Cooking for Metabolic Health: 5 minute Miso Salmon en papillote with Guest Chef Dr. Michelle Davenport
AGE expert, dietician and nutrition scientist
Hi, everyone! I’m Michelle Davenport (@drmichelledavenport on Instagram), a dietitian and nutrition scientist who teaches people how to slow down aging with food. I was thrilled when Beth asked me to submit a guest post for you all while she is on vacation!
I’ll never forget the moment in my PhD research over a decade ago when I realized the best way to cook was the way my mom and grandma had been doing it all along. Once I learned about advanced glycation end products (AGEs), it all made sense as to why some of the healthiest people in the world also eat traditional cuisines using the same water-based cooking methods from my research. Like the numerous soups and stews I grew up eating, water-based cooking is prevalent in numerous traditional global cuisines.
Based on the field of advanced glycation end products (AGEs for short), we have strong evidence that water-based cooking methods may protect us from chronic diseases such as Diabetes and its complications, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, and many others. AGEs are the aging compounds that form in dry heat cooking which have been strongly linked to the majority of today’s chronic conditions. In food, the browning reaction (aka the Maillard reaction) causes protein to create these AGE compounds, which can then crosslink with long-lived proteins, such as in the crosslinked collagen in aging skin and plaques like Amyloid proteins in the case of Alzheimer’s. AGEs also increase oxidative stress and inflammation by attaching to receptors that contribute to the inflammatory response.
Here’s the most interesting thing though - much of this is avoidable if you just cook with water. There are other factors too, like avoiding any high-fat protein sources cooked with dry heat (marinating meat before cooking can reduce AGE formation) and avoiding ultra processed foods (that are usually overheated). A plant-rich diet helps and all the other rules of healthy eating still apply.
With that said, here’s a great recipe for a quick salmon dish that lowers AGEs using parchment paper to trap the moisture. It’s best if you can find a natural unbleached parchment paper, or better yet, an actual natural material like banana leaves or corn husks.
Five-Minute Miso Salmon en papillote (“in parchment” in French):
by Dr. Michelle Davenport
low-carb, blood sugar-friendly
serves 2
Equipment
pot big enough to hold steamer basket
Ingredients
1/2 pound filet of salmon (preferably center-cut wild King Salmon)
A handful of shimeji mushrooms (or any mushroom will do)
A handful of sliced napa cabbage
Broccoli sprouts
1 package of frozen cauliflower rice for serving
Sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp avocado oil mayo or Greek yogurt
½ tbsp spoon miso paste
Method
In a piece of unbleached parchment paper, layer cabbage and mushrooms and top with salmon.
Mix the sauce and spoon over the fish.
Wrap with parchment by folding it along the widest part of the filet first. Then, fold up the ends of the parchment on the ends of the filet.
Steam for about 5 minutes or until the entire piece of fish has turned opaque (this might be a few minutes more depending on how thick your piece of fish is, so check for opaqueness).
While the fish is steaming, prepare frozen cauliflower rice according to package directions.
Top with broccoli sprouts before serving.
Enjoy!
Dr. Michelle
Substitutions
Salmon: use your favorite fish or tofu
Mushrooms: use your variety of mushroom, sliced thin. If you do not like mushrooms, leave them out
Napa Cabbage: use purple cabbage, regular green cabbage, bok choy, or your favorite greens
Broccoli sprouts: use any microgreens
Cauliflower rice: If you are not eating for blood sugar balance, use traditional jasmine rice or half rice and half cauliflower rice as a base to serve this fish. You could also serve this dish over a bed of broccoli rice or steamed greens instead of cauliflower rice.
Mirin: Mirin is a sweet, umami-flavored Japanese rice wine. If you do not have mirin, you could substitute sake, rice vinegar, or dry sherry in a pinch.
Tamari soy sauce: Tamari is gluten-free soy sauce. If you do not have to eat gluten-free, use traditional soy sauce.
Avocado oil mayo or Greek yogurt: use mayo to keep this dish dairy-free, and greek yogurt if dairy is not a problem.
Miso paste: In a pinch, use dashi or tahini paste, but there really is no substitute for miso! Miso is one of those complex flavors that is really special in a dish like this. It is after all, Miso salmon! Miso is made of fermented soybeans and is a good way to add ferments to your diet.
Nutrition Cronometer
Miso Salmon served with cauliflower rice
412 kcal, 36 grams protein, 8 net carbs, 16 grams fat
Thank you🧡
I have been sharing blood sugar-friendly, whole-food recipes (gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and mostly dairy-free) without ads on my blog and Instagram for four years now, and I have met so many amazing people like Michelle Davenport along the way. I am excited about being able to share even more on this platform, and I am so very grateful you have joined me here! Thank you, Dr. Michelle, for filling in for me today! Learn more about Dr. Michelle here.
P.S.
Do you know someone with pre-diabetes, diabetes, PCOS, metabolic syndrome, or anyone eating for blood sugar balance, low carb, keto, grain-free, gluten-free, or just eating whole food for better health? If you do, will you forward my Substack to them? It would mean the world to me as I try to share the message of eating for good metabolic health.
🧡Beth
If today is the day you decide to upgrade to paid, thank you! Your support means so much to me and helps me to bring more metabolically healthy recipes into the world.
For less than the price of a coffee, you could receive a new recipe every Sunday, all month long. When you subscribe for the year, it is just $4.16 a month!
Great post, Dr. Michelle! Loved learning about AGEs and water-based cooking for metabolic health. Thanks for the helpful substitutions—can't wait to make the miso salmon!