salty sweet seasons

Every once and awhile I love tuna salad. It’s something I don’t crave often, but when I do, I usually like it pretty basic. But moving into my new, adorable home a few blocks from the beach, I’ve been having so much fun trying new recipes and feeling 10x more inspired than usual. With that, I hope you love this interesting tuna salad twist packed with nutrients, health benefitting ingredients, and a kick!

Zesty Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt or all-natural Mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons Simple Girl Lite Sweet Mustard Dressing/Marinade
• 1/2-1 tablespoon Sriracha, depending how much spice you prefer
• 1/2 tablespoon Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar or Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar with Honey
• 1 tablespoon Flavor God’s Lemon Garlic Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Celery Seed
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Mustard
• 1 can all-white tuna in water
• 2 tablespoons sliced, organic green onion
• 1/2 organic Zucchini, washed & diced {peeled if not organic}
• 1/2 can unsalted, organic garbanzo beans {not pictured above}

Directions:

1. Drain tuna and chickpeas and rinse
2. In a medium-sized bowl, add Greek yogurt or mayo to tuna & garbanzo beans & mix
3. Add remaining wet ingredients and mix
4. Add dry ingredients and mix
5. Add chopped green onion and mix everything together. If you prefer more kick, add additional Sriracha. If you prefer tuna to have more “sauce” add more mayo or Greek yogurt, adding spices accordingly if it gets to “watered” down
6. Eat plain, on lettuce wraps, on a whole wheat wrap/bread, or with crackers of choice

Fun health facts about garbanzo beans –

According to http://www.whfoods.com, the following are all proposed health benefits found from chickpeas/garbanzo beans:

• Helpful in supporting digestive tract function
• High in fiber {12.5g per cup!, which is 50% of the daily value!}
• Due to their insoluble fiber content, help colon cells stay optimally active and healthy; healthier colon cell function means lower risk for colon problems, including lower risk of colon cancer
• Unique supply of antioxidants {vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and more concentrated supplies of antioxidant phytonutrients}
• One cup of garbanzo beans can provide you with nearly 85% of the daily value for the key antioxidant, maganese.
• Can reduce the risk of heart disease, most likely due to their amazing antioxidant makeup
• Decreased cardiovascular risk
• As little as 3/4 cup of chickpeas/day can help lower LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides in a one-month period of time
• About 1/3 of garbanzo beans’ fiber is soluble fiber, which is most closely associated with heart health support
• Contain valuable amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids
• Better regulation of blood sugar
• Fiber and protein are two of the best macronutrients for blood sugar regulation, and can help stabilize the flow of food through our digestive tract and prevent the breakdown of food from taking place too quickly or too slowly. Due to their strong vitamin and mineral makeup, garbanzo beans can help stabilize digestive impact on our blood sugar, and can help improve blood sugar regulation {with as little as 1/2 cup chickpeas per day!!}
• Garbanzo beans are incredible for providing our digestive system with nutrient support
• Positive relationship between chickpeas and weight loss due to food satiety; the scientific term used to describe our satisfaction with food/how full it leaves us feeling, and how effective it is in eliminating our sense of hunger and appetite. Due to garbanzo beans’ unusual combo of protein and fiber, as well as their ability to stabilize digestion, these little gems are truly a low-caloric, nutrient and health benefit packed little legume.
• Recommended daily intake of garbanzo beans to reap these amazing benefits is about 1 cup per day

Chart pulled from whfoods.com

History of Garbanzo Beans:

“Garbanzo beans originated in the Middle East, the region of the world whose varied food cultures still heavily rely upon this high protein legume. The first record of garbanzo beans being consumed dates back about seven thousand years. They were first cultivated around approximately 3000 BC. Their cultivation began in the Mediterranean basin and subsequently spread to India and Ethiopia” {whfoods.com, 2015}.

“Garbanzo beans were grown by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans and were very popular among these cultures. During the 16th century, garbanzo beans were brought to other subtropical regions of the world by both Spanish and Portuguese explorers as well as Indians who emigrated to other countries. Today, the main commercial producers of garbanzos are India, Pakistan, Turkey, Ethiopia and Mexico” {whfoods.com, 2015}.

View more interesting facts about garbanzo beans at

 http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=58