Keepin' it light without additives - Tuna Salad Sandwich with Avocado "Mayo" (5 WW points)

I love a good tuna salad sandwich.  And yes, I’ll admit it, “good” equals a nice dollop of Best Foods, Hellman’s or Dukes full fat mayonnaise.  Not exactly figure friendly.  So what’s a tuna-lovin’ girl to do?

Now that's a satisfying and
healthy lunch!

Simple, so many folks say -- Use low-fat or fat-free mayo.  In my world, that is so wrong on so many levels.  First, it does not taste the same.  And second, with a ton of additives (16 ingredients vs 8) including high fructose corn syrup, most commercially made low fat mayos are not always the best (i.e. closest to the original food source) way to go.  

So today, as I was pondering my lunch options, it dawned on me – at 50 calories, an ounce of avocado has about half the calories as regular may, close to half that of the “lite variety mayo, and about twice that of fat free.  Plus the fat in avocado has been proven to do some pretty cool things, like increase the absorption of  fat-soluble nutrients like carotenoids. And, the fat in an avocado is a monounsaturated fatty acid, which has also been shown to help lower our risk of heart disease. So why not give it a go as the binding agent for my tuna sammie....

Eureka! I found it!  

Moist, tasty and not green – a side effect I was a bit concerned about -- this is one heck of a sandwich.  And it weighs in at a healthy 5 WW points plus value.  You could make it even less with the use of a high fiber tortilla wrap (like the ones from Ole) or open face on a slice of whole wheat bread, rather than the sandwich thin.  

Here’s the recipe, I hope you give it a go.


Tuna Salad Sandwich with Avocado "Mayo"
Serves 2; 5 WW pts each

Ingredients

• 1 small can water packed tuna, drained
• ¼ avocado, mashed
• 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
• 1 rib celery, finely diced
• ½ carrot, shredded
• ½ red chili pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp celery seed
• Pinch or two of kosher salt
• Pinch or two of black pepper
• 2 Sandwich thins, toasted (I like the whole wheat with flax seeds)
• Leafy mustard greens, lettuce or spinach

Method

• Mash the avocado with the lemon juice in a medium sized bowl
• Add the salt, pepper and celery seed.  Stir to combine.
• Next add the celery, carrot and onion. Stir to combine.
• Crumble in the tuna.  Mix well – a fork is fine, but frankly, combining it with a clean hand is the best. 
• Toast the sandwich thin.  This is really necessary – they are not that great untoasted.
• Pile half the mixture on the bottom half of the bread, top with a leafy green – I love mustard greens for this! – top with the other half of the bread and you are good to go.

Enjoy.