Salad Nicoise with Grilled Fish (bursting with nutrition, high in protein, healthy fats and fiber)

By: Cat Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

The perfect summer meal, when greens and tomatoes are plentiful and full of flavor. This salad Nicoise makes a satisfying and incredibly healthy meal. You can make the salad portion ahead of time, and just cook the fish right before serving. The fish can be served warm, or chilled. While fresh, wild caught tuna or salmon is ideal, canned, sustainably-caught wild tuna or wild salmon are also delicious. Or you can also try smoked salmon for a different taste!

Dark green leafy greens are proven fat-burning energy, and work to keep blood sugar stable and in a healthy fat burning range. Greens are also a very alkalizing food, which means they are very good for your overall health. The antioxidants kill free radicals that can cause disease, and they are full of vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and other powerful health promoting phytochemicals.

Don’t forget to add copious amounts of fresh basil to this salad! Basil is one of the healthiest herbs you can eat. Basil is full of beta carotenes, powerful antioxidants that prevent inflammation and maintain blood vessel and cardiovascular health. Basil also includes vitamin C, and important minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and potassium. Basil’s unique ingredient though, is the volatile oils it contains. These oils contain some powerful antibacterial properties, known to fight harmful bacteria such as shigella, listeria, E.coli, staph, and pseudomonas aeruginosa. Basil also contains an oil, eugenol which blocks cyclooxygenase (COX) an inflammatory agent, making basil an extremely effective anti-inflammatory, good for arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

Basil extract helps to reduce blood sugar, as well, so is an effective addition for someone who is fighting to prevent diabetes or blood sugar issues.

Salads are also very good for the healthy bacteria in your gut—another thing that, when in balance, helps to promote a healthy weight, and healthy blood sugar. A healthy balance of gut bacteria not only is amazing for your health and immune system, but it also has much to do with your overall moods and emotional state. Gut bacteria imbalance is known to be connected to anxiety and depression.

Dark green leafy vegetables are the ideal lean body food and nutritional powerhouses. Did you know that 3 or more servings a WEEK of leafy green veggies will reduce your risk of stomach cancer? Cabbage, arugula, watercress, kale, and other greens contain natural chemicals called indoles and isothiocyanates which protect against colon cancer and other cancers of the digestive tract. Dark green leafy veggies contain beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin,  which protect cells and our eyes from free radical damage which cause diseases. And dark green leafy’s also contain copious amounts of vitamin K—up to nine times the minimum required amount. Vitamin K regulates blood clotting, helps calcium go into bones and teeth, reduce atherosclerosis, decreases inflammation, and fight cancer. Vitamin K needs to be eaten with fat for optimal absorption, so be sure to add some healthy salad dressing or fats to your greens!

And don’t forget to add those juicy vine-ripened tomatoes! Tomatoes are full of lycopene, a powerful phytonutrient antioxidant with a long list of benefits! Lycopene is the ‘red’ in tomatoes. Lycopene protects your body from dangerous toxins and helps the liver to cleanse and get rid of those toxins. Lycopene is also a major player to battle cancer, making it one of the top anti-cancer foods. Lycopene also helps to protect the brain, the cardiovascular system, and nervous system.

Enjoy this salad, it will supercharge your body with massive nutrients, and optimal fat burning energy!

Salad Ingredients

2-4 large handfuls of baby greens—arugula, baby kale, watercress, baby lettuces

½ lb of fresh green beans, or asparagus

2-4 eggs, hard boiled and quartered

2 chopped ripe tomatoes

¼ cup Kalamata or Greek olives pitted or unpitted

½ large red onion chopped or thinly sliced

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Capers

Raw Parmigiana Reggiano cheese, grated or shaved

2 small red potatoes, boiled and quartered

Dressing Ingredients

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small shallot

¼ cup olive oil

Juice of one lemon

½ tsp Dijon mustard

Sea salt and pepper

Whisk ingredients together in a bowl.

Salad Directions

Steam green beans or asparagus until tender crisp, then cool under cold water. Cut up boiled and cooled eggs. Arrange greens on large plate, and arrange other vegetables in separate sections on top of greens. Add fish and drizzle with dressing. Serves 2-4.

You should also know that this recipe is an almost perfect low-glycemic snack for Diabetics, due to it’s blend of fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, and a reasonably low amount of sugars and carbs that impact blood sugar.  Speaking of Diabetes, make sure to read this page next:

1 Simple trick to REVERSE your Diabetes (hint: it’s NOT cinnamon or any supplement)

References

Mercola, Joseph, DO. (2017). What is Basil Good For? Retrieved from  http://foodfacts.mercola.com/basil.html