Nutrition For You - Awesome Mackerel Salad

Awesome Mackerel Salad

Simple and straight forward, it doesn’t get easier than whipping up a salad for your lunch, and this is a salad packed full of nutritional benefits.

Ingredients:

Smoked Mackerel

Spinach

Kale

Celery

Feta Cheese

Avocado Pear

Beetroot

Simply chop all the ingredients together, put them into a container, stir/mix it all up and there you have it, a simple, tasty, and nutritious salad perfect to keep you going through the day.

You can also add little extras such as a spoonful of hummus, or a sprinkle of peri-peri seasoning etc... The point is to play with your food. Test out new things. Try different ideas. Just make sure that what you are adding doesn't take a away from the nutritional value of the meal.

Nutritional Benefits

Smoked Mackerel  - A great source of protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, selenium and omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. Mackerel has several health benefits as it is an anti-carcinogenic which aides cancer prevention. It helps with immunity, helps to sustain a healthy cardiovascular system and also helps with brain and nerve development which play a key role in ones’ cognitive; and behavioural functions.

PLEASE NOTE: Do not eat products with high levels of magnesium if you are pregnant! These can be harmful to the development of your baby.  

Spinach – one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the market, spinach is an excellent source of vitamins K, A, C, E, B2, B6, magnesium, folate, manganese, iron, calcium, potassium, protein, phosphorous, fibre and copper. It also has good levels of selenium, niacin and omega 3 fatty acids. It acts as one of the best antioxidants around, which assist your body in the prevention of disease and illness. It is also good for your cardiovascular system as well as your gastrointestinal health.

Kale – another of the top leafy greens to keep you healthy, Kale is packed full of powerful antioxidants such as carotenoids and flavonoids. It is high in Vitamin K which helps to protect against various cancers, and also assists a wide range of bodily functions including your cardiovascular functionality. It is high in fibre, and has zero fat. Kale also helps as a natural anti-inflammatory meaning that it is extremely useful as a recovery food after intense workout sessions. It also contains more iron than beef. Iron is essential in our systems for the formation of haemoglobins and enzymes, which assist in transporting oxygen to various parts of the body, cell growth, liver function and much more. It is also high in other essential nutrients such as vitamins A & C, and calcium.

Celery – is extremely high in vitamin c, which is good for promoting a healthy immune system. It is also loaded with healthy amounts of calcium, magnesium and potassium which help to regulate blood pressure. Celery is a really good promoter of healthier levels of cholesterol.  It is also a really good, natural diuretic. It is also extremely low in calories, and high in fiber.

Feta Cheese  - whilst feta cheese can contain higher levels of saturated fat and sodium, it does still hold some key vitamins and minerals. The main thing to remember is not to use too much, and not to use is too often. It contains decent levels of calcium, which is good for your bones. Feta also contains healthy levels of B12 and small amounts of vitamin D, iron and folate.

Avocado Pear - there are numerous benefits to eating avocado pears, they are truly natures chemists. Firstly they inhibit the growth of prostate cancer. They are high in oleic acid which has been shown to prevent breast cancer. They have more carotenoid lutein than any other commonly consumed fruit, which means that they are good for your general eye health, especially protecting against macular degeneration and cataract disease. They are remarkably good at helping to lower cholesterol levels. They are packed full of vitamin E, monounsaturated fat and glutathione which all help to prevent heart disease. They are also loaded with folate and assist in the absorption of other nutrients when eaten with other food items. 

Beetroot - an exceptional source of nutritional value. They are high in folic acid, fibre, manganese and potassium. Beetroot fibre helps to increase the levels of antioxidant enzymes within the body, as well as increase the number of white blood cells which are responsible for eliminating abnormal cells. They are also one of the richest sources of glutamine, an amino acid essential to the health and maintenance of the intestinal tract. It also assists in the reduction of blood pressure.