Tuna Salad

2 cans EVOO packed tuna

carrot and celery + tops

a little bit of purple onion

6 spears pickled asparagus

3T sun dried tomatoes

2T grainy mustard

enough mayonnaise to hold everything together

Put the tuna and its oil in a medium glass bowl. Chop and add all the vegetables and the rest of the ingredients listed. Mix well. 

This could be served in a wrap, on sourdough bread, with crackers, or on some baby arugula like I did this morning. Paired with chopped tomato and cucumber and a cottage cheese roll was just the perfect combination. . .Lin

Crunchy Tuna Salad

Whenever possible, I buy tuna packed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Then I use it, without draining, for a healthier version of tuna salad. This minimizes the amount of mayo you need to hold everything together.

Use 2 cans with all the chopped vegetables and drained, diced water chestnuts shown in this photo.

Use about 2T each of a good, seedy, brown mustard and mayonnaise. This EVOO might take a little getting used to, but it really is a healthier way to make tuna salad.

If you like the combination of tuna and eggs, add a couple chopped hard boiled eggs for an added protein boost.

This went great with those corn muffins I made the other day. . .Mmmm! . . Lin

Crunchy Tuna-Egg Salad

I woke really hungry this morning. 
This is unusual for me because I often don't eat anything at all until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Since I'm still tying to stay strong with a 16-8 or 18-6 intermittent fasting schedule, I know the earlier we eat, the more efficiently our bodies process whatever food we put in them. So. . .today seems like a good day to initiate a time shift! It'll require much discipline though, since once I start eating...my body's like a crazed food disposal system...I'm sure anyone near me can hear it growling: Give Me MORE! But, hey, it's Monday, and I'm up for the challenge!

For me, going way back to my stressful days working as the Department Secretary for a small city Police Department in Wisconsin, I've found tuna salad to be a surprising comfort food. When my energy was low, or I could feel the grey cloud of anxiety or depression approaching; like the leading edge of a low pressure storm front; I'd take a break - walk down to Subway - and buy a tuna sandwich. With lots of added onions, olives, tomatoes, a big drizzle of EVOO, and sometimes cheese. I swear it worked like a charm, every single time, to restore sanity, balance and calm. Their tuna salad was really good and I was told by a couple employees that it was nothing more than tuna and mayonnaise! Since I'm not a minimalist in regard to food prep, that's a hard concept for me.

This time I stopped to taste it after combining tuna, eggs, mustard and mayo. Yes! It was good! But, I kept thinking how much 'better' it would be with sweet pickle, dill pickle, green onion, yellow bell pepper and of course celery - lots of celery. And I was right, it's great. But, as I said, it was also really good at the first taste test! So, feel free to add as much or little, of all these accoutrements, or even others, as you like. Chopped Kalamata olives are good too. Use this as a guide, rather than an exact how-to-type recipe.

In a bowl, chop together, crosscutting with 2 steak knives :

2 hard boiled eggs

2 5oz. UN-drained cans of tuna in EVOO

1T+ spicy brown mustard

1/2 - 2/3c EVOO mayonnaise

Try it now and stop if the flavors are what you like, or you're short on time and want to keep this simple. Proceed if you want something crunchier with other flavors. Chop and add:

1/4c yellow bell pepper

1 celery heart + greens

4-6 green onions

1/3c sweet pickle

1/3c dill pickle

This was great as breakfast at 8:00 this morning with a side of seasoned grape tomatoes, avocado and tiny sweet potato-corn crackers. Mmmm. Happy Monday Everyone! . .Lin

Crunchy Tuna & Egg Salad

I don't always mix tuna and eggs for this type of salad, but when I do, I love it!

This turned out well and was really nice for a late lunch-early dinner. Especially with those gluten-free rice-pea-black bean crisps.

2 4.5oz. cans tuna packed in EVOO

2 lg. hard boiled eggs

1/3 lg. Vidalia onion

2T fresh lemon juice

1/3c chopped mild, sweet dill pickles

1c chopped celery heart and greens

a big splash of EVOO-apple cider vinaigrette 

I also added 1/3c of my mayo-Dijon mustard-dry dill mixture

It needed a little something, to bring out the flavors. The Steak Seasoning is salt, pepper, garlic and paprika and was just right. The name is deceptive, definitely not just for steak!

Even though it's mid February, still cold, and very wintery here, this was so good and tasted like Spring to me!

This would be good in a whole grain pita (pocket bread), on rice cakes, in a spinach or tomato tortilla wrap with a big leaf of crispy Romaine lettuce, or as stuffing for a big, ripe beefsteak tomato. . .Lin