Guest Post: A Nordic Fish Breakfast

Last week I was on twitter and a tweet by Dietitian Jennifer McGuire @JenniferMcG_RD caught my eye, it was sardines with brie titled nordic breakfast. I just adored the idea of having a healthy fish for breakfast its lean, high in protein and omega 3 fatty acids. So me being me shot her and email and asked for a guest post on the topic and she kindly obliged. She is actually quite an expert on fish and is the dietitian for The National Fishing Institute. 

I remember as a child sometimes having kippers on toast with butter for breakfast. Kippers are smoked herrings. We are headed to the UK next week and for a week staying with my parents in Scotland, where I went to High School and University. We plan to head to the Highlands for a weekend, I really want to show this amazing place to my hubby and Jasmine. When I was looking at the area, I read about kippers from the west coast and it got me hungry. Its on my list of foods to eat when home, and I hope after this post you may consider fish for breakfast :-) 

My interest in Nordic breakfasts sprung from jetlag-induced confusion.  I was in Norway a couple weeks ago with the Norwegian Seafood Export Council to learn about the delicious fish responsibly harvested from the cold, deep waters surrounding Norway’s 50,000 miles of coastline.  Norway is just about halfway around the world from where I live on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and the time difference is exactly twelve hours.  So when I woke up for breakfast on the first day in Norway at 8am, back home dinner was being served.  As a dietitian and lover of wholesome, tasty food, dinner equals seafood at least twice a week.  To close the gap between my geographic location in Norway and physiologic orientation in Hawaii, I chose seafood for breakfast.

The sunrise seafood offerings I saw at the beautiful breakfast bars in Norway were smoked mackerel, smoked salmon, and sardines.  There were also a variety of cheeses and hearty whole-grain breads.  After a bit of indecision because there are few foods I adore more than seafood and cheese, I opted for a slice of Swiss and smoked mackerel.  By the time my trip was over, I started to crave a savory punch of protein each morning, and tried just about every scrumptious seafood and cheese combo the hotels had to offer.

Back home in Hawaii, cereal sounded a little unsatisfying.  So I decided to keep up the healthy habit of fish for breakfast at least once a week.  So far I’ve paired sardines with brie...

…and mackerel with tomatoes and cucumbers.  They both took about three minutes to make, because all the fish are available in tins or pouches.

In addition to boosting my omega-3 levels, Nordic breakfasts are a little memento of the amazing experiences I had visiting Norway.  I can safely say I will not be wearing a wool coat and scarf in Hawaii, so the seafood breakfasts are the best reminder I’ve got.

For more fish tips and to follow Jennifer -



@JenniferMcG_RD Oahu
Seafood-loving dietitian for the National Fisheries Institute. From Texas, lucky enough to live on Oahu.
http://www.blogaboutseafood.com

Has anyone else ever had fish for breakfast?