Why You Should Switch to Pink Salmon!

When I decided to check the nutritional value of one of my favourite lunches, tinned salmon mayo sandwich and crisps, I was quite unprepared for the amazing difference to a tuna mayo sandwich.

Why eat tinned salmon?

So, a while ago I was doing my food diary and I realised I was really lacking in calcium. I checked out the calcium page and there was tinned salmon. (It needs to be the one with the bones for the benefit.) I’m not good with dairy so this seemed like a good choice.

What’s so much better than tuna?

Well while most of the nutritional results are not too far out, there are some amazing differences that are worth making the switch for.

Calcium - Vital for your muscles and bones and is essential for good communication between your cells

• In the salmon mayo sandwich 45% of your RDA (recommended daily amount) compared to 12% for the tuna version.

Vitamin D – For your immune system, muscles, bones and plays an important role in your cell division Essential in the winter months.

• In the salmon mayo sandwich 45% of your RDA (recommended daily amount) compared to 17% for the tuna version.

Omega 3DHA/EPA - It is a fatty acid which contributes to the normal functioning of your heart and brain and normal blood pressure.

• In the salmon mayo sandwich is 207% of your RDA (recommended daily amount) compared to 62% for the tuna version.

Anyway I loved tuna mayo sandwiches so I thought I’ll just switch, but the taste was quite different and I was like, ooh I’m not sure about that. So I started by having half tuna and half salmon and gradually phased out the tuna altogether. Now I don't even notice I'm not eating tuna!

Why have a packet of crisps?

Now, most people shy away from a packet of crisps because they think they're bad for you, but they're usually fried in sunflower oil or a mix of sunflower and rapeseed oil, both of which are great for vitamin E.

• One packet will give you 20% of your RDA. Add that to the vitamin E in the sandwich and you’re getting just over 50% of your RDA. 

Vitamin E is one of those vitamins that can be quite hard to get your RDA for, so this is a great big plus.

Conclusion

If you and your kids love tuna mayo sandwiches start making the switch to tinned salmon. Do what I did and introduce it slowly.

The health benefits associated with the extra vitamins are amazing. And for kids, getting that extra vitamin D is a God send.

A note on portion size

For my experiment I used the exact same portion sizes, but in reality I would use half a tin of either fish for my sandwich. A tin of tuna is smaller than a tin of salmon, so if you did this the salmon sandwich would come out even better.

Keeping a food diary

If like me you want to keep a food diary so you can see what you might need more of then check out our free for life account, sign up above.