Main dish tuna slaw can be ready in 10 minutes
One of the best pieces of advice I have read about promoting healthy eating is to make your own food.
We live in a world of shrinking attention spans, immediate gratification and moving quickly from one activity to the next, margin-less and rushed. Preparing our own food requires slowing down.
So when corporations offered to relieve us of that duty starting in the 1950s, giving us processed, instant food, we jumped in with both feet, congratulating ourselves on finding an extra halfhour in the day. I am certain that we miscalculated the impact of this shift in the food landscape.
When we make our own food, we do more than just control the ingredients. We connect with the source product, brushing the dirt off of a potato instead of seeing it already sliced thin, fried, crisp, greasy and salty in the form of a chip. Buying processed food is like hiring a sous chef you’ve never met, and who may not prioritize your health as much as you do.
Of course, we all crave drivethru sometimes, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a chip now and again, or having some pre-prepped convenience foods in the house. But if your weekday lunch has become a trail of fast-food or preservative-filled meals, allow me to encourage you to reconsider brown-bagging it, even one extra day a week. You’ll save money, but I bet you’ll also eat a lot healthier. And so you don’t lose a ton of time to the project, I’m sharing one of my brown bag favourites, Tuna Super Slaw, which can be whipped up in about 10 minutes.
Raw cabbage is incredibly healthy, and it’s hearty enough to hold up texture-wise, even if you make it a day or two in advance. Feel free to sub in a sturdy green, if you prefer, like chopped kale. Tuna is a fantastic protein source, and keeping a few cans of it on the shelf as a sort of healthy convenience food. The dressing is lemony and light, with just a tiny touch of mayo, or use olive oil if you prefer.
Tuna Super Slaw
Makes 2 servings
3 cups chopped red cabbage (about ¼ large cabbage)
¼ medium avocado, cut into small (½-inch) cubes
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons chia seed (or sunflower, pumpkin or other seed)
1 5-ounce can of light tuna in water, drained
Dressing:
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 teaspoon smoked ground turmeric (or use ½ tsp regular ground turmeric)
½-1 tsp chipotle powder (or use half chili powder and half smoked paprika)
2 tsp dried dill (or 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped)
Start to finish: 10 minutes Place the slaw ingredients, except the tuna, into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss to coat. Add the tuna and stir well. Serve immediately, or keep in refrigerator for up to two days.
Per serving: 269 calories (125 from fat); 14 grams fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 40 milligrams cholesterol; 384 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 10 g fibre; 5 g sugar; 21 g protein.