10 Minute Tuna Salad
Growing up I had tuna salad in my lunch box far more than what was socially acceptable… Thanks mom.
Tuna mixed with relish and mayo, plus a side of crackers for scooping.
It’s quick, easy and a great source of protein.
Even as an adult it’s a solid go to, but I’ve made a few tweaks because it can often be made with inflammatory oils and high mercury farmed fish.
With just a couple simple swaps you can turn your classic tuna salad into a quick and healthy staple meal!
1. Use healthy fats. Most commercial mayo is made with canola/rapeseed oil or grapeseed oil. Both of these are highly inflammatory.Instead, use a mayonaisse that’s made with avocado oil like, Primal Kitchen or Chosen Foods. Or better yet, make some yourself! You can even ditch the mayo altogether and use extra virgin olive oil, an olive oil based salad dressing or a mashed avocado.
2. Add vegetables! I’m always look for ways to add more vegetables onto my plate for fiber and phytonutrients. For this I like something crunchy like celery and cucumbers. Onions are also great. I use green onions in this recipe but red onion would be tasty too. For even more veggies, use cucumbers or celery to scoop up the tuna or serve on a bed of greens.
3. Find a low mercury tuna. Tuna is a large fish and can accumulate a lot of mercury in its system. Mercury is toxic to us in high levels so it’s good to be aware of your consumption. Plus, it’s just one more thing for the body to detox, so why add more stress if you don’t need to.
Mercury is more prevelent in large and old fish that have had more time to accumulate more of this heavy metal in their system.
A good rule of thumb is to stick with fish that can fit in your pan when whole. This way you get the most benefit from the fish with healthy omega-3’s, protein, vitamins and minerals without the heavy metals.
But, since tuna would not fall into that category, there are some brands that test for high mercury levels and only use fish that have tested below a certain amount. Safe Catch tuna is my favorite. Skipjack tuna is also known to have naturally lower mercury levels, if you can’t find Safe Catch.
Make this salad asap and let me know how much you love it by tagging me on Instagram @alannadesalvonutrition
Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 1 6 oz can low mercury tuna
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (use a mayo that's made with avocado or olive oil)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
- 2 scallions chopped
- 1 stock celery diced
- 1/2 persian cucumber diced
Instructions
- Drain the liquid from the canned tuna. Add tuna to a bowl.
- Add mayo, olive oil, black pepper, and hemp seeds to the bowl and mix to combine.
- Add scallions, celery, and cucumber to the bowl and mix once more to combine.
- Serve with grain free crackers, more cucumber slices, or mixed greens tossed with lemon juice. Enjoy!
