This dish is gorgeous!

I love the colour that the beetroot brings to the table (literally). You will find a host of health benefits with this dish. Each ingredient adds some level of nutritional benefits that are a bonus to the delicious flavour combination.

When creating a meal it is often good to have in mind some benefit to your health that you are trying to achieve. For this meal, I wanted it to be good for your mind. So food that improves your mental health and Australian Salmon is a big win for that purpose. Some of the nutrients that do this are Omega 3, folate, zinc, Vitamin D and good fibres. This dish ticks off all those boxes to some degree.

Two added bonuses to eating a healthy meal is flavour and visual appeal. I think this dish does both of those.

I have to admit that when I started cooking this meal I didn’t expect it to be so pretty or something I would share. But the result was irresistible. I hope you give it a go. It is quick and easy to make, doesn’t have a strong fish flavour (which some people find un-appealing) and is full of health benefits.

One thing I do prefer to find is ocean caught salmon rather than farmed. I know a lot of Australian Salmon is farmed but some are farmed in the ocean. It is the supplemental food they feed the fish that concerns me. It is difficult to find wild caught salmon in Australia, so I think it is still better to have salmon than not if you can’t get wild caught.

There are many ways to make changes to it as well without reducing the health benefits. You could use tinned salmon instead of the Australian Salmon. Find other vegetables to add if you prefer, use dried mushrooms instead of fresh and you could even add some lentils if you are trying to eat more legumes. I will try and do a vegan version at some point with similar health benefits. Sounds like a challenge!

Some of the benefits of beetroot

Beetroot is high in nitrates which has been shown to be useful in:

  • reducing muscle fatigue post exercise (1)
  • reducing blood pressure – along with a healthy diet and other lifestyle factors – exercise for example (2)

Beetroot is:

  • Good source of fibre – 2-3g/100g
  • Good source of folate – good for mental health
  • 1.1mg iron/100g beetroot – also good for mental health

I would recommend using oat cream (if you can find it) for this recipe. It will reduce the kilojoules/calories of the dish and also reduce the saturated fats. Also trim the chicken well to again reduce the saturated fats.

Load it up with lots of leafy greens, including beetroot leaves, if you can get them. Leafy greens are a good source of iron, magnesium and folate. All of which can benefit your mental wellbeing.

References:

[1] Maughan RJ, Burke LM, Dvorak J, et al
IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete
British Journal of Sports Medicine 2018;52:439-455.

[2] Benjamim CJR, Porto AA, Valenti VE, Sobrinho ACDS, Garner DM, Gualano B, Bueno Júnior CR.
Nitrate Derived From Beetroot Juice Lowers Blood Pressure in Patients With Arterial Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Front Nutr. 2022 Mar 15;9:823039. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.823039. PMID: 35369064; PMCID: PMC8965354.