Healthy Meal of the Week: Spicy Tuna Salad
Leftover Idea: Tuna Cracker Sandwiches
For a healthy meal with a twist, here’s one that your family may come to really love especially when you can create a leftover meal that’s easily portable and ready to take with you if need be. Hopefully you enjoy spicy foods for this meal puts a twist on the traditional manner of preparing tuna by substituting the mayonnaise for mustard and Tapatio. Truth be told, the most unhealthy component of tuna as it’s typically eaten is the mayonnaise which is a whopping 100 calories PER tablespoon! If you’re able to do away with it, or use the bare minimum, tuna has the potential to be an excellent option to eat.
Therefore, instead of the amount of mayo you generally use to mix with tuna, you can substitute mustard (only 5 calories per serving) in its place. When you toss in a few squirts of Tapatio hot sauce (or other preferred brand), you really won’t miss that fattening mayo anyways since your taste buds with be enjoying the spiciness all too much.
Equipment Needed
– medium-sized bowl for mixing
– can opener for tuna
Cooking Time
– 10 mins prep
Ingredients
(6 servings)
– 4 5oz. cans tuna (in water)
– salad greens of your liking
– 6 tbsp mustard
– seasoned salt and pepper to taste
– Tapatio hot sauce to taste
For Leftover Tuna Cracker Sandwiches:
– saltine crackers
– low fat mozzarella cheese slices (optional)
Directions
1. This is a really simple meal to prepare. Start out by carefully opening the cans of tuna and drain the water out completely. You can use a colander to help with this or press the lid down into the can, hold tightly and turn upside down over the sink. Most of the water will empty leaving the precious tuna in the can. Just be sure to hold tight and watch out for sharp edges so you don’t cut your fingers.
2. Put tuna (minus the water) into a bowl large enough to mix well without the contents spilling over the edge.
3. Add the mustard, a few squirts of Tapatio, a dash of seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Mix well with a fork. Sample a bit to see what you think. You can then add more of something if need be.
4. Wash and chop the lettuce you’re going to use, and also take this opportunity to cut/add any vegetables you want to include in your salad. Just remember you will be adding 1-2 scoops of tuna afterwards so keep that in mind.
5. Once your salad is prepared just the way you like it, add 1-2 heaping spoonfuls of your spicy tuna concoction. You will find that no salad dressing is needed. As you eat, try to include a bit of tuna with the salad greens mixture with each bite and you will have an explosion of flavors in your mouth.
Leftover Meal Idea:
Here’s a simple treat you can easily take with you to work the following day. Best yet, the total for this meal is only around 250 calories or you can tack on extra 100 if you plan on having a fruit with this meal, still 350 calories is great for a meal.
All you’ll need to do is scoop 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of spicy tuna into a plastic travel container and seal with a lid. Put your Saltine crackers (or equivalent) into a ziploc bag and place both packages in your refrigerator until needed. You’ll be ready to go in an instant!