Tuscan Style Tuna Salad

This day has been pretty good even though it's cold and icy outside. I've felt very motivated today, motivated to eat something besides frozen food. Yes, it's quick, yes it's convenient, but it's not cheap and it's not as good as fresh homemade food. I started off the day with a 3 minute oatmeal cookie. The ones I fixed today had dried cranberries, dried apples and chopped walnuts. I had a little dried mixed fruit, so I picked out the cranberries and apples to use in my cookies. I fixed 2 cookies, but I only ate one with a sliced pink lady apple which I nearly forgot about having. I also added a little extra cinnamon. I love these cookies. They're lightly sweet and remind me of a soft granola bar. Fruit and nuts are 2 of my favorite things to eat for breakfast.

There were golden raisins, regular raisin and apricots in the mix.

This is fruit I wanted for my cookies, the dried cranberries and apples.

Lunch was also very good. I'd gotten a recipe several days ago for Tuscan-Style Tuna Salad, which sounded pretty good and it seemed simple enough, so today I decided to make it. I didn't go exactly by the recipe, because I had to use what I had on hand and what I had wasn't exactly what the recipe called for, but was close enough. 

My version didn't have cherry tomatoes or scallions. I used a little chopped tomato, which I'm sure would have been better had it been homegrown, and a little chopped onion; everything else was the same. I used navy beans, because that's what I had, I probably would have used Northern beans, if I'd had them. I also halved the recipe, which was fairly simple if you have something else to use the half can of leftover beans for, which won't be a problem for me. I had the tuna salad in a wrap with fresh broccoli and marinated Portabella mushrooms and red bell peppers on the side. 

I liked the recipe. I wish I would have had some spinach and fresh homegrown tomatoes. I sure it would have been even better. I will also make it with the scallions next time, because, I like scallions. The broccoli and marinated mushrooms went very well with it. 

Tuscan-Style Tuna Salad

From EatingWell.com : April/May 2005, The EatingWell Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook (2006)

This streamlined version of a northern Italian idea is perfect for a summer evening: no-fuss, no-cook and big taste. You can even make it ahead and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for several days. If you do, use it as a wrap filling for the next day's lunch.

4 servings, 1 cup each | Active Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 6-ounce cans chunk light tuna, drained (see Note)
• 1 15-ounce can small white beans, such as cannellini or great northern, rinsed (see Ingredient note)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 4 scallions, trimmed and sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Combine tuna, beans, tomatoes, scallions, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir gently. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Per serving : 253 Calories; 8 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 53 mg Cholesterol; 20 g Carbohydrates; 31 g Protein; 6 g Fiber; 453 mg Sodium; 451 mg Potassium

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 1/2 very lean meat, 1 fat

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

• Note: Chunk light tuna, which comes from the smaller skipjack or yellowfin, has less mercury than canned white albacore tuna. The FDA/EPA advises that women who are or might become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children consume no more than 6 ounces of albacore a week; up to 12 ounces of canned light tuna is considered safe.
• Ingredient Note: When you use canned beans in a recipe, be sure to rinse them first in a colander under cold running water, as their canning liquid often contains a fair amount of sodium.

After lunch I had a cup of hot chocolate made with 2% milk, baking cocoa and peppermint syrup from World Market. I like being able to control the sweetness. I like this much better than pre-made cocoa mix.

I've had yummy food all day and dinner was no exception. I've been wanting Chinese food forever and frozen stir fry veggies just don't cut it. I did fix a simple meal though, using Ramen oriental noodles and fresh broccoli, carrots, baby portabellas, and onion. I cooked the noodles and added the seasoning packet, fried a scrambled egg and chopped it up, and I cut up the fresh veggies, threw them in a hot pan with oil, a little garlic, ginger and sea salt, then I put everything together. It was very good, the closest thing to real Chinese food, I've had in forever and it looked so much better than those frozen stir fry veggies. 

Doesn't that look better that the frozen stuff?

For dessert, I had some Ritz crackers with jalapeno jelly and cream cheese. Mom had gotten a little jar from Yoder's Amish Market that was different from the other I've tried. I decided to try it tonight. It was better than the first kind I tried which was the Reese Hot Pepper Jelly. I loved the red color of the Reese, but it was very sweet. The kind I tried tonight was Mrs. Miller's. It wasn't as sweet and was very good, but it came in a tiny little (sample) jar, which is now gone, lol. 

I enjoyed everything I ate today. It was a good food day. I just love those, don't you? What's the best thing you've eaten lately or ever? I'd love some good food ideas.