Home for Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwiches via Martha Stewart

I made it! I’ve officially moved out of my New York City dorm room and into my house at school in Athens, Ohio. Summer is still in session for one more week, but I’m already thinking about my off-campus-living diet and cooking plan for the year. I’ve decided that I want to try more recipes in general; I always stick to most of the same: fried eggs and steamed veggies. But in May, I picked up Martha’s American Food, a cookbook full of Martha Stewart’s favorite recipes for American food. This semester, I’m exploring it, so this post will probably be one of many from her fabulous hardback. This time, I take on tuna salad sandwiches… definitely an easy recipe I’ll come back to! Try it…

I’ve slightly modified this recipe from Martha’s, but its basis is the same.

Martha’s Tuna Salad Sandwiches (2 servings)

1 can (6 ounces) solid white tuna, packed in water, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (the original recipe calls for grated lemon zest, but I’m a college kid and you probably are too… we aren’t going to do this.)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 slices of Sara Lee’s Honey Wheat bread

1. In a bowl, mix tuna, mayo, mustard, celery, onion and lemon juice with a fork until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Tuna salad can be refrigerated up to 1 day in an airtight container.

2. Spread tuna salad onto slices of honey bread. Cut the sandwich in half and serve. Wa la!

I definitely don’t eat tuna frequently, but when I get in the mood for it, I’m down for some tuna salad. I especially like this recipe because the lemon juice actually adds a perfect amount of sweetness in the flavor. I made 4 servings of the tuna salad and stored some of it in the fridge, and my roommate and I enjoyed it the next day, too. SO doable and great for lunch, right?!

TV dinners: How to choose the healthier ones

Ah, the frozen dinner. We’ve been eating these since the beginning of time, or least it feels that way (see above photo I took at the Smithsonian Museum of American History). Circa 1999, I used to chow down on my Kids Cuisine meal, watch Spongebob AND simaltaneously chill at a Little Tikes table. I still long for those days, as well as those dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. But now, during a point in our lives where we have to feign for ourselves for our last meal of the day, the frozen dinner is making a reappearance. And it shouldn’t involve fried chicken.

So, how does one choose among the endless abyss that is the aisle of frozen dinners—especially while avoiding the obvious choices: pizza, french fries and chicken fingers? To get the most nutritional value out of your last-minute meal, there are a few areas we should be eyeing on the label. And what are they? Here’s an alarming nutritional label and explanation of what NOT to eat when the clock hits that hour.

So let’s take a look at this dish from Trader Joe’s that I found in my freezer. One of my roommates had recently moved out and left this behind. Although it didn’t look that yummy, I didn’t want to throw it away, so I peaked at the nutritional facts. My eyebrows raised when I saw this…

When we’re choosing a frozen dinner to nosh on later, the most important factor we can consider is the amount of sodium the product contains. Trader Joe’s Chile Relleno has 1160mg, which is supposed to be 48% of the daily value that you should consume. However, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans should consume between 1,500 and 2,300mg of sodium per day. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the average American. For those age 2 and older, the average daily sodium intake is a whopping 3,436mg. Absorbing these facts, this one meal has a whole lot more sodium than it should (thank you, processed foods).

If you’re new to this, here’s the takeaway: most frozen dinners are less nutritional because the food is processed, not natural. That being said, companies also like to play the ‘low-cal’ card by producing a meal that’s 250-400 calories, but the sodium levels are skyrocketing as a result. Trying to pack this ‘nutrition’ into sodium and less calories is harmful to those who live off frozen dinners (I hope that’s not you!). While there are 22g of sodium in this meal, the sodium kills it for me. That’s a lot of salt.

I will definitely say that I eat a frozen dinner at least once every 2 weeks, and that’s okay. As I’ve said before, life happens. It’s hard to always have fresh food and lots of time to make it. So when you’re scouring the frozen dinner aisle next time, aim for a dinner that…

1.) Packs no more than 700mg of sodium
2.) Contains 400-550 calories (don’t forget to check the serving size! they can get you here)
3.) Holds a substantial amount of protein to keep you fuller longer (above 10g is great!)

Anyone have some suggestions for healthier frozen dinners than this one? I’d love to hear them!

The Easy-Dinner Series: Steamed broccoli + potatoes topped with a fried egg

It has come to my attention that I’m notorious for throwing together random, unexpected foods and calling them a meal. Most college students and 20-somethings can say the same thing. Even if we actually know how to cook, we’re not going to take the time to prepare something deemed “gourmet.” At least I’m not.

So. In this easy-dinner series, I’ll be posting my most delicious and spontaneous combinations.

The simple meal I made this week took less than 20 minutes. It included steamed broccoli, cooked potatoes and an egg cooked over hard. And, of course, plenty of extra salt + pepper (my favorite on ANYTHING).

I took what was in my fridge and ran with it. But, if I had my way, I would have made this with sweet potatoes. How yummy would that have been?! Comment and let me know if you tried it. I’m super curious.

While the place you buy your groceries is irrelevant for something like this, I would like to point out how important portion sizes are. The bigger your plate is, the more inclined you will feel to fill it. Use a smaller plate or bowl if this a problem for you (I definitely tend to feel that I need to fill my plate). I also like using plain, white plates (the ones I bought are square and from the Better Homes and Gardens line at Walmart) so that I can have a higher contrast between my plate and the bright colors of my food. There have been a few psychological studies about this, so I’ve made the change and found that the contrast, which is essentially an optical illusion, may help me eat less when I want to scarf down more. Read more about this study here.

Be inspired! And let me know what your unexpectedly-great and random dinner combinations include. Anything I should be dying to try?