Tuna & Bean Salad in Pita Pockets
Dressing tuna salad with lemon and olive oil lends a bright, fresh note that's a great alternative to mayo. Beans add appealing texture and fabulous nutrition.
From EatingWell: May/June 1996, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004)
Yield: 2 sandwiches
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, crushed and peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 15-ounce can great northern beans, rinsed
- 1 3-ounce can tuna packed in water, drained and flaked (see Note)
- 1 cup arugula leaves, coarsely chopped
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 2 6-inch whole-wheat pita breads
- 2-4 large lettuce leaves
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
Preparation
- With a chef’s knife, mash garlic and salt into a paste. Transfer to a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice, oil and crushed red pepper. Add beans, tuna and arugula; toss to mix. Season with pepper.
- Cut a quarter off each pita to open the pocket. (Save the trimmings to make pita crisps.) Line the centers with lettuce. Fill with tuna/bean salad and red onion slices
- 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.
Nutrition Per serving:
454 calories; 10 g fat (2 g sat, 6 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 66 g carbohydrates; 29 g protein; 15 g fiber; 782 mg sodium; 842 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (59% dv), Folate (48% dv), Potassium (42% dv), Magnesium (33% dv), Iron (30% dv), Calcium (15% dv), Vitamin C (15% dv), Vitamin A. (15% dv).
3 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 3 1/2 starch, 1 1/2 vegetable, 3 lean meat