This just might be the best salmon you’ll ever have. Even people that aren’t generally fans of salmon love it prepared this way.  The sweet, dark flavor of the teriyaki sauce works particularly well with salmon.  Combining teriyaki sauce and fresh lemon juice makes it taste similar to a Ponzu sauce served at a Japanese restaurant. I’m placing this tasty salmon on top of a super crunchy, colorful, fiber rich, spinach salad.  This homemade Wasabi Dressing really compliments the salmon.  This skinny salad has 333 calories, 13 grams of fat grams of fat, 6 grams of fiber, 9 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS, including the dressing!  It’s hearty enough for dinner and really, really delicious!

Prep Time: 20 minutes (including the dressing)
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients for Wasabi Dressing:

½ cup Nancy’s Skinny Ranch Dressing or a store bought reduced-fat ranch dressing

3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

½ tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

1½ teaspoons wasabi paste

1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

Ingredients for Salmon and Salad:

4 pieces of salmon filet, about 4 ounces each and 1-inch thick (see prep tip)

½ cup teriyaki marinade (I like Kikkoman brand, less-sodium)

2 lemons

8 cups fresh spinach

2 cups fresh arugula

1½ cups purple cabbage, shredded

1½ cups carrots, shredded

1 cup snow peas, sliced

1 cup cucumber, chopped

Instructions

1. To Make Wasabi Dressing: Prepare Nancy’s Skinny Ranch Dressing.  In a small bowl, add ½ cup ranch dressing and all the remaining dressing ingredients.  Whisk together until well blended.  Store in the refrigerator to thicken and until ready to use.  Store the remaining ranch dressing in the fridge for other uses.

2. Add salmon to a bowl or deep dish and pour ¼ cup marinade over it.  Squeeze 1 lemon over marinade.  Place  salmon in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours.

3. Preheat broiler.  Line a baking pan with foil.  Place salmon on the baking pan. Discard marinade.  Pour a little fresh teriyaki marinade on top of salmon and squeeze with more lemon.

4. Broil for about 4 to 5 minutes.  Turn over and pour a little more marinade, lemon juice and broil for about 4 to 5 minutes more.  Check to make sure salmon is cooked through.

5. In a large bowl add the salad ingredients.  Toss with most of the dressing.  Add remaining, if desired.

6. Divide salad among 4 dinner plates.  Place a piece of salmon on top of each salad.

7. Serve at once.

Makes 4 salads (each serving includes ~4 ounces salmon and about 3 cups salad)

Food Fact
Salmon was very important to many early American Indians.  Their superstitions prevented some of the tribe members from handling or even eating the salmon less they might anger its spirit and cause the salmon to leave their waters forever!

Healthy Benefits
Salmon is high in protein and is a rich source of vitamins A and the B-group vitamins.  Salmon is a good source of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, which lowers the risk of heart disease. Perhaps, most important, salmon contains Omega-3 oil, which decreases the risk of coronary heart disease and certain cancers

Spinach is rich in iron as well as vitamins A and C.

Shopping Tip
You can buy a small amount of wasabi where sushi is displayed in most supermarkets.  Wasabi is also sold in a tube in the Asian section of the market.

Prep Tip
Sometimes packaged salmon is sold with only two large fillets. In this case, cook the two pieces of salmon first, then slice each piece in half to create 4 servings.

Serving Tip
Not looking to make this salmon on a salad.  Turn it into a hearty dinner by serving it with a rice dish such as Skinny Asparagus Risotto…Mmm or with just rice and my recipe for Simple and Delicious Roasted Asparagus.

Weight Watchers (old points) 7
Weight Watchers Points Plus 9