I’ve recently been diagnosed type II. As such I’m on the lookout for good protein sources. I’m trying to cut back on red meat. I’m eating a lot of chicken but it can get old. I love eggs but I should be watching my cholesterol.
I was on a trip a couple of weeks ago and passed by a Trader Joe’s and picked up some sardines in spring water. Yum! Perfect. The problem - I don’t live by Trader Joe’s. I tried some Chicken of the Sea sardines from my local grocery. Um, yuck. Too mushy. I tried the local dollar store and got some in oil and some in mustard. They were ok but I kept burping up oil afterwards (they don’t carry the water kind).
Does anyone have any sardine suggestions? Spring water packed only please.
We call it cat food at our house. Canned salmon or good tuna is better. IMO.
I am T1 for many years. I eat fish at least 3 times a week. I can get a good quality frozen cod or tilapia here in So. Arkansas. Fresh is usually catfish, unless Mr.Wrekker has luck at the lake with smallmouth bass. You can do better than sardines, surely.
ETA… I am sorry maybe you can’t do better. I don’t know where you are. Forgive me.
Get whole sardines, not fillets. I’ve never had them be mushy. I prefer the ones packed in oil, though, so I’m not familiar with brands in water. I try to get the Norwegian sardines in two layers. I think those are baby mackerel. Anyway, yummy.
Discount sardines are like gas station sushi — always a bad idea. Spend a buck more and get a premium brand, imported from Portugal. Don’t fool around with fish, even canned fish.
The skin and bones are better for protein and calcium, obviously, but I grew up in a finicky household and am hardwired for skinless and boneless. Avoid this trap!
I wish I knew what brands I buy. I just go to the Polish store and stock up on whatever the heck is they have. I just looked in the pantry, and apparently, I’m out of stock, so I’ll keep an eye out next time. There’s at least an entire couple of shelves at the store dedicated to tinned sardines, mackerel, sprats, etc. I assume they’re all German, Scandinavian, Polish, or Croatian brands.
Anyhow, I didn’t even know they sold sardines in water. That just sounds so wrong to me. I like them either in oil, tomato sauce (preferably with chile peppers), or mustard sauce. I just eat them straight out of the can, or on a buttered slice of bread. Once in a long while, I’ll get fancy and prep a proper sardine sandwich or a sardine bahn mi type of thing, but usually I eat sardines as a light lunch with just a little bit of carbs to balance the fat and protein.
You can also do stuff like serving them together with pasta. Boil up some pasta, and then make a sauce out of a can of sardines, pepper flakes, garlic, a bit of lemon, capers if you’ve got 'em, toss with pasta and serve.
And then there’s grilled sardines, which are just absolutely delicious, but I’m assuming we’re just talking the canned stuff here.
Sardine (in tomato sauce) bahn mi is a treat. Most of the places around here no longer feature it on the menu because people think it’s weird, but they’ll all make one for you if you ask.
Fresh sardines grilled, yes, are fantastic. Get some from a reliable fishmonger, marinate them in lemon juice and olive oil for an hour, then throw on the grill for five minutes a side. Or if you have a good Greek restaurant nearby, they usually have them on the appetizer list.
The local (I’m in OK) Walmart has cans of sardines in water or veg. oil–the 88 cent cans have smaller fish and taste just as good as the Beach Cliff sardines, which just recently went up from a buck to $1.14/can. I have purchased the more expensive cans at Walmart and elsewhere, and they don’t seem any different than the cheaper kind. They’re frickin’ sardines. The salt is the key ingredient. Oops, I just saw the “Spring Water only” requirement. Pay no attention to what I just typed.
I’m so stuck in my ways with bahn mis. Somehow, I’m never tempted by the lemongrass chicken, the meatball, the barbecue pork, etc., bahn mis and stick to my favorites: the mystery meat bahn mi (usually the #1 at most places I go to, and usually called “the special”) and the sardine bahn mi. In case anyone wants to make one, here’s a recipe.
Generally I love fish. My fave is catfish. But I also like most any seafood, the exception being salmon and tuna. Just can’t stand either one.
My (new) quickie go to lunch is a spoonful of cottage cheese over lettuce. Topped with a few tomatoes, a couple of slices of avocado and sardines. So the thrust of the OP was canned sardines.
I don’t dislike sardines in oil or mustard but I don’t like burping them up for the next few hours.
Having said all of that, I welcome any and all suggestions regarding fish suggestions in any fashion.
Dover sole. Steamed clams with butter. Roman shrimp (marinate in lemon, olive oil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper for an hour, then skewer and grill or broil for 3 minutes on each side).
Note that at one Portuguese-owned store in my area I’ve found bags of larger frozen sardines, fresh-frozen I mean not the canned type… You’d be getting into a different kind of recipes if you got some of those but they’re definitely good for you
Sardines are badass. I’ve got some Sardinian ancestry. The people of Italy who eat sardines and small oily fish live the longest in the world. So do people in Okinawa who eat small mackerels and sardines. #1, the fact that they are physically smaller and at the bottom of the food chain mean that they don’t accumulate toxins the way larger fish do. #2, they have oil in them that’s good for you. #3, if you eat them with the bones, they also have calcium.
Do not spare any expense on sardines. Get the kind with natural olive oil, not water or any other kind of shitty oil like sunflower oil. I think it’s best to eat them with the skin and the bones. I like canned sardines to be lightly smoked or seasoned with lemon or spicy spices.
If you eat sardines and vegetables regularly, your body will thank you. Also, they go with almost any kind of food you can imagine. Italian pasta, Greek dishes, Mexican, etc.
Spent a week and a half in Barcelona last month. On many of the Tapas menus were fresh sardines. Some as just a filet with a spicy sauce, others served on toast with tomato, shredded cabbage, and a mild sauce.
They were absolutely celestial! If you already like sardines these would have blown your mind! And like all fish fresh is the key!