best loaded tuna recipe

Today I'm going to concentrate on one of my favorite poor meals. I call it a poor meal because it's relatively cheap to make compared to how much you get from it.

I'm not a huge fish fan. I'd much rather drink a protein shake and take an omega-3 supplement than eat salmon or cod or any of that stuff. Don't treat me to a lobster dinner, ever. Give me steak or a huge juicy burger any day, but tuna is an exception given its made completely loaded. This is a revision of a recipe I'd found on pinterest that I will link to below. I'd found it on my first search of healthy healthier recipes than I had been eating, and let's just face it, with two boys 3 and younger, anything is healthier than my main squeeze of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. So this is my take on the loaded tuna recipe, adapted to my tastes and what I had on hand. Feel free to adapt it to what you have, your tastes and preferences. Honestly, you can't go wrong. This is the only way I've found to get my three year old to eat more than a nibble of carrots. So it's a win for me.


Loaded tuna recipe:

2 small cans tuna, in water
1 small can olives, chopped or sliced
4 baby carrots or 1 small regular carrot, grated finely
1/2 chopped red onion or about 6 stalks chopped scallions
1/2 cup roasted peppers (these can be roasted at home, how to will be included below the recipe)
1 tbs chia seeds
1/2 grated cucumber, can also be diced very small
2 stalks, cleaned and chopped or diced celery
1tbs shredded fresh ginger root to taste
Garlic, salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbs mustard
2tbs mayo, or whipped dressing like miracle whip


This recipe is super simple. After all the ingredients are chopped, diced, drained, shredded as needed, just add to a bowl, mix and enjoy. I try to make this ahead of time to let it sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours to let all the ingredients make friends with each other, preferably overnight. This is really good the next day after everything gets a chance to settle together. I like it on 100% whole grain bread, whole wheat tortillas are good with it too, just a little red leaf lettuce or some kale wrapped up with it, mmmmhhmmm. Or you could bypass the grain all together and wrap it in some cabbage leaves, yummy. Seriously, this is one of those recipes you feel like should be eaten on a cheat day, but everything is 100% good for lunch on any regular day. The chia seeds in it are so packed with nutrition, antioxidants, I love em. In fact the word "chia" comes from the ancient Mayan word for strength. They also add to the protein punch of this recipe.

So, to roast the peppers in this recipe is super easy. You'll even have some left over if you don't munch on them or add a few slices to your sandwich or wrap like I do. Simply pre-heat your oven. You'llwant it on a low broil. While that's heating up, wash your peppers, not completely necessary since you'll be peeling off the skins, but I like to just to be sure. Then cut open and deseed your pepper, this can be done with any color pepper, my favorites are the red, yellow and orange colored bell peppers. Once they're de-seeded, cut them into strips about 2-3inches in width. This doesn't have to be perfect, it just makes it quicker to peel and chop later. Now, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place your strips skin up, so the inside of the paper is lying on the foil, so none of the strips touch. Place them in your pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes or until you see Browning and bubbling in the skin. Next take your peppers out and wrap them in the foil, place them in a bowl that won't melt and cover them lightly until they cool to the touch. This will take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. After your peppers have cooled enough to handle simply peel off the burnt and bubbling skin,this should be super easy now because you covered them and let the heat and natural liquid of the peppers slough the skin enough for you to just peel it away. For those stubborn spots, take a sparing knife and carefully, very carefully, fillet it off. Now you have your very own roasted peppers to do with whatever you like. This recipe and tons others will be so much tastier with fresh roasted peppers.

Here's the link to the recipe that inspired mine, seriously give hers a try. It's the bomb dot com as well.  
http://parsleysagesweet.com/2014/04/08/loaded-chicken-or-tuna-salad-with-garlic-greek-yogurt-ranch-mayo-and-the-end/

So what do you guys think, did you like this recipe? Have you tried your own? Any variations you would like to share, please comment. I love the feedback.