Easy Avocado Tuna Salad

Let me introduce you to your new favorite healthy snack: Easy Avocado Tuna Salad. My quest for an easy and healthy snack lead me to The Healthy Maven’s recipe for tuna salad. I made a few tweaks, and immediately became hooked.

Although I’d love to nosh on cheese and crackers all afternoon long—and believe me I could with the entire cheese drawer in our refridgerator stuffed full of decandent cheese—my waistline and my dietitian (and of course by dietitian I mean the internet), confirm that this is not the snack of champions. And that is how I arrived at a delicious and healthy alternative to the classic tuna salad. Hardcore health nuts and weight lifters will eat tuna straight from the can. I’m not that hardcore. Not even close. But I don’t eat mayo. See my dilemma? Enter avocado, stage right. The tangy flavor of Dijon mustard mixed with refreshing apple and crunchy celery, plus a dash of spice and citrus, and voilà! A simple, healthy and flavorful snack was born.

This is culinary greatness in my book. Easy, few and fresh ingredients, healthy, and cheap. Yep, culinary greatness by all accounts. Get ready to toss out that unhealthy version for this Easy Avocado Tuna Salad.

Easy Avocado Tuna Salad
Here’s what you’ll need:

1 large ripe avocado
2 cans of chunk light tuna in water, drained
1/2 cup chopped scallions (green parts only)
2/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 green apple, chopped
1 heaping tsp. dried dill weed
1 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
Juice of one lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Makes 4-6 servings.

1. Peel and pit the avocado and place in a medium bowl, then mash it up with the back of a fork.
2. Add in tuna, scallions, celery and apple. Mix until just combined.
3. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
4. Serve as a healthy snack on top of crackers or cucumber, or enjoy spread between two slices of bread for the perfect sandwich any time of day.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Printable recipe

Vegetarian Leftover Pasta Frittata

Fridge odds and ends, meet leftover pasta. Leftover pasta, meet frittata. And that’s how Vegetarian Leftover Pasta Frittata is born. This is a take on Just a Taste’s Leftover Pasta Frittata in which whatever leftover pasta you have from the night before is transformed into today’s heavenly breakfast packed with protein, veggies and carbohydrates. This dish is perfect after a long run or bike ride. In fact, my husband and I devoured the entire panful following our Tuesday morning calorie-crushing long run.

This recipe is a base to work from. So grab whatever veggies are on the brink of no return, whatever cheese is lingering in your cheese drawer (everyone has one of those, right?! A drawer that is so chalk full to the brim with cheese that a bag always catches when opening and closing it?!), and last night’s pasta and get ready to devour your own take on Kelly’s masterpiece!

Vegetarian Leftover Pasta Frittata
Here’s what you’ll need (Remember this is just a base to work from, get creative!):

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup orange bell pepper, diced
1 roma tomato, diced
2 large baby bella mushrooms, chopped
¼ cup green onion, diced
1 small handful spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup leftover pasta from last night (any pasta will do; we used angel hair)
2 eggs
¾ cup egg whites
¼ cup feta cheese
Italian seasoning (or whatever you typically season your eggs with)
sea salt
black pepper

Makes one medium skillet full; about 4 servings

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg whites until combined. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Add the extra virgin olive oil to a medium skillet and heat on medium-high. Once hot, add all of your veggies except the spinach. Season veggies with Italian seasoning to taste. Cook until just slightly tender. Now add the spinach and pasta and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Note: If using a stringy pasta like angel hair or spaghetti, “fluff” the pasta before adding to the skillet so it isn’t one big clump in the center of your frittata.
3. Pour the eggs into the pan. As the eggs begin to set, slightly lift the mixture up at the edges to ensure any uncooked egg flows to the bottom. Cover and continue to cook until the eggs are well set and the bottom has slightly browned.
4. Remove the frittata using a rubber spatula and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with feta cheese and cut into slices to devour!

Buon Appetito! 

Printable recipe

Eggs in Purgatory

Simple, healthy, and delicious—the three criteria I live by for creating or following a recipe. Eggs in purgatory hit all of those marks. Plus, this dish whips up in no time!

The main ingredient is cauliflower, but don’t let that deter you from making this dish if you don’t usually like it. In fact, you probably won’t even realize that you’re eating cauliflower. That’s because its beautifully masked by the spicy crushed tomatoes and other ingredients.

I tried to find the origin of eggs in purgatory, or shakshuka as its called in North Africa and the Middle East, but apparently several cultures have laid claim to its creation. Although its origins may be a bit murky, whoever invented it sure did us all a favor! 😉

This is a perfect dish to make on a Saturday or Sunday morning, for brunch or even dinner—heck, anytime of day is perfect for making and devouring this dish! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 💜

Eggs in Purgatory
Here’s what you’ll need:

1 small (or ½ of a medium) head of cauliflower, cut into ½-inch pieces
fine-grain sea salt
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with peppers, onions, and garlic—salsa style
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 eggs
marjoram leaves for garnish
(optional—for spice lovers) red pepper flakes

Makes one large skillet full; about 2-4 servings.

1. In a large pot, boil the cauliflower in salted water (a dash of sea salt will do) for one minute. Cauliflower should be barely tender.
2. In a medium bowl, add the flour. Drain cauliflower, shaking off any excess water, and toss with the flour in your medium bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet (a cast iron skillet is ideal, but not necessary), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Take the floured cauliflower, tapping off extra flour, and place into the skillet being careful not to burn yourself. Arrange in a single layer and cook until golden, 4-5 minutes, flipping from time to time to evenly cook and make golden.
4. Stir in tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer. (Spice lovers: sprinkle red pepper flakes all over cauliflower and sauce mixture. Keep in mind a little goes a long way!)
5. Using a spoon, make small pockets for the eggs near the outer edges of the skillet. Break eggs into the pockets you just made and place a cover over skillet. Cook until the eggs are set (4-5 minutes). Serve immediately, garnishing with the marjoram.

Enjoy!

Printable recipe

This dish was inspired by Heidi Swanson’s recipe in her book, Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel.

Follow me on Twitter: @LibbeyC and Instagram: @ironwomandiaries

Mango, Avocado, & Rice Spring Rolls

What’s better than delicious? Because whatever that is, describes just how amazing these spring rolls are. Seriously, I could have eaten EVERY SINGLE ONE! I think you’ll find that these are super easy to make, full of good-for-you fresh ingredients, and an easy recipe to swap or omit the ingredients you don’t like, don’t have, or can’t find.

There are three main keys to follow when making these spring rolls:

1. Slice your ingredients thin (see image below).
2. Don’t over-stuff. Doing so will likely cause your rice wrapper to tear, or make it rather difficult to eat.
3. Roll tightly. Practice makes perfect and it may take you a couple of tries to really get the hang of rolling these. Good thing is, no one is judging you by how they look, just how delicious they taste!

Thinly sliced ingredients for spring rolls.

Although I’m calling these ‘mango, avocado, & spring rice rolls,’ don’t be fooled. There are a few other essential ingredients to round out this recipe into a super healthy and flavorful dish.

I love this peanut sauce and these spring roll wrappers were perfect, too!

Mango, Avocado, & Rice Spring Rolls
Here’s what you’ll need:

10 spring roll wrappers (approx. 9-in. rounds)
1 cup, packed, baby spinach
1 cup purple flowering kale, stems removed (You may find this particular ingredient hard to find. No worries, though, simply omit it from this recipe.)
½ yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced (Check out these instructions if you are unsure how best to cut a mango. Unlike these instructions, however, keep your slices thin and long, not thick and cubed.)
1 avocado, pit removed, peeled, and thinly sliced (Check out these instructions if you are unsure how best to cut an avocado.)
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
¾ cup cooked jasmine rice
Spicy peanut dipping sauce: Tsang® Bangkok Peanut Sauce (or another peanut sauce of your choice)

Makes 10 spring rolls

1. Fill a wide-mouth bowl (or improvise and use a sauté pan!) with warm water. Take one rice paper wrapper and dip it into the water. Let it soak 10-15 seconds or until the rice paper becomes soft and pliable. Remove from water, letting the excess water drip into the bowl, and place on a clean surface or wet tea towel.
2. Fill the bottom third of the rice paper wrapper with two spinach leaves and flowering kale leaves, one yellow and one orange pepper strip, 1-2 strips of mango and avocado, and two teaspoon sized spoonfuls of jasmine rice. Finish by generously sprinkling cilantro on top of other ingredients.
3. Fold the bottom of the rice wrapper, up. Then fold in both sides and roll paper tightly, upwards, to form a neat roll shape. Set roll aside.
4. Repeat process with each rice paper wrapper until you have 10 neatly rolled spring rolls.
5. Serve immediately alongside spicy peanut dipping sauce.

Another excellent add-in is sautéed shrimp. Lightly sauté 6-7 medium-sized shrimp in olive oil over medium heat. Allow for shrimp to cool slightly before handling.

Có một bữa ăn ngon! (“Have a nice meal” translated in Vietnamese)

Printable recipe

Joe, master spring roll roller.

This recipe is my own, if you repurpose or share this recipe please link to this page and give IronwomanDiaries credit. Thanks!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Happy World Vegan Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In honor of World Vegan Day, I wanted to share with you my favorite green juice recipe. Green juice is an excellent source of nutrition and a super easy way to add in more vegetables to your diet. Green juice is how I start every morning. It’s my current healthy addiction!

But before I share that with you, I also feel compelled to say, no matter what diet you choose, as long as you are making healthy choices, that’s really all that matters. I don’t question why you drink milk or eat meat. I don’t look down on you for doing so. I’m not asking you to understand why I don’t eat those things, I’m just asking you to accept it. You don’t have to ask me why I chose to become vegan like it’s the most foreign concept you’ve ever heard. People choose a certain diet and lifestyle for all different reasons. My choices are based on what I believe to be the healthiest for me. In all honesty, I’m no longer 100% vegan, BUT, that doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate today. Many aspects of my diet are vegan. I choose healthy! All I ask is if you aren’t vegetarian or vegan, the next time you find out a friend is, just respond with “awesome” and move on. Don’t ask how they get their protein, why they chose that diet, or what they eat in a day. We don’t hound you about your diet or preach to you why you shouldn’t be eating meat. Just food for thought, that I needed to say. 😊 💜

Green Juice

This recipe works best using a masticating juicer, but any juicer will do. Don’t try using a blender as this will be extremely thick and way too much! (This is the juicer we have and love it!)

1 lemon, peeled
1 lime, peeled
2-3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
4 celery stalks
2 cucumbers, peeled
3 kale leaves
3 purple kale leaves
5 red leaf lettuce leaves
½ cup parsely
1-1in x 1in cube of fresh ginger, peeled
4 pink crisps apples

Makes 6, 1-cup servings

Rinse all ingredients and cut larger ones into manageable sizes that will fit into the top of the juicer. Feed all ingredients into your juicer. Note: it doesn’t matter in what order you feed the ingredients into the juicer as they will all blend together in the end. Store juice in a large mason jar in the refrigerator for up to three days.

I also hope you’ll explore some of the great vegan recipes I’ve shared on my blog!

• Healthy, Homemade Muesli
• Vegan Pumpkin Soup [from scratch]
• Vegan Lemon-Raspberry Scones
• Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

This recipe is my own, if you repurpose or share this recipe please link to this page and give IronwomanDiaries credit. Thanks!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.