Pecan Crusted Maple and Mustard Salmon

Name: Pecan Crusted Maple and Mustard Salmon
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Ingredients: 2, 6 oz salmon filets; 1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard; 1 tbsp 100% maple syrup; 1 tsp minced garlic; ½ cup pecan halves; ¼ tsp black pepper; ¼ tsp salt; ½ tsp dried thyme

Recipes

Nov 20

Written By The Confidant Collective

This blog is a paid partnership with the American Pecan Council.

A question for the crowd: Why do foods fall into specific categories? Why are pancakes a breakfast food? Why is chicken on the afternoon/dinner menu? When did pecans get limited to trail mix and dessert recipes?

Pecans are a seamless addition to much more than pie and can be added to sweet and savory recipes to amp up the satisfaction and crunch factors. Before we get to this delicious pecan-crusted maple and mustard salmon, let’s lean into the versatility of pecans and talk about why you should include them on your plate!

Are Pecans Nutritious?

As a plant-based whole food with multiple health-promoting nutrients and bioactive compounds, pecans have earned a reputation as a nutrition powerhouse. One serving of pecans (1 oz, or about 19 halves) has 3 grams of plant-based protein, only 4 grams of carbohydrate, and is a good source of fiber with 3 grams. Getting into the micronutrients, one serving of pecans is a good source of thiamine and zinc and an excellent source of copper and manganese – with manganese being a mineral essential for metabolism and bone health.

What Are The Health Benefits of Pecans?

Regularly including tree nuts, like pecans, in your diet can increase the quality of your eating pattern and have positive impacts on your health including:

Digestive health: One serving of pecans delivers 11% of your daily value (DV) of dietary fiber, which may support satiety, blood sugar control, and digestive health throughout the day.

Heart health: According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as pecans, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. One serving of pecans (28g) contains 18g unsaturated fat and only 2g saturated fat. The unique mix of unsaturated fats, plant sterols, fiber, and flavonoids all add up to make pecans a heart-healthy food. What’s more, pecans are certified heart-healthy under the requirements of the American Heart Association’s rigorous Heart-Check Program.

Cholesterol management: A 2001 investigation published in the Journal of Nutrition found that a pecan-enriched diet not only reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol levels and triglycerides, it also increased “good” HDL cholesterol among the participants. Using a controlled metabolic protocol, subjects were randomized to either the American Heart Association Step 1 diet as a control, or a pecan-enriched Step 1 diet with pecans (20% of total calories or about 60 grams per 2,000 calories). The 23 participants were men and women with normal to moderately high blood cholesterol levels.

Weight management: Studies show that adding nuts, like pecans, to your daily meal pattern can improve diet quality and support sustained weight management.

…& more!

I’m Sold! How Else Can I Include Pecans?

Pecans can be included in many ways beyond the dessert table. Here are a few of my favorite ways to get pecans on your plate:

• Sprinkle pecan halves onto a berry-loaded bowl of oatmeal

• Add toasted pecans to a salad as a crunchy topping

• Bake pecans into a homemade nut and fruit bar

• Blend pecans into nutrient-dense energy balls

• Make this delicious pecan-crusted salmon

Yield: 2 salmon filets

Author: Lauren Twigge