Tossed Veggies with tomato sardines on toast

Admittedly I'm not the most health conscious eater. I'm not one for diets or placing food restrictions on myself. I have always had a very simple attitude towards food: I eat what I want, when I want without feeling guilty. In trying to be "healthier" I have adjusted this philosophy slightly to: eat what you want, just add healthier elements to your meals. 

So what exactly does that mean? Well simply put, I believe that the root cause of failure in diets is because they are inherently founded on the idea of deprivation. I don't believe in depriving myself. So, in an effort to be "healthier", I still allow myself to eat whatever I happen to be craving but I try to form "healthier" habits in addition. Besides the obvious things like "drinking more water" and "less junk food", I've been trying to make my own lunches and snacks whenever possible. To be honest the hardest part about keeping with this is coming up with new recipes, especially when you're hungry and dying for a bite! In light of this, I've decided to share any healthy meal/snack ideas here on my blog.

The first: Tossed veggies with tomato sardines on toast

Method: 

• Wholegrain bread (slice per serving)
• 1 can of sardines in tomato sauce
• Handful of cherry tomatoes 
• 2-3 yellow squash
• Handful of marinated olives
• Half a lemon
• Extra Virgin olive oil
• Himalayan pink salt & pepper to taste 

Method: 

Firstly, bring a small pot of water to the boil with a pinch of salt. Whilst you're waiting, rising and dry your vegetables.  Depending on the size of your cherry tomatoes, slice them in half and place them in a bowl. Lightly dress the tomatoes with olive oil, salt (tomatoes love salt so you can be a LITTLE bit more generous here then in the rest of the dish) and pepper. Slice the olives in half and mix them in with the tomatoes. Leave this aside for the time being. 

Next cut the squash up into bite size pieces (relatively similar to the size of your cherry tomatoes). Throw these into the boiling water for 3-4 minutes. When they are tender (but still have a bite), rinse them in some cold water to stop the cooking process. 

At this point place a couple of slices of bread in the toaster. 

Now you can mix the squash and in with the tomatoes and olives. Give the entire mix a good toss with a little more olive oil, a spritz of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. 

When the bread is toasted to your liking, drizzle a little olive oil over it before flaking over the tomatoes sauce sardines. Top this off with the vegetable salad and you've got yourself a quick, light and healthy snack! 

Sardines, although they may not sound the most appealing at first, there are many reasons to make them a regular ingredient in your diet.  

• They are an amazing source of calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, protein and potassium. 
• They're affordable. 
• They're good out of the can! 
• They are sustainably fished, which is always a plus! 

If you want a little bit more protein, my pick would be adding a soft boiled egg on top (best to do this before the squash). YUM! 

If you try this out or have any good recipe suggestions, please leave me a comment!