Fish Fit For a Prince(ss)

I love protein! Boneless, skinless chicken thighs; pork from happy pigs; grassfed beef and lamb; duck and turkey. I very much enjoy my location at the top of the food chain, and I respect the aforementioned creatures for making me strong and healthy.

After reading The Paleo Solution and the Whole30 guidelines, I realized I should be eating more fish, so I’ve rediscovered sardines. I’m pretty happy about it.

When I was kid, I remember eating sardine sandwiches – oil and all, just take the can and dump it on buttered toast. What a glorious, greasy, finger-licking mess!

The toast is no longer in the picture, but I still get sardines (and tuna) packed in olive oil. Now I drain them, however, and put them in my snack packs with raw veggies and olives on the side. My favorite brand is Crown Prince because they’re available boneless and skinless. (The first time I tried the ones with the tails still attached I (1) felt like a sea lion and (2) almost gagged. That is just too close to natural state for me. Guess that means I’m not actually a cave woman. I don’t care. I like black eyeliner, my flat iron, and sardines without bones and tails.)

Yummy – and packed with omega-3

Take a look at the beautiful ingredient list below. I recognize all those things! The sardines are caught off the coast of Morocco (you know I’m a sucker for all things Moroccan!), and they include 2 grams of omega-3 per serving. (They’re available packed in water, too, but why, oh why, would one pass up the yummy flavor of olive oil?!)

For variety, I also really like the Kipper Snacks. They’re tasty little fillets of herring with a delicious smoky flavor, like smoked oysters with a better nutritional profile. Fun fact: Europeans have been snackin’ on kippers since the 14th century!

Crown Prince has been around since 1948 and is a family-owned business. According to the web site, there are three generations of the Hoffman family running the show. Neat!

You can give these Crown Prince products a try without too much risk – they’ll send you a $1 coupon just for filling out a brief questionnaire, which means you can get a can of sardines for about 79 cents. That is one inexpensive, tasty, nutritious snack!

And if you’re already a fan, the company has a Frequent Buyer Program: send in 5 UPCs, get 5 coupons for 50-cents off… as often as you want! Five workdays per week = 5 cans of sardines or kipper snacks per week = a savings of $2.50 every week. That’s, like, $125 a year… and that, my friends, is a lotta sardines!

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Comments

  • Lydia says:

    My partner loves those Crown Prince Kipper Snacks. I really really REALLY wish I liked them, too. It makes me sad when I find a food I don't like. =(

  • Dana Law says:

    Melissa,
    I drive a lot for my business. I'm a big sardine fan and in Southern California 99 cent stores have your choices above and a bunch more. Great road food. Pick up a piece of fruit and a head of broccoli and you have lunch!
    Thank you for your blog.
    Dana Law
    San Diego
    pctdanalaw.blogspot.com

  • Jessica says:

    Sardines in oil = yummy!
    Sardines in water = yucky!

    Tuna in water tastes fine to me, but sardines in water are so horrible. I think I actually spit out the first bite I tried.

    Definitely stick with the oily ones 🙂

  • Anonymous says:

    My cubicle neighbors already hate me for eating my daily tuna. They'd run me off if I ate sardines here in cubicleville! I'm not a fan, but hubby likes everything fish. If I could find a way to disguise the taste, I would welcome such a thrifty AND portable meal…

    Side note, (relating to your post-vacation clean-up) we're back on track after our vacation. I was determined not to lose my mind on wine, cheese, & all things non-Paleo, but at the Texas wine country, come on! Working off my round vacation belly with some intermittent fasting and serious CF. But seriously, my body THANKS me!! ~Karyn

  • Angie says:

    I love the Crown Prince sardines in mustard. I haven't ever tried the ones in oil, or the kippered herring. Might have to give them both a try (with some of my Primal almond flour crackers).

  • michele says:

    you post about kippers every so often, and dutifully that weekend i always buy a tin of them and put them smugly in my cupboard.

    and forget about them.

    THIS ENDS NOW. I WILL EAT THEM.

  • Anonymous says:

    Do you guys just eat the sardines straight or with a cracker? I know crackers aren't exactly paleo, but you need something to cut the oily fish a bit.

  • Melissa 'Melicious' Joulwan says:

    No crackers needed! I drain the extra oil off the fish and eat them with raw veggies or on a salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

  • Trixie says:

    Thanks, this post was super helpful:)
    BTW: I think brands do matter!

  • michele says:

    omg they are so good. i ate the whole tin.

  • Melissa 'Melicious' Joulwan says:

    Trixie –> I agree, Trixie. The brand TOTALLY makes a difference. Hell, yeah, Crown Prince!

    Michele –> HOORAY! I'm really glad you like them! I ate some yesterday… straight from the can… like an animal. I'm a sea lion! I'm a porpoise! I'm a grizzly bear!

  • Michelle says:

    Melissa, your post made my day! I've been eating the Crown skinless/boneless sardines since the Paleo Challenge I did in January (doing the Whole30 now BTW). I LOVE them (although they smell up the kitchen and my hubs wants to kill me)! You're right, the brand totally makes a difference. My supermarket was out of them this week so I had to purchase an inferior brand. Thanks for the tip on the coupons. I buy 3-4 cans a week, so I'll have no problem racking up UPCs. Love your blog.

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