Roaming around the nutrition database (more on that later) I discovered that canned Sardines are a real nutritional bargain. A can of sardines-in-water for lunch can really round out your protein intake for the day and the carry-along calories are fat (also sometimes a deficit if tending towards vegetarian diet), not carbs. More to the point, they are omega-3 fats and can completely balance your essential fats. The proteins are balanced also. So I see this as a nutritional bargain, especially when they are on sale for 10 for $10.
I was pushing this as part of a general discussion of the nutritional benefits of canned fish with Katherine when she commented that Salmon Eggs and Grits was a traditional southern breakfast. Further discussion proved we were not talking about caviar here, just canned salmon and scrabbled eggs with grits.
Well, that was enough to set me to trying it. This morning, I diced 1/2 of a small onion and one clove of garlic (if the knife touches onion it might as well touch garlic, right?), melted 1/4 pat of butter in a 6" iron skillet, sauteed the onions and garlic, added about 1/4 can salmon (cleaned of skin and bones) as a layer of chunks covering the bottom of the skillet. I added water as needed to keep the pan from drying out and to steam the veg and salmon. Meanwhile, I scrambled one large egg in a bowl with salt, fresh ground pepper, and two sprigs of winter savory, minced (the herb garden is starting to produce!), When the veg were cooked, salmon hot, and the pan approaching dry, I turned down the heat and added the scrambled egg mixture. Scrambled eggs cooked gently and turned out on a plate and voila - salmon eggs!
Meanwhile, I made a bowl of Quick Grits using the microwave recipe - messy but quick and effective - and cut a half grapefruit. I served the salmon-eggs with lemon-dill raita, grits, and a cuppa joe. I was planning a piece of rye toast with Baumans Apple Butter to finish it off but got in an argument with the toaster and lost. The burnt toast went into the compost bucket.
OK, I'm not gonna lie - salmon eggs are really good and go really well with grits - try it, you'll like it. The lemon-dill raita adds a whole new dimension not mentioned in the traditional recipe, so I feel like I have contributed here. This can form the basis of a really exquisite Sunday brunch. On the flip side, as a breakfast, this puts a really nutritious foundation on your day.
Lindsey
Last November we started making a concerted effort to feed Will healthier breakfasts. No more cold cereal, instead he gets eggs or oatmeal (with apples and craisans or apricots) on most days. With Aleks for a father, that has developed into being encouraged to eat eggs and oatmeal almost every day. This kiddo eats a huge breakfast, usually at least twice as much as I eat, and I consider myself a breakfast eater. BUT, he only eats egg whites (plural, because Aleks will often give him the whites from two eggs - along with the oatmeal). In an effort to get Aleks to eat something besides all of Will's egg yolks, we are trying to come up with a way to encourage Will to eat egg yolks too. I mentioned that Grandad had a recipe for eggs, including the yolks, and fish, and Will has asked me every day since to try them. This weekend we will venture out in search of canned salmon and instant grits with the hope that Grandad's touch will convince Will to eat egg yolks (and give us some variety to our breakfasts!)
ReplyDeleteWe make Irish oatmeal - it sort of splits the difference between instant oatmeal and regular. Only takes 3-5 minutes to cook, but is still chewy, especially if you use milk for part of the liquid, and not mushy. We usually chop an apple and through that along with some dried fruit in with the oatmeal as it cooks. I like to top it with almonds or pecans and/or flax seeds, a little brown sugar, and some cream ('cause I'm pregnant, so why not!)
Sardines and Scrambled Eggs
ReplyDeleteI mentioned that I have been looking for ways to prepare canned sardines. At 10 for $10, they are just too good a bargain to pass up. This morning, I decided to try substituting sardines for salmon in the scrambled egg recipe. I think it's pretty good. I might be inclined to favor the salmon version but sardines in scrambled eggs is very eatable. This morning I ate it with a piece of toast rather than making grits. Also, I did not have any lemon-dill raita to go with (my last batch was a disaster and I finally threw it out; gotta retry that today - zest of lemon not whole lemon rind and no heavy spices). There is the added convenience that is uses a whole can of sardines for a recipe for one, so there's no left over fish in the fridge. I drained and cleaned the sardines and used 1 large egg.
Let's look at the nutrition since that's the driving force here:
I pretty much followed the recipe above substituting 1 3.5 oz can of drained and cleaned sardines in water for the salmon. Quantities used were 6g garlic, 17 g onion, 79 g sardines, 53 g egg, and 1/4 pat butter. This yields one serving of 159 g containing 4 g carbs, 16 g fat, and 21 g protein, or 15 cal from carbs, 127 cal from fat, and 111 cal from protein, or 5.7%, 53.8%, and 40.6%, respectively. Protein is complete with the lowest essential amino acid being Leucine at 129%. It contains 1176 mg of omega-3 fats and 802 mg of omega-6 for and omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 0.7.
I combined this with a piece of rye toast (41 g), 2 1/2 tbl of apple butter, 1/2 grapefruit, 10 oz of grapefruit juice, and 3 cups of black coffee for breakfast. Total meal works out to 606 cal, 305 from carbs, 166 from fats, and 135 from protein or 50%, 27%, 22%, respectively. The lowest essential amino acid is Lysine at 111%. The meal contains 1223 mg of omega-3's and 1194 mg of omega-6's, essentially a 1/1 ratio. Total protein is 27 g, or 44% of my daily minimum protein need of 63 g (based on 0.364 g protein per lb of body weight per day). That's based on my weight of 172 lbs - down from 191 lbs at Christmas!
Lindsey
Tried making salmon eggs with a little thyme added to the eggs - Excellent.
ReplyDeleteLindsey
This morning I made tuna scramble (maybe a better name than tuna eggs; the uninitiated seem to have an immediate negative reaction whenever I say "salmon eggs" thinking its fish eggs) for breakfast. I sauteed leeks fresh from the garden (FFG), with garlic (FFG), and dill (FFG) in a very lightly buttered skillet added one can of tuna, adding a little water as needed to keep from drying out and burning, then added one egg scrambled with salt, pepper, thyme, and a little ground mustard. Served garnished with parsley (FFG) with a piece of rye toast (I eat mine dry) and a sliced tomato (FFG) garnished with basil leaf (FFG). This was a really excellent breakfast; it's a great time of year to be an omnivore!
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