Clean Eating Crockpot Salmon with Pineapple-Mango-Strawberry Salsa and Orange Lentils

Makes 6 servings
This recipe was modified from a recipe that I tested for Clean Eating Magazine. I’m not a huge fan of fish that tastes like fish but I really love salmon. Go figure! And I love it even more when my crockpot cooks it for me :) This method yields delicious, moist salmon every time. The slightly sweet, citrus flavor of the lentils goes particularly well with the fruit salsa and gives the whole dish an island vacation feel. Plus any time dinner involves fruit my boys are very happy. I recommend using a larger crockpot (like 5 to 7 quarts) for this meal and purchasing salmon fillets that are about the same thickness to ensure even cooking. If you only have a smaller crockpot, you can either do fewer salmon fillets or layer them on top of each other using additional pieces of parchment. If you layer, you will need to extend the cooking time of the fish a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup orange juice
• ¾ cup lentils (I use green)
• ½ cup carrot, finely diced
• ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup celery, finely diced
• 1 tbsp honey
• 6 4- to 5-oz salmon fillets, scaled and pin bones removed
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Salsa:

• 3/4 cup finely diced pineapple
• 3/4 cup finely diced mango
• 1/2 cup finely diced strawberries
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint (2 tsp dried)
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 tsp salt

ONE: Combine everything except the salmon and lemon juice together in the crockpot and stir. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 to 5½ hours or until lentils are tender.

TWO: Place 1 sheet of parchment paper over the lentils in the crockpot. Season salmon lightly with salt and pepper and place it on the parchment (skin-side down if you have not removed the skin). Replace the lid and continue to cook on low for 25 minutes or until salmon is opaque in centre.

THREE: While the salmon is cooking, combine all of the salsa ingredients and set aside to give the flavors a chance to combine.

FOUR: Once the salmon is done, remove it by lifting out parchment. Stir the lemon juice into the lentils and season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, place about ½ a cup of lentils on a plate and top with a salmon fillet and 1/3 cup of salsa.

Freeze leftover lentils and salsa using the medium/large portions method to feed your freezer stash.

NUTRITION INFO:

Per serving (1/2 cup lentils, 1/3 cup salsa, 1 salmon fillet) - 419 Calories (146 Calories from Fat),16g Fat, 3g Saturated Fat, 80mg Cholesterol, 203mg Sodium, 32g Total Carbohydrates, 9g Dietary Fiber, 14g Sugars, 36g Protein, 39% DV Vitamin A, 90% DV Vitamin C, 6% DV Calcium, 16% DV Iron

:)