Cucumber Dill Salad over Roasted Salmon (17 Day Diet Friendly)

Cucumber Dill Salad over Roasted Salmon

Cucumber Dill Salad over Roasted Salmon. This is a recipe I've been making for years and years. It's one of our family favorites. I was first introduced to this recipe by our neighbors, David and Laura, from our old neighborhood. David started to really enjoy cooking and was experimenting with all of these great recipes. The best part was that he had us over quite a bit to taste test his new recipes. One of them happened to be the recipe I have for you today. I took one bite and fell in love with this dish and so did everyone else at their dinner party that night. And that was 12 years ago. I still make it often and love it just as much.

I typically make it during the spring and summer months because it's a light and refreshing meal. What I love most about this dish is the cucumber dill salad. It truly is the highlight of the dish. It reminds me of a tzaziki sauce, but one that is much more substantial. This cumber dill salad is so chunky and flavorful you could pick it up with a fork and eat it as a meal in itself…that's what Tyler does and that's probably why it's called a cucumber dill "salad." The recipe calls for the cucumber dill salad to go over salmon and that's how I like it best but it goes well over other types of fish or chicken.

Cucumber Dill Salad over Salmon is also 17 Day Diet friendly so that's a total bonus. The only alteration I made with this recipe is using plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I made the change for the sake of my diet. 

So if you are looking for a light and refreshing salad, this Cucumbr Dill salad is the perfect choice. Salute to Cucumber Dill Salad over Roasted Salmon!

Cycle 1, Day 11 of 17 Day Diet Menu and Impressions:

Morning Beverage: 1 cup hot water with lemon

Breakfast: Greek yogurt with a cup of green tea

Lunch: A piece of Tomato Basil Cauliflower Crusted Pizza (click for recipe) and a cup of green tea

Dinner: Cucumber Dill Salad over Roasted Salmon, asparagus and a cup of green tea.

Exercise: 17 minutes of leg squats

Impressions: today was really good. Not only are my red shorts fitting better but so are some of my other clothes too! It's very motivating to keep going on this diet when I'm seeing positive results. I don't feel hungry and many of my cravings for things like bread or sweets are no longer there or aren't as intense. My body feels awesome and I have a lot of energy. That's what I am really liking about this diet. I can honestly say that I will continue to incorporate many of these healthy habits. I never considered myself an unhealthy eater or one who eats lots of processed foods, heck the world sees what I eat almost everyday from my food blog, but when you begin truly watching what you eat you start to see subtle bad habits... Like test tasting while you cook, or not drinking enough water. I like being more conscientious about my eating habits and let me tell you, it's contagious. The people in my life who know what I'm doing are adapting their diet to a more healthy one as well. The bigger support you have the better. The past couple of weeks haven't been super busy for me which is very unusual, so maintaining this diet so far has been pretty easy. The next few weeks will be much more challenging because of the amount of social activities we have planned... most of which include great food and wine!!! I fear I may cave even if it's just a bite or two! I've been so darn good so far and don't want to ruin it because I'm almost done with Cycle 1!!! I'll continue to report! Nate made the funniest comment tonight, he said "mom, that's like the millionth cup of green tea I've seen you drink this past week!" I laughed so hard and said "it feels like it too!" 

Cucumber Dill Salad over Roasted Salmon, 
17 Day Diet Friendly

Cucumber Dill Salad

Cucumbers, onion, dill, greek yogurt, and lemon juice

Perfect over salmon or chicken

A light, refreshing salad 

One of our favorite meals

Cucumber Dill Salad over Roasted Salmon (Click to print recipe)

Adapted from Wegmans

Preparation and cook time: 45 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 seedless english cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut on bias 1/4-inch slices
• 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, divided
• 12 oz plain greek yogurt, sour cream either regular, light or fat free
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
• Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tbsp), divided
• 1/4 small (about 1/2 lb) red onion, peeled, cut in thin, match-like sticks
• 4 salmon fillets (about 6 oz each), skinned
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil or regular olive oil, for salmon
• 5 oz spring lettuce mix
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1. Make cucumber salad: Toss cucumbers  with 1 tsp Kosher salt (to draw out moisture); let set 30 min.  Squeeze, then drain water off.  Combine cucumbers, greek yogurt or sour cream, dill, 1/2 Kosher salt, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and red onion in large bowl; set aside. 
2. Season both sides of fillets with salt and pepper; drizzle both sides with basting oil and add fresh dill. Roast salmon fillets in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden and set aside.
3. Toss spring mix with olive oil, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Place fillets on greens; top with 1/3 cup of cucumber salad.