Salmon

I love me some good salmon. A long time ago, I lived in Alaska for a summer and learned all about salmon. I had always hated fish and wouldn't go near it with a 10 foot pole. After Alaska, I saw the light. I learned how delicious fresh fish is. My first taste of salmon and halibut was from the catch of a friend, which he had caught THAT DAY. I learned that fish smells fishy when it is not fresh. Unfortunately, I cannot get fresh fish from Alaska anymore. I live over an hour away from the ocean. There is a lake close by, but I have yet to go fishing there. (It's on my list of things to do this summer-apparently it is loaded with striper.) So until things change, I have learned to tolerate the fish you buy at the grocery store. A couple weeks ago, salmon went on sale, and my timing was perfect. They had just gotten their shipment of salmon within the last five minutes! So I decided to get 2 huge fillets. It ended up being about five pounds of fish.

Now, salmon is not cheap. Even on sale, it's expensive, but it is one thing I'm willing to splurge on. I think the health benefits outweigh the cost. In fact, Craig, my husband (and dietitian) told me about a review he came across while doing some research for work. It was published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2009.* It talked a lot about the roles of omega-3 fatty acids in health and disease. The most interesting section was about infant development and the role of fatty acids. The results of the study claimed that mothers who ate a lot of fatty fishes, like salmon, and had a high intake of omega-3 fatty acids while pregnant and nursing, had infants with improved visual acuity and hand-eye coordination. These fatty acids are especially important in the 3rd trimester for pregnant mothers, as the demand by the baby increases.

For me, this is just another justification for me to buy more salmon. Because I bought so much last time, (we really can't eat all that salmon in one sitting) I cut the fillets into individual portions, wrapped them in saran wrap and then sealed it in a gallon freezer bag.
Now, whenever I need my fatty acid fix, I can just pull out the portions that we need and thaw them out. The texture of the fish is still good too. This salmon is farm-raised. I prefer the wild salmon and my husband likes the farm raised. The wild caught is more expensive, so I settle for the farm raised. I figure it's better to eat some salmon than no salmon. Stay tuned for my favorite salmon recipe tomorrow!

*A Systemic Review of the Roles of n-3 Fatty Acids in Health and Disease
NATALIE D. RIEDIGER, MSc*; RGIA A. OTHMAN, MSc*; MIYOUNG SUH, PhD, RD; MOHAMMED H. MOGHADASIAN, PhD
Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2009