Tinned fish

I've started looking into sardines. Clearly I'm a sucker for anything Alton Brown does, but I am interested in increasing my fish consumption for heart health reasons. Sardines are a pretty convenient way to go about it. The trick being, findings sardines that don't taste like crap. Which do actually exist.

It's funny, of everyone I talk to, either they used to eat them, or have always hated them. It seems like I'm having a hard time finding anyone that currently puts sardines in their pie-holes. From what's available at my local grocer, my favourite so far are "Kind Oscar" brand.

It's a pretty intimidating food. I would easily compare it to sushi. Not just because it's fish, but because how different it is to the typical things we consume. Skins, tails, bones... though in a good sardine you wouldn't notice any deviation of texture from these other components.

Calories per can, I've seen, range from 150-210. Most of that coming from fat, though the good kind. Though, you should note the type of oil that use to pack. Most are olive, but some use various other unsavoury oils. Let me break down a can: 210 calories, 16g fat(25%), 6g saturated (28%), 45mg cholesterol(16%), 710mg sodium(30%), 14g protein(28%), 20% calcium.

That was on a pack of larger sardines, packed in mustard, so I think the sodium is a bit higher. The high calcium is of course from the bones, which you can't even notice that they're there.


There are some other arguments for sardines too. Since these are all smaller and short lived fish, the heavy metal content in them is going to be way lower than fish like salmon and tuna. They're also supposedly more sustainable that the larger fish as well.

Enough about fish!
Time for coffee!