What food has more calcium and phosphorus than milk, more iron than spinach, more potassium than coconut water and bananas and as much protein as steak ounce for ounce?
Sardines baby.
No not those crackers! Those are saltines.
Sardines are those little fish in a can.
I used to think they had hair. They don’t.
I used to think they taste super fishy and disgusting. They don’t.
I used to not think of them as a Power Food. I do now.
I have been thinking about trying Sardines for a while now because I know how healthy they are but I just couldn’t get myself to try em.
Then Whole Foods had a sale on them and I figured, what the hell let’s give this a go.
Now I’m not going to lie to you. I had to psyche myself up to try them.
Seriously, I looked at the package in my cupboard for about 2 weeks before I could build up the courage.
But then I said to myself, “Just try the dang Sardines you Mary!” (sidenote: No offense to anyone named Mary)
So you know what I did?
I opened that dang can of Sardines and I stared em down! Well, actually they didn’t really stare back because the one’s in the jar don’t have heads. I thought they would!
But I stared at them and I thought “damn that looks pretty gross.”
And once again I had to tell myself, “eat the dang Sardines! They’re really good for you! How “renegade” are you if you can’t eat a dang Sardine?!”
So I sucked it up, spooned those little suckers out of the jar (about 5 of them) and onto my plate and dove right in with my fork!
And I tell ya, I was really shocked. I was expecting some really strong disgusting fishy taste.
But they taste just like freakin Tuna fish!
Anyway, I’m kind of mad at myself for not trying these earlier because:
1. Sardines are incredibly healthy
2. Sardines are one super easy way for a busy person to eat really healthy food on a regular basis
So I have now made Sardines one of my weekly Core 4 foods.
Welcome to the Core 4 Sardines!
Anyway, you may be wondering why Sardines are so healthy and I’ll just jot down a few points, so here we go.
Why Are Sardines So Healthy?
#1: Omega 3: Omega 3 fatty acids are incredibly healthy but difficult to get unless you eat fish, specifically, cold water fatty fish like Salmon and Sardines.
#2: Selenium: Selenium is another incredibly healthy nutrient that according to Chris Kresser is important for healthy Thyroid function and a properly functioning Immune System. It’s flu season as I write this so I want to give my immune system all the support it needs!
#3: CoQ10: Again another crucial nutrient that according to Chris Kresser in this podcast “plays an important role in energy production and also important for preventing oxidative damage.” Need more energy? You may want to try eating more natural sources of CoQ10 like Sardines.
#4: Vitamin D: Vitamin D has been getting a lot of press lately. Many experts believe Vitamin D is more of a “hormone” than a “vitamin” which is basically saying it’s super important for good health. Sardines are a good source of Vitamin D.
#5: Vitamin B12: According to Kresser in this article “an estimated 40% of people over 60 years old are deficient in B12, which leads to cognitive decline, memory loss and even Alzheimer’s and dementia.” Ever had trouble remembering something or feel like your brain wasn’t working quite right? You could possibly need more B12.
Summary:
If you like Tuna fish out of the can, chances are you will like Sardines.
I’m not going to lie, they look kind of gross in the can.
But get over it tough guy.
If you want to improve your Dadhood, you have to improve your health.
So get a little “gritty” or “renegade” and try some dang Sardines!
I buy Wild Planet Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil With Lemon – the lemon and olive oil take away much of the fish taste.
But again, if you can handle Tuna fish then I’m sure you can handle Sardines.
It’ll take you about a minute to eat a whole can and you’ll be giving yourself a boost of amazing nutrients.