When Your Skin Feels Ugly, Eat Like This (A Note on Sardines)
By The Well Edit x Happy Skin Kitchen
There’s a quiet renaissance happening in the tinned fish aisle. Sardines are suddenly chic again. They’re on café menus, Substacks, TikTok lunch routines and wellness roundups that promise glowing skin and better brains. But at The Well Edit HQ (also known as El’s kitchen), this isn’t a trend. It’s a habit.
Long before sardines became a social-media darling, they were a regular, no-fuss staple in our fridge. Not because they’re fashionable, but because they work. For skin, hormones, longevity and that elusive balance between feeling nourished and not needing a lie-down after lunch.
This is the kind of recipe we come back to again and again. Minimal effort. Maximum return. The sort of lunch you can assemble between meetings that still feels intentional, chic and quietly virtuous.
Why Sardines, and Why Now?
Sardines are one of those rare foods that tick almost every nutritional box without asking you to micromanage your life. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, which support skin barrier function, reduce inflammation and help calm the low-grade stress responses that show up on our faces first.
They’re also naturally high in vitamin D, selenium and calcium, nutrients that matter for immunity, bone health and cellular repair. Unlike larger oily fish, sardines sit low on the food chain, meaning lower mercury exposure and a more sustainable choice overall.
In short, they’re small but mighty. The kind of food that aligns perfectly with the Well Edit philosophy: less optimisation theatre, more intelligent basics done well.
Skin Food Disguised as Lunch
This salad is a skin-supporting formula masquerading as a very good lunch. The fats from sardines, avocado and extra virgin oil help with nutrient absorption and support the lipid layer of the skin. Tomatoes bring lycopene, cucumber hydrates, red onion supports detoxification pathways, and capers add a hit of polyphenols and salt that makes everything taste better.
It’s also naturally low in sugar, blood-sugar friendly and deeply satiating. No post-lunch crash. No constant grazing. Just that calm, steady energy that makes the afternoon feel manageable.
The Recipe We Keep Coming Back To
Serves 1
Ingredients
1 tin of sardines (we love Fish4Ever)
1/4 cucumber, sliced
A handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
A handful of olives, chopped
A handful of capers
For the dressing
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil (currently obsessed with Hunter & Gather extra virgin avocado oil)
1 tsp whole grain mustard
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
method
Method
Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl until emulsified. Add the salad ingredients to a larger bowl, gently flake in the sardines, pour over the dressing and mix well. Eat immediately, ideally with good light and no emails.
A Quiet Kind of Wellness
There’s something grounding about meals like this. They don’t shout. They don’t promise transformation in seven days. They simply support the body in the background, day after day.
As sardines step into the spotlight, we’ll happily applaud. But we’ll also keep doing what we’ve always done: choosing foods that make us feel well, look well and live well, long after the trend cycle moves on.
Because sometimes the most modern wellness choice is the one that’s been working all along.
Recipe by Elisa Rossi for The Well Edit.
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