Chili-Rubbed Salmon

A few weeks ago, a coworker of mine referred to me as a "foodie." And I have to admit, I cringed a little. I'm not really a fan of that term. When I think of a foodie, a food snob comes to mind. That's not me at all.

I've done Weight Watchers on and off for seven years, and I've learned a lot in that time. Mostly, I found out that I want to eat things that taste really good as well as being good for me. Also, I'm more satisfied by having the "regular" version and less of it rather than a "diet" fat free, sugar free version. Take maple syrup for example. I'd much rather have a tablespoon or two of real, Grade B organic maple syrup than a whole bucket full of the sugar free pancake syrup. Sure, I could really drench my waffles with the sugar free stuff for the same amount of points I'm spending on the real thing, but even with less of the real syrup tastes better.

Another criterion for choosing meals: If I had a non-dieting friend over for dinner, would he/she realize this food was low calorie, low fat, or good for them?

This Chili-Rubbed Salmon is something I would definitely feed any of my friends. It's simple, delcious and good for you. Salmon is a fattier fish that I've seen many people on Flex avoid because the points value is higher than other fish. But on Core, it can be eaten to satisfaction without having to count for it. It makes eating omega-3s so much easier.

The recipe comes with two sides -- broiled zucchini and sauteed corn. Both of which are good. I prefer my zucchini sauteed, honestly, but it really wasn't bad this way. I had to modify the corn a bit because fresh salsa could be a liability considering I don't know what kind of tomatoes those are. So, I simply added a small tomato from the vine instead. It didn't have the kick the original recipe would have had, but it worked anyhow.

The leftovers, minus maybe the zucchini would be great cold the next day on top of salad greeens with a southwestern style dressing. You won't even need to gross out your coworkers with the smell of fish in the office microwave.

Nutritional Info: 375 calories, 13 grams of fat, 6 grams of fiber
(Note this includes my recipe swaps: 4 tsp oil instead of 2 tbsp, 4 4-oz. salmon fillets instead of 6 oz. fillets, and a small tomato, instead of the salsa)