Omega 3s -Yes! You CAN enjoy them! No, Really!

This week, Stephanie and I are tackling a topic I’ve dreaded, omega 3s. I don’t specifically have anything against the little buggers, truly, it’s just that the primary ways of getting them is by eating fish. And I hate fish. I mean I HAAAAAAATE fish. I don’t know if I’ve told you about the diving chicken story, but my parents have been trying to get me to eat fish for years and I flat out refuse. The only exception I make is sushi. Yeah I know, I’m weird like that, but it’s a textural thing as well as a flavor thing. I’m convinced that 99% of the draw to sushi for me is the wasabi.
Anyway, I really hate fish, and Stephanie keeps trying to make me eat it because its good for you or something.

There are ways to get omega 3s without cooking up some fish

but they scare me.

And this is why. I don’t know if I want anchovy and sardine oil in my peanut butter, and I really don’t want to know what tilapia gelatin is.

Lets get the fish stuff out of the way first, shall we?

I made a salmon salad

I poached a 5.5 ounce salmon fillet

Then I flaked it up. No, not like how I normally flake, but with a fork like this…

By the way….. See all those wet spots on the fork there? See how shiny that meat is? That’s that “good fat” that’s all the rage.
Mix this with 1/2 – 1 tablespoon of mayo. You really don’t need much because of said fat.
Slice a green onion, and chop up a small sprig of dill and throw that in too and mix it up with a little salt to taste, and for fun, and because I love them, I throw in some flax seeds. Like about a teaspoon or two.
You can eat this as it, on crackers, or you can make a sandwich out of it.

I also made a tuna salad:

Take a 6 ounce tuna steak, dry it off, and sprinkle it with some salt. -have you noticed I don’t tend to use a lot of pepper? I don’t have anything against it, I’m just too lazy to grind, I guess. If you like pepper, go ahead and pepper whatever you want.
Ok back to the tuna… After you do this:

Drizzle a little oil- just a tiny bit in a pan and sear the fish.

Then flip it over.
Note, the longer you cook it, the fishier (totally making it a word) it will smell and taste.

Then slice it up and use it to top a salad that is made up of:

1 cup mixed greens
1 tbls feta
Small handful of walnuts
And a tablespoon of the lemon vinaigrette I made the other day. You will actually have enough tuna to make two salads.

I have to say, I really liked this salad a lot. Really, really liked it, even though it was nasty fish, and all, I would eat this again. Well, I WOULD have, except by the time I finished my salad, I noticed my lips were a little numb and swollen. Actually I noticed this before I finished, but hey, it was tasty, and I’m smart, so I kept on eating it. It’s healthy, right? By the time I finished, I was burning up, sweating, my lips were swollen and felt like rubber, and the sides of my face from my eyes, down my neck were itchy and blotchy, and swelling. I called the hubs, and told him to go ahead and make his way home, by the way, the itching was in my ear/throat now) he did, and the swelling went down. This was a perfect ending to a horrible day by the way. I thought about going to the ER, but I had already been that morning because my little guy decided to run away from me, and I had been blocking the stairs, but as I chased him, he saw an opening and went for it, and fell down the stairs. He is fine. I was more shaken up than he was I think. Anyway, I didn’t really want to go back and find out if they offered a frequent flyer card, or a two for one deal.
Long story longer, the meal was good. Even for fish that I’ve apparently developed an allergy to.

Ok, that’s enough fish for a while.

Y’all also know I like a smoothie. You can put a lot of nutrition in it, and no one is the wiser.

This one is easy just throw the following into a blender:
1/3 cup blueberries
1/4 cup raspberries
2 tsp flax seeds
1 tbs Greek yogurt
1tbs peanut butter (with or without anchovy oil and tilapia paste, that’s your call there)

Blend it all up, and enjoy!

Now for my favorite dish this time. I like nachos, who DOESN’T? But you can even add extra omega 3s to a dish like this, did you know?
Take a sheet tray lined with foil, and place about 30 tortilla chips on it. I used tortilla scoops here, but whatever is fine.

Then top with about 1 cup of shredded Colby jack cheese. Do yourself a favor, use real cheese and shred your own. Don’t buy the bag of already shredded cheese. Have you ever read the ingredients on a bag like that? It’s not all cheese, and to me, that’s a red flag.

Then bake them at 375 until the cheese melts.

Pull them out and top with:
8 oz kidney beans
1 tablespoon of flax seeds.
1 diced tomato
Two sliced green onions
Then pile them up

And top with a spoonful of guacamole and a spoonful of Greek yogurt. I use thus in place of sour cream, and no one is any the wiser.

I hope this has encouraged you to go out there and try something a little healthier. You can make small changes by adding just a few ingredients to meals you already eat, to make them work for you. Make your food work for you, not you for it. You can make bigger changes to ensure your food is working for you.

Now that you’re ready to add some omega 3 to your diet, and your fired up about it, go check out Stephanie’s page to see what Omega 3s do, any why you need them.