Canned Sardines - Nutritional Powerhouse

[VincentVinturi]

Just want to reiterate what @frozenace said about buying BPA-free sardines.

Most sardine tins are made with BPA lining which seeps into the product.

Most governments allow BPA content up to a pre-defined limit but I personally don't want ANY of that shit in my body.

The assault on the male endocrine system is bad enough as it is.

So I don't mind paying a little extra for BPA-free brands.

More on BPA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wXGrzDIcr8

 

[samsamsam]

I am in for a few. Let's see how it tastes.

Thank you for the info guys.

BPA free cans.

 

[Guitarman]

Tinned pilchards and Mackerel are also just as good for you!

 

[eatthishomie]

Bought some yesterday. Sardines and tuna are going to be go-to protein sources during cutting season.

 

[RockHard]

Funny, one memory I have of my dad from New Years' Eve is that he'd always bust out the sardines. He'd eat them on these rye crackers.

I'm going to the store today. Tonight I'll ring in the New Year with a good cigar and a can of these bad boys and toast his memory.

 

[Montana]

Thanks for the thread..I placed my Amazon order today!

 

[roberto]

Tinned pilchards and Mackerel are also just as good for you!

Herring is also up there- nice and cheap. The thing with herring and mackerel is that the fish are large enough that the bones can be easily removed in the factory.

Mercury accumulation is much less of an issue with these fish than an apex predator such as tuna.

 

[Surreyman]

I have heard good things about them before. But how's the smell on your breath afterwards? Thanks.

You wouldn't dare leave the house without brushing your teeth, that's for sure.

It's caused arguments in my office before. :dodgy:

Pro tip: Push it to the max with sardines in curry sauce.

 

[redbeard]

My sardines arrived today.

I was excited to eat them but remembered all the posts here about how bad they smell. I hate eating tuna.

My first bite was cautious, even though the marinara sauce smelled great.

Once I bit in and realized how delicious they were, I inhaled the rest of the can.

10/10 WB (would buy) again

 

[Khan]

Sardines indeed have high nutritional value, I eat them regularly. When you compare them with tuna, they're not as protein dense, but they contain much less mercury, which makes them safe for everyday consumption.

Here's a handy little recipe for a sardine spread, I find that canned sardines taste much better this way:

- take one can (~100g) of sardines in olive oil, remove tail and bones, put them all in a bowl
- add 100g of cottage cheese
- add some chopped onion and garlic
- spice it up: salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley...
- add lemon juice made from squeezing one lemon

Take a spoon and squish everything together. Keep squishing and mixing everything in the bowl until you get a spread which you can put on bread or crackers. I personally prefer to eat this spread with rye crackers and tomatoes, but you can experiment and find some other combination that tastes good.

There you have it, a simple recipe for a healthy snack. Don't forget to wash your hands and brush your teeth afterwards, as the sardines+onions+garlic combination will make your breath smell like the pathology lab.

Regarding this recipe, I've just tried out a tip I got from a colleague of mine: take one or two cucumbers and chop them to tiny pieces, and add them to the spread. It tastes even better.

 

[HectorLavoe]

You guys should try kippered snacks, they are smoked herring, with the same nutritional benefits as traditional sardines but taste way better and for the same price. These are the ones I get, they are packed in water without oil, I usually make a salad with them.

 

[philosophical_recovery]

You guys should try kippered snacks, they are smoked herring, with the same nutritional benefits as traditional sardines but taste way better and for the same price. These are the ones I get, they are packed in water without oil, I usually make a salad with them.

I've had those. There's several different varieties of canned herring here, with various things that they are soaking in. Yum. Sometimes, after a workout, instead of going for steak I'll grab a can or two of herring, sardines, or similar now. I love chopping up onions and mixing them with sardines now because of this thread.

Also, this fish oil is fantastic and I drink spoonfuls of it straight out of the bottle:

 

[avantgarde]

Why don't you just eat fresh salmon or fresh sea fish ? They probably have even more.

 

[jayko]

and i thought we should stay out of processed food, no?

 

[Isaac Jordan]

Why don't you just eat fresh salmon or fresh sea fish ?

Fresh, wild-caught salmon is going to be MUCH more expensive than canned sardines. Even frozen wild salmon (the next best option) or fresh tuna/mahi/tilapia is still going to cost a good bit more. Plus, canned sardines require zero prep work, very little clean up, have a much longer shelf life, and are easier to buy in bulk for even further cost savings.

and i thought we should stay out of processed food, no?

There's a difference between "processed food," which generally refers to food that's been altered from its natural state to improve the look/taste/shelf life, and food that has simply been processed in some fashion (e.g. put into a can and sealed).

The former includes food that has been stuffed full of fillers, binders, preservatives, sugar/HFCS, vegetable oils, etc. Just about anything that comes in a box, includes more than a handful of ingredients, or is found within the center of the grocery store (outside the meat/dairy/produce periphery) would be considered "processed food".

For example, take a look at the ingredients list of a "Kraft Singles Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product":

MILK, WHEY, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, MILKFAT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SALT, SODIUM CITRATE, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, SORBIC ACID AS A PRESERVATIVE, CHEESE CULTURE, ENZYMES, ANNATTO AND PAPRIKA EXTRACT (COLOR), VITAMIN D3.

Compare that to the ingredients list of "Kerrygold's 100% Aged Cheddar":

PASTEURIZED MILK, SALT, CHEESE CULTURES AND ENZYMES

One of those is food. The other is "processed food".

Now, when Kerrygold cuts the cheese into blocks, wraps them in plastic, and ships them to your grocery store, one could consider that chain of events "processing." But that doesn't mean my Kerrygold cheese is considered "processed food."

Same goes for sardines. The only ingredients listed for my Wild Planet Sardines in Olive Oil are sardines, extra virgin olive oil, water, sea salt, and aqueous natural smoke. Definitely not "processed food."

 

[Quintus Curtius]

Canned sardines are great.

If you think those are hard to eat, try eating canned oysters. Horrible, horrible.

 

[Andreas]

I saw this thread yesterday and it got me very curious so I decided to go shopping and I got some canned sardines along with some other canned fish and I want your opinion on the nutritional facts and price on each one.

These are the sardines which I bought (they taste good):



Each can cost 75p (British pounds). Did I get a good deal or was it a rip off?

I also bought red alaskan salmon which tasted quite good but at a much higher price (£2.65) each can.



The other one was the yellowfin tuna (£1.80) which also tasted much better than some of the other brands in the UK (honestly some of them taste like sandals)



So what do you think? Is it worth spending a little bit extra for the other fish or just keep the sardines only?

 

[avantgarde]

I'm trying to eat sea fish everyday, pretty much fresh, it might've been frozen.
They taste better and you get more nutrients. True they are a little more expensive.

Salmon is especially expensive depending where you live. If the country import most of it and demand is high...
I asked the price for cod, damn like 32 bucks/500grams app a pound.

You can cheap sea fish in the fish market, try out some of them, but they do take at least 10 min to prepare on the stove.

 

[avantgarde]

You can get trout and smaller fish instead of salmon and tuna, they are cheaper and have similar levels of nutrients.

 

[MrRoundtree]

Eating them with chopped échalottes, garlic, parsley, olive oil, basilica, oregano, pepper and lemon juice, all squished together..very nutritioning. I will send the brand I buy.