300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (29 page)

I've always loved the bright, sunny flavors of lemon and capers in foods cooked “piccata.” This is my way of adding those Mediterranean flavors to tuna salad.

1 can (5 ounces, or 140 g) tuna, drained

1/2 cup (80 g) diced sweet red onion (50 g)

2 stalks celery, diced

1/3 cup (20 g) chopped parsley

1 tablespoon (9 g) capers

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 tablespoon (14 ml) mayonnaise

Just drain the tuna, put it in a bowl with the onion, celery, parsley, and capers, and mix. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and mayonnaise and stir it together until it's thoroughly combined. It's nice to serve this on a bed of lettuce, but it's not essential.

Yield:
2 servings, each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 19 grams of protein.

It's only 214 calories per serving if you use water packed tuna.

Curried Tuna Salad

This is good as-is or as an omelet filling (see
page 37
).

1/2 cup (55 g) slivered almonds

2 tablespoons (28 g) plus 1/2 teaspoon butter

1 large stalk celery, diced

1 scallion, sliced

I can (6 ounces, or 170 g) tuna, drained

2 tablespoons (30 g) sour cream

2 tablespoons (28 g) mayonnaise

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3/4 teaspoon curry powder

Sauté the almonds in 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the almonds are golden. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Dice the celery and slice the scallion, open and drain the tuna, and combine them all in a mixing bowl. Add the sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, and pepper.

In your smallest skillet, melt the last 1/2 teaspoon of butter and sauté the curry powder in it, over medium heat, for just a minute (this brings out the full flavor of the curry). Scrape the curry butter into the salad and mix until the curry is well-distributed throughout. Stir in the almonds and serve.

Yield:
If you serve this as a salad—over a bed of greens is nice—this makes 2 servings, each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 22 grams of protein.

Tuna “Rice” Salad

Can you tell I like tuna?

1/2 head cauliflower

I can (5 ounces, or 140 g) tuna

2 tablespoons (28 ml) lime juice

I can (2 1/2 ounces, or 70 g) sliced ripe olives, drained

I can (14 ounces, or 390 g) quartered artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 cup (115 g) mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Run the cauliflower through the shredding blade of your food processor. Put it in a microwaveable casserole with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (28 to 45 ml) of water, cover, and nuke on High for 7 minutes.

While that's happening, combine the tuna, lime juice, olives, artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, and dill. When the cauliflower is done, pull it out of the microwave, drain it, and toss it in with everything else.

Obviously, if you don't like a warm salad, you'll have to chill this—but that takes more than 15 minutes! And it sure tastes good warm. If you really want it cooled quickly, you could put the cauliflower “rice” in a strainer and run cold water over it for a minute.

Yield:
3 servings, each with 12 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 11 grams of usable carbs and 16 grams of protein.

San Diego Tuna Salad

Yes, you really can get all of this—including the
Guacamole Dressing
—done in 15 minutes!

1 batch Guacamole Dressing (see
page 298
)

12 cups (684 g) bagged mixed greens

2/3 cup (70 g) sliced ripe olives

1/2 cup (80 g) diced sweet red onion

1 cup (70 g) sliced mushrooms

8 tablespoons (8 g) chopped cilantro

8 tablespoons (17 g) alfalfa sprouts

3 cans (5 ounces, or 140 g) tuna, drained

2 small tomatoes, cut into thin wedges

Make the
Guacamole Dressing
first.

In a large salad bowl, combine the mixed greens, olives, onion, mushrooms, cilantro and sprouts. Pour on the
Guacamole Dressing
and toss thoroughly.

Pile the salad on 4 or 5 serving plates. Top each serving with drained tuna and decorate each serving with tomato wedges. Serve.

Yield:
4 or 5 servings. Assuming 5 servings, each will have 14 grams of carbohydrates and 6 grams of fiber, for a total of 8 grams of usable carbs and 27 grams of protein.

This salad also contains 1059 milligrams of potassium and less than 350 calories if you use water packed tuna.

Old Days Tuna Noodle Salad

Back when I believed whole grains were better for me than animal protein and fat, I used to make huge vats of salad using whole wheat elbow noodles, with lots of celery, onion, and apple, but just one can of tuna, plus a chopped egg and mayonnaise—low fat, of course! I could live on this for days. I thought it would be fun to come up with a version using shirataki.

1 packet tofu shirataki, fettucini style

2 celery ribs

3 scallions

1 apple

2 hard-boiled eggs

1 can (7 ounces, or 200 g) tuna

1/4 cup (60 g) mayonnaise

2 tablespoons (10 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Snip open your packet of shirataki and dump them into a strainer. Rinse, drain well, snip across them a few times with your kitchen shears, and throw them in a big mixing bowl.

Dice your celery and apple and slice the scallions (include the crisp part of the green shoot). Add to the mixing bowl. Peel and chop your eggs and throw them in there too.

Drain your tuna and add it to the mix. Measure in the mayo and Parmesan and mix the whole thing up. That's it! Serve on lettuce, if you like, but it's not essential.

Yield:
2 servings, each with 467 calories, 31 grams fat, 35 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams dietary fiber, and 11 grams usable carb.

Debbie's Tuna-Cottage Cheese Scoops