Valentines Day - Dieting Dinners

I absolutely love salmon fillets - had some cooked in a manner very similar to this last weekend when we were out for a special dinner with friends. The main difference was that our salmon wasn't marinated, and we had a herby crust over the top instead of sesame seeds. Superb though!

Salmon always brings something special to the table and the atmosphere around the table. I don't know why, but it certainly does for me.

Honey-soy broiled/grilled salmon

Serve this with a hot & sour slaw salad

Depending on your tastes and the time of the year, I'd also look at a cold salad to accompany this, e.g., a rocket, cherry tomato and feta salad, with a wholegrain mustard vinegar and oil dressing - that would be scrummy for me.  Also the calories would be kept in check with the salad.  Another option would be to add steamed vegetables to the dish, e.g., asparagus if it's springtime would be special (though I wouldn't suggest you drizzle them with butter, defeats the purpose of keeping in your calorie budget for the day!!!).

Also serve with brown rice.  ½ cup cooked rice per person, with 1tsp of sesame oil & a squeeze of lime (1 cup of brown rice in 2 ½ cups of water make 3 cups of cooked brown rice, takes 40 – 50 minutes to cook)

Again, this can all be served with a glass of white wine (5oz or 150ml) to make the meal a special evening.  

If you don't drink alcohol, you can have soda water with slices of lime in it, and use the calories to have double the sweet treat, such as the chocolates I use.  My suggestion would be to melt 4 chocolates, and dip strawberries into the chocolate - very yum, and so beautiful for a special evening.

Overall the calories for this meal are:

Salmon - 161
Slaw - 64
Rice - 149
Wine - 116
Chocolates - 100
Total calories: 590

Have fun!!