Spinach Salmon Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

April 23, 2019

I’ve worked in plenty of offices in my day, and I always found it fascinating how many of my health-conscious / weight-watching / body-building / vegan / keto / Primal/paleo / Whole30 / whole-foods enthusiast co-workers would dine out or buy their lunches from food trucks every day. Aside from the occasional team-building lunch out or social catch-up-over-lunch with Lili, who sat two rows over, I was always a bring-your-own-food-from-home type of gal. Even with a busy lifestyle, which include early morning workouts, getting kids ready for school and dropping them off, I would still always find the tiniest window of time to pack a lunch for myself.

The key lies in creating everyday habits that make it convenient to live the lifestyle you choose. For me, packing a work lunch most days entails picking up a couple of extra bags of salad greens (yes, I buy packaged greens most of the time because I value the convenience more than I mind the price markup. I feel guilty about the plastic packaging, but…) at the store each week, and making sure I’m stocked with plenty of easy-to-heat-and-tote-foods, such as nuts, seeds, hard-boiled eggs in a bag, frozen cauliflower and broccoli rice, veggie spirals, sliced mushrooms, and ready-washed-and-chopped veggies. I’ll often cook a large portion of chicken, beef, fish or pork on a sheet pan in the oven, on the stove, or in the Instant Pot, portion it, and use it in different dishes throughout the week.

Want to learn how to make tasty, restaurant-style salads at home?

Get 7 days of FREE salad recipes, instructional videos, tips and tricks, downloadable bonuses, and more! Sign Up for the 7 Days, 7 Salads Challenge.

This seven-ingredient spinach salmon salad is one of these easy-to-assemble workday salad lunches. You can make it the morning of and let the salmon cool down for a bit before packing it in a separate container. Or, cook the salmon the night before and pack it in its own container, along with a separate container that holds the salad, one for the dressing, and one container with the avocado half. Pro tip: To keep the cut avocado from browning too much, cut the avocado in half, remove the pit but keep the skin on, squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the cut side, then place the avocado half, cut-side down, in a storage container and cover immediately.

Spinach Salmon Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 1 serving

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil
1 6-ounce salmon filet, pin bones removed
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
¼ cup Brussels sprouts, shaved
2 tablespoons cherry tomatoes, halved
½ avocado
1 tablespoon cashews, chopped
2 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Cilantro Lime Dressing

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil.
Season both sides of the salmon filet with salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to remove any pin bones, and remove skin, if desired.
Add salmon filet to the hot skillet, skin side down (if you didn’t remove the skin).
Sear for about 4 minutes—don’t move the salmon in the pan while searing—or until golden brown.
Turn salmon over and cook for 3 minutes on the other side.
Remove from pan and turn off the heat. In a large bowl, add spinach, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes and avocado half.
Top salad with cooked salmon and chopped cashews.
Drizzle with Primal Kitchen Cilantro Lime Dressing and enjoy!