As soon as I made this salmon salad, shared with me by my friend Donna, it became one of my favorites.  I double the recipe because I’m a little obsessed with it and eat it at least twice daily until its gone.  It’s heart-healthy, great for your skin, super nutritious, and you’ll be in love at first bite!  No downsides here–well, maybe your breath won’t be sniff-a-licious, but nothing a good brushing and mouthwash can’t solve!

I was pretty freaked out by the skin and bones in the salmon the first time I made this recipe.  I spent 20 minutes mashing and inspecting it because I was concerned about choking on bones or detecting any fish skin in my mouth (gross!).  I recalled pulling bones out of (fresh) fish in the past while eating and thought it would be like that.  Seriously, I worried over nothing…the bones and skin practically dissolve immediately.  Now I only mash the salmon for a minute or so, any longer is unnecessary.  But if you go overboard the first time, I totally understand!

Salmon Salad

1 can (6.5 or 7 ounces) wild salmon, with skin and bones

½ red onion, diced (refer to this post for onion dicing tips)

4 ribs celery, diced (refer to this post for celery dicing tips)

Handful parsley, finely chopped

Dressing

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 heaping teaspoon raw honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Drain can of salmon.  In a large bowl, empty salmon and mash with a fork until skin and bones are incorporated into the meat.  Add onion, celery, and parsley and mix thoroughly.  In a jar, add all dressing ingredients, cover, and shake well.  Pour dressing over salmon mixture and stir to coat completely.  Serve with crackers.  I absolutely adore Mary’s Gone Crackers brand!

If you feel you need more dressing, try this first:  Pack salmon mixture into the jar you use to prepare dressing and let it sit.  The dressing coating the sides of the jar is usually enough to soak into the mixture and reach the perfect amount.  Before, I increased the dressing by half because I thought it was too dry, but my leftovers ended up too saturated for my tastes from the dressing jar.