Salmon has gained a lot of attention recently because it is one of the foods richest in heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is also a virtual cornucopia of other healthy nutrients, including vitamins A, B, C, D, E, protein, iron, calcium, potassium, niacin, selenium, and zinc.

Doctors now recommend eating salmon or other cold water fishes at least once per week.

When choosing salmon, buy wild-caught, Alaskan salmon as often as possible. Not only do wild caught salmon taste better and contain more nutrients, they are also more sustainable. Unlike the salmon fisheries of Washington and Oregon, the Alaskan fisheries still remain relatively sheltered from the effects of logging and damming, so the fish populations are healthier and better managed to ensure a sustainable harvest.

Pollution, chemicals, diseases, and parasties from farmed salmon can impact nearby native fish populations, so farmed salmon is not considered as sustainable a choice.

For more enformation about how to choose the most sustainable salmon, visit Seafood Watch, the National Marine Fisheries Service FishWatch, or the Blue Ocean Institute Seafood Guide.

And now, on to the recipes!

Baked salmon is, in my opinion, the easiest way to cook salmon, and when done correctly, it produces a fish of unbelievable tenderness and juicyness.

Even though I bake my salmon about 90% of the time, my true favorite way to eat it is grilled. A really good piece of salmon, perfectly grilled, can make almost anyone's tastebuds think they've died and gone to heaven.

Canned salmon is tastier and more nutritious than you would expect, since it is generally packed fresh and many brands are wild-caught. (Check the label to be sure.)

Canned salmon that includes the bones is also an exceptionally good source of the mineral calcium, which is important for preventing osteoporosis.

For these reasons, canned salmon is a great alternative in areas where fresh fish are expensive or difficult to find. Here are some recipe to help you enjoy it to its fullest potential:

If you live in the Pacific Northwest or Atlantic seaboard, or even just love salmon, please consider stopping by a few of these websites to learn more about what you can do to help our native Atlantic and Pacific salmon populations recover: