Cranberry Avocado Tuna Salad

Ever since I made Stephen King’s tuna salad recipe, I realized that I’m not 10 years old anymore, and I do like tuna salad.  It was one of those lovely moments when you try something that you hated as a child but your taste buds have changed from twenty years of spicy foods, sugar dissolution, and finally appreciation of nutritional value, and suddenly that dish you abhorred tastes amazing.

Long story short, I’ve made a lot of tuna salad lately, and this recipe is definitely my tuna salad pride-and-joy. It is perfect for the impending summer (Midwestern friends—its coming. I promise. Winter can’t stay forever. This isn’t Game of Thrones.)

Cranberry Avocado Tuna Salad

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

½ cup dried cranberries

2 cans responsibly caught* tuna

1 teaspoon agave

½ tablespoon lemon juice

Pinch of salt

½ cup mayonnaise

½ avocado, cut into bite sized pieces

*Yes, I realize that responsibly caught tuna probably taste the same as any other tuna. But why be an asshole if you don’t have to?

Step 1: In a small bowl mix agave, lemon juice, salt, and mayonnaise.

Step 2: In a large bowl toss onions, celery, cranberries, and tuna. Pour small bowl mix onto large bowl and stir in. Once thoroughly stirred, carefully toss in the avocado.

Step 3: Let sit for 15 minutes and then serve.

Serves 4. 

Lite Lime and Pinto Bean Salad

"You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?" - Rumi

Okay, so my quote for this post doesn't have much to do with the food that I cooked. But I just loved it so much, I had to share it. Happy eating!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 cups cooked pinto beans
1 avocado, sliced in 1/2 an inch to 1 inch pieces
1 tomato, sliced in 1/2 an inch to 1 inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon cumin
juice of 1 lime
pinch of salt
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 leaf kale, torn into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon garlic grapeseed oil (can be substituted for olive oil and crushed garlic)

Directions:

Step 1: Cook and rinse beans according to package (you can also use canned beans). My pinto package didn't have instructions, so I used wikihow's instructions and they turned out perfectly. Put the beans in a small bowl and pour white wine vinegar over the beans. Let the marinate while you prepare the rest of your salad (about 10-20 minutes).

Step 2: In a large bowl place sliced tomatoes, kale, and avocado. In a smaller bowl mix cumin, lime, and salt. Pour mixture over the tomatoes and avocado. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Add onion and cilantro to your large bowl. Toss carefully to not squish your avocado!

Step 4: Drain your beans from the white wine vinegar (or leave to give your salad an extra kick!). Slowly add beans to the large bowl and toss to distribute pieces equally. Drizzle with garlic grapeseed oil. Toss lightly.

Serves 6-8 sides.

Californian Avo-eggo

"I hoped that she had chosen California because she thought that was her true home, the place where she really belonged, where it was always warm and you could dance in the rain, pick grapes right off the vines, and sleep outside at night under the stars." - Jeanette Walls "The Glass Castle" 

Avocados are one of the most popular fruits in California. Yep, they're a fruit. Crazy, huh? And they are everywhere here, which is great for me, because I'm completely in love with avocados!

I love their health benefits (high in potassium, high in protein, and full of amino acids!), and I love how their rich and earthy taste.

I've been finding every excuse to make recipes with avocados, and with only three ingredients (if you don't count pepper!), this is definitely one of the easiest avocado recipes I've made. This is quickly become a breakfast staple for me. Hope you enjoy it, too!



Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
one ounce of shredded cheese*
2 eggs

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut your avocado in half, lengthwise. Twist the avocado to avoid breaking the avocado apart while separating the two halves. Remove the seed.

Step 2: Cut the hole left by the pit a little wider. Its up to you how wide and how much egg you want to bake. In my picture, I was able to fit about half the egg white and the yolk. Don't waste the delicious avocado meat that you've removed. Set it aside and make yourself some yummy guac! Or cook it alongside your avocado to eat.

Step 3: Place your avocado halves in an oven safe dish. Crack your egg into a small bowl. Using a spoon, fill the avocado with the yolk first, and then any additional egg white.

Step 4: Bake the avocado for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with cheese (and pepper, if desired). Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, the egg is cooked to your desired taste. serve while hot.

Serves 2.

*I used Trader Joe's "Surprise Cheddar Cheese" which has sharp, parmeseany goodness flavor. I think most cheeses would taste great though, so feel free to experiment!