Mackerel, Cos, Pasta & Chia Salad
By Marcus Coates, @homeinriyadh, 3rd June 2021
Will I be content?
The idea of eating a salad as a main meal can sometimes be off-putting, as you may feel like it won’t be filling enough or will leave you feeling hungry shortly after eating. The solution to this: supercharge your salad by adding carbs and protein.
This mackerel, cos, pasta, and chia salad will not leave you feeling empty inside and envious of those with less fibre and more visible protein and carbs on their plate. And why is that? Because you’ll have health and science on your side.
Mackerel does it again!
First of all, mackerel has the following attributes:
1. High levels of essential fatty acids that improve endurance and recovery after exercise,
2. The essential oils help maintain beautiful skin,
3. Lots of protein – 18.6g for every 100g,
4. Selenium – which is excellent for the immune system,
5. Omega 3 – reduces the development of cardiovascular diseases
6. Full of vitamin D – which creates strong and healthy bones
And that’s just one of the ingredients in this dish!
Ingredients (makes four servings):
2 x smoked mackerel fillets
1 x cos lettuce
A tablespoon of chia seeds
1 x packet of pasta shells
2 x tomatoes
Olive Oli and balsamic vinegar for dressing
Method
Wash your tomatoes and cos lettuce, dry, coarsely chop and add to a salad bowl.
Cook your pasta until al dente, drain and cool it, and add to the salad bowl.
Flake in your mackerel.
Serving
Heap the salad onto plates, sprinkle over the chia seeds and drizzle the olive oil and balsamic dressing. Then get ready for a taste sensation!
It’s all about the cold pasta!
Before I sign off, how about some updates on the latest nutrition information regarding eating cold pasta? Well, some people think that cold pasta might be bad for you; however, the newest research shows the opposite is true.
Like all other carbohydrates, pasta gets broken down in the gut and absorbed as simple sugars, making blood glucose spike.
Dr Denise Robertson from the University of Surrey carried out experiments and found that if you cook and cool pasta, your body will treat it like fibre, creating a smaller glucose peak (up to 50% less!) and help feed the good bacteria in your gut. You’ll also absorb fewer calories and feel fuller for longer (BBC.com).
There you have it; cold pasta is 50% better for you than hot pasta. So, go ahead and make a giant bowl of it for the fridge.
Jokes
Health is all well and good, but what about the jokes? I hear you say.
Joke 1:
Q: Where did the mackerel get the references for its thesis?
A: From the fish sauce!
Joke 2:
I’ve started making sardine-flavoured tea, but I’m slightly reluctant to extend my experiment to mackerel flavour, as that’s a totally different kettle of fish!
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