Functional foods are food frequently considered to be fortified, whole, enhanced or
enriched foods that offer health benefits beyond provision of essential nutrients such as vitamins,
proteins, minerals among others. Functional foods are often consumed at efficacious levels as
part of a varied diet on a regular basis. One of the best functional foods I like is Fatty Fish. Thus
is because it helps in sharpening the mind and strengthening the heart. Besides, it is also good in
belly-flattening. Some of the examples of fatty and oily fish foods include salmon, mackerel,
sardines, tuna and tilapia among others. For this assignment, I am going to focus on Sardines as a
functional food as it is the highest in omega-3 and contains the lowest mercury. The fact that it
has low mercury makes it much healthier compared to other fatty fish such as Tuna which is also
rich in omega-3 but has high mercury level (9 Fatty Fish High In Omega-3 (and Low In
Mercury, 2019).
RECIPE FOR SARDINE AND CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
INCREDIENTS
1 green onion minced
¼ cup minced fresh dill
1 can oil-packed sardines drained
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
¼ minced fresh parsley
8 oz cream cheese softened
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tbsp hot pepper sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
METHOD/PROCEDURE
1. Put all the sardine, cream cheese, onion, 2 tbsp (25ml) parsley, lemon rind, lemon juice,
hot pepper, and pepper sauce in a food processor and blend.
2. Scrap down side of the bowl once or twice.
3. Scrape into serving bowl.
4. Then cover it with a plastic wrap.
5. Thereafter refrigerate for 2 hours (Refrigerate for up to 3 days)
6. Garnish the result with the remaining parsley.
7. Then serve (Kitchen, T. C, 2005).
The preparation of the above recipe has been tremendously successful. The ingredients used
such as pepper, pepper sauce, lemon rind and lemon juice gave the food tasty and more
delicious. Besides, the cheese used made it look silky and gave it a tender texture and moist. My
final product or outcome looked very yummy and attractive. However, for future modification, I
would add a little coconut milk to make a smooth sauce then simmer for about five minutes
before adding it to my drained sardine. This is because coconut oil is good for weight loss, heart
health and also boosts the immune system. The recipe I have just prepared is healthy and
nutritious as it contains both DHA and EPA fats that are not only helpful to the brain and heart
but also reduces inflammation. Also they contain selenium which is needed by the body for
glutathione production (Wells, K., & Wells, K. W, 2019).
References
Wells, K., & Wells, K. W. (2019, July 30). 8 Reasons to Eat Sardines (& How to Make Them
Tasty): Wellness Mama. Retrieved from https://wellnessmama.com/252465/sardines-benefits/
Kitchen, T. C. (2005, July 14). Sardine and Cream Cheese Spread. Retrieved from
https://www.canadianliving.com/food/recipe/sardine-and-cream-cheese-spread
9 Fatty Fish High In Omega-3 (and Low In Mercury). (2019, July 01). Retrieved from
https://www.nutritionadvance.com/fatty-fish/