Easiest Sardine Salad

Some days the win is just feeding yourself something real before the afternoon gets away from you. This is the lunch for those days. It is one plate, 10 minutes, no stove, and it carries more nourishment than most things that fast. Having a default meal you can throw together without thinking is its own kind of support during elimination.

Sardines are humble and quietly remarkable. They are a source of omega-3 fatty acids and selenium, and because they are small fish low on the food chain, they tend to carry less of the burden that worries people about larger fish. The romaine and radicchio add folate and a pleasant bitterness, and the shredded carrot brings a little color and beta-carotene. This is real food doing real work for a body that is trying to settle.

A note worth sitting with: canned fish is high in histamine, and not everyone tolerates it the same way. If histamine is part of your picture, start small and pay attention to how you feel. And when you open the can, take a second with it. There is a small dignity in eating a whole fish, bones and all, nothing wasted.

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 cup chopped radicchio
• 1/2 carrot, shredded
• 2 canned sardines (choose a can with no non-Core ingredients: no added spices, no tomato sauce, no soy or canola oil; olive-oil-packed and wild-caught are best)
• 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley

Vinaigrette:

• 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• a pinch of sea salt

Method

Layer the chopped romaine and radicchio on a plate. Scatter the shredded carrot over the greens, lay the sardines on top, and add the chopped parsley.

Drizzle the olive oil and apple cider vinegar over everything and finish with a pinch of salt. No cooking, no waiting. Eat right away.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*