Recently I was approached by someone I met at a party, when discussing the work I do with Tasty Yummies, with one of the questions I dread most – “What are you?”. I am always taken aback by this question, to be a smart ass, I usually want to reply “a woman”, “I am human”, “a lady boss”, “a feminist” – or something of the like.

Now, I am smart enough to know exactly what they mean, but I always play dumb – “sorry, what do you mean?”. To which they usually reply “well, are you vegan, vegetarian or paleo, or like, what are you?”

While I have many wonderful friends, whom I greatly respect, that fit into each of those categories and so many others, I have always personally chosen to leave the labels off of my living. I jokingly always say “labels are for packages”, but I honestly, truly feel this way. This choice doesn’t come with judgement for those that choose to label their diet, but for me, I prefer to simply live my life and follow whatever “rules” or “non-rules” I have taken on at that specific time. But this is an ever-evolving set of “rules”, if I can even call them that. Evolving as I am. I also rarely feel as if these self-professed rules are hard-fast set in stone laws that I MUST abide by. What kind of living is that?

I eat intuitively and I eat with compassion, for myself and for the environment. I choose sustainability and I choose to nourish my body and my individuality. I prioritize my happiness and my health, first and foremost. To me, following a set of arbitrary “laws” surrounding food, this has never seemed quite right to me. How can anyone, but me, know what works for me? To be totally honest, what works for me one day, doesn’t even necessarily work for me the next. I like to be flexible and go with the flow. I also have found that too many rules attached to my eating creates unnecessary guilt, where there shouldn’t be. I have made the conscious choice some time ago to put my health and my vitality at the forefront of my focus, beyond any firm labels, rules or guidelines. If I sat down and made a list of the things I choose to avoid at this very moment, to the average person they might assume I follow a very strict “diet”, however I actually never feel this way. I have made all of these choices out of education and knowledge of nutrition and health, but mostly from many years of listening to my body and allowing my intuition to guide me. I actually never feel deprived. My choices, my diet, my lifestyle this is all unique to me, as it should be. My lifestyle wasn’t developed by some arbitrary third party or a New York Times Bestseller Book. I created it, just for me. I haven’t built an empire with my “rules”, nor have I, thankfully, had to experience the backlash that comes as these things, or I, change. I am happy to exist in my little label-free world.

When I look at where I was 6 months ago, a year ago, 5 years ago, even 10, my dietary choices have greatly changed and evolved, as I have aged, as I have discovered health challenges, as credible health and nutritional research shows new information and as my tastes have changed. As a “conscientious omnivore”, a label I have gladly adopted thanks to Michael Pollan, sustainability has been of major importance to me since long before I started Tasty Yummies, over 6 years ago. Understanding and supporting sustainability was actually the first step in my changing my health through food. Through this journey and by educating myself and exploring food,  realizing how simple it is to cook the food I want myself was as equally as important to me, not only for my own way of living, but to also share with my readers and the community I have created here with Tasty Yummies.

Whatever your dietary preferences, challenges, labels or otherwise, owning your choices and committing to cooking for yourself is something we can all agree upon and in my mind are the non-negotiables. For those that consume seafood, choosing sustainably wild-caught fish is a must, but it doesn’t have to be challenging, neither in the purchasing or the preparing. Alaska Gold Seafood are the real deal, they are your answer for sustainably-caught, responsible seafood. They are a fisherman run cooperative. When you buy from a fishermen’s cooperative you are buying fish right from the fisherman, supporting their mission and their methods. By working as a cooperative, this allows the fishermen to band together their resources to ensure the highest quality, the best practices and the fairest price. We actually talked much more in depth about this in a recent post.  As important, is the quality and the taste of this incredible super fresh fish. This beautiful king salmon is truly unlike any salmon I have ever cooked at home and it’s better than anything I have bought locally, even from the finest grocers and markets. This is as direct from the hook to your kitchen as you’ll get, without catching it yourself.

Cooking fish at home doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy, in fact, this slow-roasted preparation of the king salmon portions, is not only my new favorite way to enjoy salmon, but it truly couldn’t be any easier. You toss the ingredients into a pan, toss it into the oven, let it do it’s thing, low and slow and then voila, it’s done and it’s incredible. No risk of over-cooking, no rubbery dry dish here, it’s moist, flavorful, flakey and perfect! The fennel and the citrus pair together so nicely to really brighten the whole dish and the crispy fried lentils make for the perfect side dish. These are seriously an incredible quick side dish that you are going to adore!

[print_this]Slow Roasted Citrus Fennel King Salmon with Crispy Fried Lentils {gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly}
serves 2 (but could easily be multiplied for more servings)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil or melted ghee
• 2 8-ounces portions skin-on, boneless Alaska Gold King Salmon
• 2-3 oranges, I used 2 blood oranges and 1 navel orange, thinly sliced, you could also use lemon and/or limes
• 1 small bulb fennel, thinly sliced
• couple of sprigs fresh dill
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 275ºF. Lightly grease a small glass baking pan with a little olive oil or ghee.

Line the bottom of the pan with the fennel and orange slices, reserving one half for it’s juice and a few of the orange slices to go on top of the fish. Lightly brush both sides of the fish with the olive oil or melted ghee. Place the fish on top of the fennel and orange slices, skin side down. Place the remaining orange slices on top, squeeze the juice from the remaining half orange overtop everything, evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Top with some of the fennel fronds and the fresh dill.

Place the pan into the center of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until just cooked through, the flesh barely flakes, a fork inserted in the thickest part of the fish cuts through easily with no resistance and the flesh separates easily from the skin. (If the top of the fish has a slightly raw look; this is the result of the low roasting temperature. It will be cooked inside.) Let stand for 5 minutes, top with fresh dill and serve with the crispy fried lentils on the side (recipe below). [/print_this]

[print_this]Crispy Fried Lentils
makes enough for 2 with leftovers (great for on top of salads, soups, eggs, etc)

• high-heat appropriate oil, ghee, coconut oil, lard, avocado oil, algae oil, etc
• 2 cups cooked lentils (I prefer to use sprouted lentils, read why here)
• 1 shallot or small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Cook your lentils as you usually would, maybe slightly undercooked, if you’d like. (Sprouted lentils cook faster, so take note, when cooking) Pour enough oil to a depth of about 1/4-inch in a medium/large skillet over a medium-high skillet. Toss together the lentils and the chopped shallots. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a lentil on contact, add the lentils. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they crispy and become slightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Toss in the garlic and remove from the heat, add to your serving dish, toss, season with salt and pepper, a little fresh dill and serve.[/print_this]

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Alaska Gold. All content, ideas and words are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow me to create new and special content like this for Tasty Yummies.