Why this bowl exists
Anti-inflammatory eating is usually framed as elimination — what to cut. That is the wrong frame for someone who already trains hard. The right frame is composition — what to stack.
This bowl is built around three jobs:
- Repair (high-quality protein, leucine threshold)
- Replenish (complete carbs, micronutrients)
- Reduce (omega-3, polyphenols, ginger gingerols)
It takes 20 minutes. You can prep four portions in one go.
The recipe (1 portion)
- 180g salmon fillet, skin on
- 200g sweet potato, cut into 2cm cubes
- 2cm ginger, microplaned
- 1 tbsp tamari (or coconut aminos)
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- Half a lime
Method
- Toss sweet potato in olive oil, salt, ginger. Roast at 220°C for 18 minutes.
- At 12 minutes, slide the salmon onto the tray, skin down, brushed with tamari and sesame oil.
- Plate on a bed of spinach. Pumpkin seeds. Lime over the top.
Why each ingredient
- Salmon — 38g protein, 2.5g EPA+DHA. The omega-3 dose actually moves bloods.
- Sweet potato — Complete carb. Beta-carotene. Slow-release energy for the evening.
- Ginger — Gingerols are a serious anti-inflammatory compound. Get them on, not in (microplaned, raw, at the end).
- Spinach — Folate, nitrates, magnesium. The greens that earn their place.
- Sesame oil — Sesamin. Pumpkin seeds for zinc, magnesium.
When to eat it
The night after a hard session. The day before a long-haul flight. Any evening after a stressful week. It is not a daily ritual — it is a tool.
Steady wins, because steady eats salmon on Tuesday.