How's your quarantine going? If it is anything like mine, you've been cooking A LOT. After all, I've got a lot of time on my hands. Though I am doing my best to eat healthy (I would say I am succeeding for the most part), I need those comforting and indulgent meals, too. AKA not entirely healthy AKA who cares it's quarantine.
That's not to say this meal is totally bad for you. I mean, sure, there's a whole stick of butter involved, but damn it is good for the soul and your taste buds. Right now "good for the soul" is a definite win. **NOTE: Truthfully, I wrote this post before all of the crazy events that have taken place over the past few of weeks. Sure, coronavirus was a concern then, but it hadn't kicked into full gear. I thought about rewriting this to be more appropriate to the time, but decided it best to keep it as is. After all, there was an authenticity to it when it was originally written and why would I want to take that away from it? In all seriousness, I hope this recipe serves you all well while we are quarantining. Stay safe, eat good food, and enjoy.**
When it comes to meat, fish and seafood tend to be my favorite (sorry, pork, you are close but not quite #1). Yet every winter my fish consumption drops as I tend to crave heavier, filling meals. But who is to say I can't enjoy a hearty fish dish? Why does my brain automatically pass it over as if it won't be satisfying? I’ve been making a conscious effort to be healthier. Not that I wasn’t before, but my sweet tooth was getting a bit out of control, plus I made the decision a couple months back to manage my PCOS with diet and lifestyle rather than with medication (honestly, I hate taking pills. Talk about an anxiety trigger). With this effort, I am learning a lot about not only my habits and cravings, but simple ingredient swaps I can do to make my go-to meals that much better for me.
Enter salmon cakes. I LOVE making salmon cakes. They are crazy easy to do and are a great pantry dinner (I use canned salmon for these). Typically I make these using [gluten free] breadcrumbs and end up frying them in a pan with vegetable oil, but that’s old me. New me swaps for better ingredients that are still yummy and satisfying while being healthier. So this version has almond flour in place of breadcrumbs and coconut oil in place of vegetable oil. Not too long ago I posted on Instagram (@thealiconklin, follow ya girl!) that I'm getting back into the blog thing. It was an announcement to everyone just as much as it was me holding myself accountable to actually do it. With that, I asked the IG world what recipes they would like to see. Oddly, multiple people requested mac & cheese - hence this post!
I debated going healthier with it (and trust me, I've created a recipe for that, too) but ultimately said "screw it, the people want mac & cheese dammit!" So this is my super creamy, super indulgent, super cheesy version full of all the good stuff you crave (minus the gluten...but you can use glutenous ingredients just the same). I'll be honest, lately I've been so busy and tired that the last thing I've wanted to do is a blog post (more work goes into it than you might think!). Any spare moment to just chill I did. ...damn I've missed this though! I think this recipe is perfect redemption - plus it's inspired by suggestions from friends which makes it even better!
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AuthorAli is a Brooklyn based blogger and Certified Health Coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, providing you with recipes to inspire you to cook more at home! She is a firm believer in knowing that eating healthy can be made easy and inexpensive if you simply know how to cook and understands that for the average person there needs to be balance between "healthy" and "unhealthy". Whether you are looking for easy weeknight recipes, delicious snacks, or want to try something new, Ali's recipes are easy to follow at all skill levels! For more info about Ali and her offerings, check out the About page. Categories
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