This post was created in partnership with ALDI. All opinions are my own.
Did you say Date Night In? YES!!! I sure did. Complete with a recipe for Paleo Macadamia Crusted Salmon on a bed of dressed spinach and arugula topped with fresh mango salsa…YUM! This might sound complicated, but I assure you it is not! It can be ready in 45 minutes which is my kind of recipe (full recipe at end of post). It is paleo-friendly and you won’t even miss a thing. I included some wine pairings for you and a healthy appetizer idea. We also had berries and chocolate for dessert because a girl has got to live.
This is an exciting day for me. I have been on the edge of my seat waiting to share this post with you. It has been a dream of mine to represent my favorite grocery store, ALDI and create a recipe for you that is easy and healthy. After all that is my motto…DECORATING, ENTERTAINING & EATING HEALTHY DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED OR EXPENSIVE. Why? Because I don’t have time, energy or money to waste either. ALDI makes it easy to do and I’m going to tell you why in just a minute. I’m not going to talk your ear off but I just want to give you a little background of why I like the DATE NIGHT IN concept so much and why it worked so well for my husband and I, besides it being a nice change and totally romantic.
If you follow along with me on INSTAGRAM you saw that last week was our 22nd anniversary. We spent the weekend in Newport Beach, CA just soaking up the beautiful weather, having a picnic, napping on the beach and hearing a band.
P.S. we danced and laughed…A LOT!! We also ate A LOT!!
That brings me to the part about going away or going out for date night that I don’t like quite as much. Figuring out what to eat. Let me just say that when you have food allergies or food sensitivities, eating out is not a glamorous event.
But you know what ended up being pretty glamorous? DATE NIGHT IN!!!
We always opt for getting out of the house. But then it becomes this back and forth about what restaurant will have food that we aren’t allergic to.
Date night in was so fun because we cooked the dinner together, it turned the cooking into the event itself.
We both really liked it and thought that the Paleo Macadamia Crusted Salmon turned out so well. I am fortunate that my husband knows his way around the kitchen. In our house he is the breakfast champion. I’m usually still in bed.
We were able to eat a delicious, anti-inflammatory meal at a fraction of the cost of going out. I mean have you seen the price to order salmon in a restaurant?? Forget about ordering wine!
That is how ALDI makes it easy. They have tons of fresh, healthy food choices. They keep their prices amazingly affordable by cutting out the middleman, they offer a double guarantee, and have removed added-MSG, certified synthetic colors, and partially hydrogenated oils from ALDI exclusive store brands.
Their brands that I reach for are SimplyNature & Specially Selected. I also love their liveGfree gluten free products for my son.
Not sure where there is an ALDI near you? No problem, use their STORE LOCATOR. Give them a try and you won’t regret it!!
This is how I got our DATE NIGHT IN ready.
- STEP 1 …get a babysitter, or in our case a place to send the teenagers
- STEP 2 …make it special with some fresh flowers from ALDI of course. Cut some greenery and then follow my easy CENTERPIECE TUTORIAL to create this same look.
- STEP 3 …get your recipe ingredients from ALDI *see wine pairings below for seafood
- STEP 4 …set out appetizers, open the wine and put on some tunes
- STEP 5 …cook together and then eat chocolate.
To get the memories flowing try to remember what you have done for every one of your wedding anniversaries. This was harder than I thought. Especially when you get up to 22!!
I love the Moser Roth chocolate bars they sell. My favorites are the orange dark chocolate and the sea salt dark chocolate.
Paleo Macadamia Crusted Salmon with Fresh Mango Salsa
Easiest recipe ever. I promise.
The star of the show in this Paleo Macadamia Crusted Salmon is the Specially Selected Wild Sockeye Salmon. I appreciated how convenient it is in the individual packages. Since it is frozen you can have it on hand for a quick dinner and you can defrost all of them or just a couple at a time. They were delicious too!
*Price and availability may vary
I got all of my ingredients (even the flowers) for this Paleo Macadamia Crusted Salmon at my local ALDI along with these award-winning wines that pair beautifully with seafood. I like a little sweeter wine so I got the Crystal Creek Cellars Riesling (BTI rating of 88 points) for myself and my husband likes a dry wine so I got the Crystal Creek Cellars Chardonnay (BTI rating of 87 points) for him. I love that ALDI displays the points to help you know that you are getting a good one. See I told you they make it easy.
I used their Little Salad Bar Assorted Fresh Guacamole and the Sea Queen Frozen Medium Cooked Shrimp as a quick appetizer to munch on while we were cooking.
In fact, that guacamole won an award for Product of the Year 2018 in the Spreads category, and I can tell you it is yummy!
This is the one I got but they have a few flavors…
I always love to see the products so I know that I am getting the right thing. So here are the ingredients I used for the dressing as well. Hope it helps. I loved the dressing and plan to keep it in rotation. It would be perfect for summer.
This can serve up to 4 depending on portion sizes. It was just the two of us and we had an extra serving for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Specially Selected Frozen Sockeye Salmon
- 1 cup Specially Selected Roasted and Salted Macadamia Nuts
- 1 Organic Cage Free Brown Egg
- 1/4 cup SimplyNature Organic Coconut Oil
- 1 package SimplyNature Organic Spinach and Arugula Mix
- 1 lime for garnish
- 1 dash Stonemill Salt
- 1 cup chopped mango
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/3 cup diced orange bell pepper
- 1/2 of a jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1 dash Stonemill Salt
- 1/3 cup SimplyNature Organic Apple Juice
- 1/3 cup SimplyNature Extra Virgin Mediterranean Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp SimplyNature Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
- 1 dash of Stonemill Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- After salmon has defrosted, take a sharp fillet knife and separate the fillet from the skin.
- Beat one egg in a bowl and set aside
- Chop the macadamia nuts in a food processor until fine and add to a shallow bowl. *If you grind too much it becomes a paste. If that happens just press the paste onto the fish
- Dip the salmon fillet in the egg and then roll in the crushed nuts
- Grease a baking dish with melted coconut oil and lay the fillets in the pan
- Drizzle each fillet with the melted coconut oil and lightly salt. (remember that the nuts are already salted)
- Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness (mine took 13 minutes)
- Turn the broiler on high and broil the fish until the nuts start to brown (mine took 5 minutes) *please be careful because they burn easily!
- Mix all chopped ingredients together and set aside
- Whisk the apple juice, olive oil, honey and apple cider vinegar together and salt to taste.
- Toss the greens with the dressing. This was the perfect amount to cover the whole package of greens
- Place the Paleo Macadamia Crusted Salmon fillet on a bed of the dressed greens and top with the Mango Salsa. Garnish with lime wedges and ENJOY!
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Julie & Jodie says
Oh Gosh, Girl! You rocked this blog post!! We are so impressed! Between the beautiful setting, the decor, the tablescape, and THE FOOD! Really? Ah-mazing! I’m sharing this recipe with my husband so he’ll make it for me. We love that you joined us for our Friday Friends Parade Linky Party! We hope you’ll join us each week! Blessings, Julie & Jodie
[email protected] says
You girls made my week! Thank you for your beautiful comment. I hope you love the recipe and I appreciate you hosting the link up!! Hugs.
kellienh says
OH wow!! This looks so delicious! I love salmon and I love macadamia nuts so this is the perfect match! & I’m trying to lose some weight so I will be adding this one to my list and definitely going to Pin this!!
[email protected] says
Thank you Kellie!!! I hope you love it. It’s hard to find healthy recipes that are really tasty. Best of wishes on your weight loss journey.
Tammie Price says
Happy Anniversary! What a beautiful way to celebrate. Your paleo dish looks amazing!!
[email protected] says
That is so very kind of you! Thank you so much. It was a fun change!
Jessie Simon says
I just tried your Macadamia Nut Salmon recipe and…. Oh. Dear.
YUM E! Mine wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours but it tasted heavenly!
[email protected] says
Thank you Jessie!!! I wish we could cook together like the old days. You and Rose were so talented in the kitchen and I was always amazed.
Dara says
This looks so good! Our town just got an Aldi and I am so excited to explore it!
[email protected] says
Oh yay!!!! It is my go-to store!!! Thank you!
Claire Armstrong says
Your salmon looks lovely, I’ve made a cashew nut covered cod before but fancy this macadamia nut and salmon version. I also love the idea of the accompanying mango salsa.
[email protected] says
Thank you Claire!!! We really loved it and it was diet friendly! Cashew covered cod sounds amazing too!
Carly says
Looks so delicious!! I can’t wait to try the recipe.
[email protected] says
Thank you Carly!!! I appreciate that. I hope you do and let me know how you like it!