It has recently come to my attention that, for some reason, there are very few sardine smoothie recipes. In fact, there are not enough good fish shake recipes of any kind. So this must be the right time to share with you one of my favorite sardine smoothie creations.
Why sardines? For one, they are small. Smaller fish are lower on the food chain and have much less contaminants (mercury, PCBs, etc.) stored in their fat than larger fish. When it comes to fish, smaller is always better. (This is most likely why you’ll have a hard time finding even one whale shake recipe.)
Sardines may be small, but when it comes to nutrition, they’re huge. Did you know that a sardine shake contains approximately 25% of your daily calcium requirement? On top of that, they’re loaded with vitamin D, B12, niacin, phosphorus, selenium, and of course protein. As a bonus, sardines are also highly anti-inflammatory.
Personally, I think most people don’t think enough about the inflammatory aspects of the foods they eat. Chronic or low-grade, long-lasting inflammation is thought to be the root cause of many age-related diseases (just about everything from arthritis to Alzheimer’s, according to some sources). Some foods are inflammatory and some are anti-inflammatory. It’s always a good idea to balance the two as much as you can.
Now that we’re all excited about sardines, how do we incorporate them into a delicious smoothie? It is a two step process and I will walk you through it.
Step one, make the basic juice.
This is what you need:
a juicer
several stalks of celery
1/4 yellow onion
2 or 3 jalapeno peppers
a raw beet
Here’s what you do:
Put all the above ingredients in the juicer and make the juice.
Step two, make the smoothie.
This is what you need:
a food processor
A can of sardines
The juice from above
2 or 3 shots of tequila (optional)
Here’s what you do:
Combine the first two ingredients and place them in the food processor. Blend until smooth.
Since this seems to be an acquired taste for some people, you may want to take the optional shots of tequila before drinking the shake.
Another way to enjoy the health benefits of sardines is to put them in your salad. That’s generally what I do.