Sauce

2 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons 'lite' coconut milk

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Whisk peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and red pepper until smooth.