Does eating salmon with mayo defeat the purpose of it being healthy?

No sauce would be better than lightly dipping, which is better than slathering it on.

I think the goal is to overall eat healthily, with lots of vegetables and fruits and not too much fat. If you generally go easy on salad dressing and don't eat junk food or too many desserts, I think having a mayo-based sauce on salmon is fine. You're still getting all the nutrients from the salmon. I don't think it defeats the purpose of eating healthy.

Well, you're increasing the calories and fat, of course. But you're not losing the benefit of the Omega 3s in the salmon.

Since the sauce is your own recipe, maybe you can try to replace the mayo with olive oil.

But, on balance, I don't think a little mayo is going to hurt you.

Ideally, why not just eat things you enjoy instead of forcing yourself to eat something you don't enjoy, because it's supposed to be "healthy" (but you have to add stuff to mask the flavor so you can consume it).

There are plenty of protein options (including other seafood) that are healthy, so find things you DO like, that you don't feel the need to add high calorie/fat condiments to. Some lemon squeezed on fish is fine or herbs for seasoning, but mayo or tartar sauce aren't ideal (used in very small quantities they are 'ok' but it seems easier to me to just eat things you enjoy in the first place).

If you make the mayo yourself with healthy oils then its fine. Regular mayo is made with vegetable oils which are one of the worst things you can eat. Here is a quick and easy recipe for mayo

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/10/two-min...

I like avocado oil mayo myself but you can also use olive oil, coconut oil or macadamia nut oil.

You don't need to eat salmon to be healthy. If you hate it, don't eat it.

Depends on the mayo. Check the label for the one with the least sugar and using olive oil in place of some or all of the vegetable oil. Also, you could dip the tines of your fork in the sauce before spearing the fish morsel to limit the sugar intake from the mayo. These are my strategies for trimming.

It's funny that I'm the opposite, I hate the taste of mayo and I only like in hamburguers, hotdogs or potato salad.

Try to use light mayo instead, one serving has half as much sodium and calories as the regular one.