Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

You should probably add sardines to your diet if you aren’t eating them already. Wait, before you click away in disgust please hear me out. If you think eating a little sardine is something yucky, you may want to read about all the benefits they have.

Sardines are not just good for you, they are one of the healthiest fish you can eat. Not only are they are loaded with protein (21 grams in one can), they are a terrific source of calcium (the regular ones, not the skinless ones). Women especially need to get lots of calcium.

Sardines also provide heart-healthy omega-3s that may help with reducing inflammation, improving cognition and more. Sardines have the lowest levels of mercury of any fish. All sardines are WILD caught, they are not farmed and they are plentiful in the oceans. Sardines are a sustainable fish. And they are cheap, they are maybe the least costly fish you can buy.

So lots of benefits. But not only are sardines healthy to eat, they are DELICIOUS. Europeans love them, and eat lots of sardines. While this may not be the case here in the U.S, you should change that by adding them to your diet if you don’t already.

Trader Joe’s sells at least three varieties of canned sardines. My favorite ones are the SMOKED SARDINES IN OLIVE OIL (purple can). One can gives you a whopping 21 grams of protein. Plus Calcium and Omega’3. I probably eat a can for lunch at least once a week.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Take out the sardines from the can and put them in a dish. Mash them up with a fork. Squeeze one the juice of a quarter lemon, then add a large teaspoon of mayonnaise with a grind of fresh black pepper. Add a touch of hot sauce if you like. Mix well and spread this on some freshly toasted bread, or on your favorite crackers. This would be great on the Scandinavian kind.

Trader Joe’s has a few kinds of sardines. I would grab the purple can with the ones in “smoke flavor”. But if you can’t bear the ones with skin (which by the way contain the most calcium due to the soft edible bones) then get the skinless boneless ones (grey can). They could be a good starting point for the squeamish however when you mash them up, you won’t see anything. I do recommend the tasty smoked ones (purple can) as the best, tastiest ones that Trader Joe’s sells. You can even saute potatoes in the left over oil in the can which will make a delicious potato dish.

Country of origin: Portugal (purple can), Canada (blue), Morocco (grey)

Get some more ideas here: https://wildplanetfoods.com/recipes-category/sardines/