Easy Omega 3’s: Wild Salmon in a Can

To be truthfully honest I was never a big fish lover.  I did not grow up eating fish as my Father would not eat it and my Mother would not make anything he would not eat.  I do believe we develop tastes based on what we were fed early in life.  However, over time we can acclimate our tastes to health if we desire it.

Trying to be a healthy dietitian I ate salmon in my 20’s but got away from it after a few years.  About 3 years ago I attended an amazing conference on omega 3’s and realized I needed to eat more fish, regardless of my upbringing.  And that is how I started eating salmon again.

Wild fish is what I eat and since salmon is the highest in omega 3’s it seemed like a slam dunk.  Since getting to Santa Monica seafood weekly for wild salmon not only gets time-consuming and expensive I discovered another option in a can:  Pure Alaska Salmon Company Wild Canned Salmon.  It comes 4 ways:  as skinless and boneless wild sockeye called “Redhead”, as wild pink salmon which is also skinless and boneless called “Think Pink” and both kinds with bones and skin.

It is more expensive compared to tuna (about 4 dollars per can) but compared to fresh salmon which can average 20 dollars per pound it’s a deal.  What can you do with canned salmon that is easy?

• Put it in your scrambled eggs for an easy meal
• Make an easy casserole with canned salmon, quinoa, broccoli, carrots, a few eggs and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (I tried this and it was easy and tasty)
• As a salad with olive oil, vinegar/lemon and spices over lettuce

Most anything you do with tuna can be done with salmon.  Why use salmon over tuna?

Here’s a few great reasons - canned salmon:

1. Contains at least 2-4x more omega 3 fats than tuna depending on the brand and type of tuna (1100-1400 for salmon vs. 300 mg-900 mg for regular or wild tuna)
2. Is at least 5-10 times higher in vitamin D than tuna (450-800 IU vs. 80-180)
3. Is a great source of calcium (about 250 mg per 3 ounce versus 15 mg. for tuna)

Pure Alaska Salmon Company has been in business for 45 years and harvests salmon sustainably – you can read their story on their site which also has some great recipes.

Easy, healthy and can sit on your shelf till you’re ready – now that’s something worth blogging about!