There’s a first time for everything…

including eating sardines.   Even for an adventurous eater like me, sardines are intimidating.  But they are amazing for your skin, so I forced myself to try them. Now I can’t get enough!

 

So here’s what I recommend if you are a sardine virgin…

First, and please take my word for this, buy sardines that are lightly smoked, packed in olive oil.  End of story.  This is the kind I prefer:

Wild Planet can be found in many better grocery stores, but they don’t always have this particular variety.  They’re on my amazon store…I often just order a bunch of sardines so I have them on hand.  Hopefully this link works: http://astore.amazon.com/elizabethresn-20/detail/Boo4VDH4L0

Here’s how I like to eat them:

That’s a bed of organic spring mix, a can of lightly smoked sardines, including most of the olive oil (I poured a little of it on my dog’s food…he went nuts!), and a big pile of guac.  The guac serves two purposes.  It covers up the sardines.  I still don’t like to look at them.  And the smooth, mild flavor of the guac (or sliced avocado) is a great contrast to the smoky flavor of the sardines.  If I have some red or yellow bell peppers, I’ll throw some of them in too.  The guac is from Chipotle…I often grab a side of guac when I’m running errands in the morning, and have it with my lunch.  (Although with this whole E. coli scare I may have to go elsewhere!)

The taste of smoked sardines also blends well with dijon mustard.  I have heard of mashing the sardines with mustard, along with a few other seasonings, and using it as a spread.  I tried it once, but it looked even worse than the whole sardines.  And took more effort.  Plus I needed to find something grain-free to spread it on. So that was the end of that!

And in case you need a reminder of WHY you should be eating sardines, here you go…they are amazing for you!  I talk about them in my post I used to have terrible skin (part 2)

Sardines are high in Omega 3’s and CoQ10, as well as vitamin D.  These nutrients will give you nice skin, help your cells produce energy, and elevate your mood.  Sure, you could take supplements,  but when you are getting nutrients from whole foods they are more bioavailable, meaning they are easy for your body to use.  Oh, and the calcium from the sardine bones is good for your bones.  It’s a win-win!

So, the question I always ask:  Will sardines help you feel happy, healthy and hot?  They certainly can!  You’ll be happy you have such a quick, healthy lunch.  The nutrients in the sardines, especially those fat-soluble vitamins that we don’t get enough of, will keep you healthy.  And the glowing skin and strong bones that are the result?  Definitely hot!

Have you tried sardines?  Or are you still a sardine virgin?  Let me know in the comments!

And Jill, if you’re reading, this post was written just for you!