Easy Fall Menu to Highlight Diabetes Awareness Month

 

Guest Blog By Shelby Kinnaird

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, a time when the diabetes community comes together to sound the alarm about the ever-growing epidemic. I was diagnosed with Type 2 in 1999 and many of my family members have been diagnosed since then. I’ve also lost friends to diabetes complications. It’s a big deal.

One way I manage my diabetes is through food. Watching my portion sizes is critical and I’m grateful to Livliga for making that task easier. While their dinnerware is functional and gorgeous, I absolutely adore the LivSpoons – measuring cups and serving spoons all in one! If you don’t have a set yet, treat yourself to a Diabetes Awareness Month gift. Self-care is an important part of diabetes management, you know.

After we all started quarantining (thanks COVID-19), I realized I missed having people over for dinner. I missed cooking together and I missed the conversation too. So, I began inviting folks to join me on Zoom to prepare a meal and have a fun chat too. We can’t eat at the same table right now, but we can cook together. Eventually, I’m hoping this new business I’m calling Put on Your Apron will morph into in-person experiences in exciting foodie destinations. But for right now, I’m hosting a monthly Cook & Chat that was described by one frequent attendee like this: “I feel like I'm cooking with friends without the fear of another one of my cooking disasters. All within an hour and I have a full meal!” If you’re interested in learning more and joining us sometime, please sign up for my Cook & Chat mailing list.

Menu
One Cook & Chat featured a sheet pan meal involving salmon and green beans. Don’t you just love sheet pan meals? They’re easy and there’s only one pan to wash afterwards. That meal was so easy and delicious, I want to share it with you.

Here’s the menu: 

• Sweet & Tangy Salmon with Green Beans (recipe below)
• Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries and Almonds (recipe may be found in The Diabetes Cookbook for Electric Pressure Cookers or any wild rice pilaf will do)

Here’s how to make sure everything is ready at the same time:

1. Cook the wild rice
2. Preheat the oven
3. Brush the baking sheet with olive oil
4. Trim and rinse the green beans
5. Portion the salmon
6. Make the glaze
7. Put the salmon on the baking sheet and brush with half of glaze
8. Toss the beans with remaining glaze and scatter around salmon on baking sheet
9. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes
10. Toast the almonds for the salad
11. Remove the salmon from oven and tent with foil; return beans to oven
12. Finish the wild rice salad
13. Remove beans from oven
14. Plate on Livliga dinnerware and enjoy!

Sweet & Tangy Salmon with Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or tamari 
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 4 salmon fillets (about 4 ounces each)

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Brush 1/2 tablespoon of oil onto a baking sheet.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the brown sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Place the salmon fillets on the baking sheet, skin-side down. Brush half of the butter mixture over the fillets.
4. Place the green beans in a large bowl. Pour the remaining butter mixture over the beans and toss to coat. Scatter beans around the salmon.
5. Roast until the thickest part of the salmon reaches 125°F, about 15 minutes. Remove the salmon to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Return the green beans to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until they are cooked the way you like them.
6. Remove the green beans from the oven and serve with the salmon.

Notes

• The salmon will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven. (The FDA says the safe temperature is 145°F.)
• Nutritional information was calculated with MyFitnessPal and does not include optional ingredients.

Nutritional Information

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 321 calories, 18 g total fat (5 g saturated), 64 mg cholesterol, 522 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 26 g protein

Shelby Kinnaird is the author of The Pocket Carbohydrate Counter Guide for Diabetes and co-author of The Diabetes Cookbook for Electric Pressure Cookers. Founder of Put on Your Apron and Diabetic Foodie, she hosts fun cooking experiences online, in-person, and in destination locations. Shelby is a passionate diabetes advocate and runs two DiabetesSisters peer support groups in Richmond, VA.