Mediterranean Tuna White Bean Salad

Salads are wonderful in the summertime.  This salad is healthy and can be prepared in a flash.  With ingredients like tuna, white beans, red bell peppers, red onions, and olive oil, this salad is not only nutritious but also very colorful.  It is packed with protein and fiber. This dish can be on the table in 25 minutes.  

Mediterranean Tuna Antipasto Salad

Ingredients:

• 1- 15 to 19 ounce can white beans, (or chickpeas, black-eyed peas, kidney beans), rinsed
• 2- 5 or 6 oz. cans water-packed chunk light tuna, drained and flaked
• 1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 fresh lemon, juiced
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Head of Iceberg lettuce, or salad greens of your choice

Assemble the ingredients.

Rinse and drain white beans.

Drain, then flake 2 cans tuna into bowl.

Combine ingredients in medium bowl.

Rinse the red bell pepper under cold water.

Finely dice the red bell pepper.

Daniel is reading through the recipe for the next step.
This recipe came from EatingWell,  July/Aug. 2009.

Finely chop 1/2 red onion and add to bowl.

Add 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley.

Beautiful bright colors.

Juice 1/2 fresh lemon.

Measure and add 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Fresh ground pepper to taste.

Salt, to taste.

Stir to combine all the ingredients.

Ready for the dressing.

Squeeze 1/2 fresh lemon into a separate bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Whisk and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt to taste.

Add pepper to taste.

Wash lettuce in cool water, and pat dry.

With core side down, hit on flat surface to loosen core.

Twist to remove core.

Gently break open head of lettuce.

Tear lettuce into bite size pieces.

Toss torn lettuce in dressing.

Top dressed torn lettuce with tuna and white bean mixture.

Preparing a Baguette...

Slice the baguette on the diagonal.

Place in baking dish, and drizzle olive oil over the slices.

Lightly salt each piece.

Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes until edges are golden brown .

You can also serve this on a lettuce leaf with additional dressing on the side.

Enjoy!


the Mediterranean Diet

This is the French Riviera.  (photo from Dreamstime)

While I would love to be in the Mediterranean, I can enjoy healthy cuisine from that area with  recipes like this. Webster's dictionary defines diet as: "food and drink regularly provided or consumed."  We often think of diet as restriction or counting calorie intake.  

My husband gave me a good example of different diets.  An Eskimo's diet could include whale blubber.  We make an assumption that blubber is unhealthy.  But upon research, from Nutrition for the World web sight by James Ploger, whale blubber is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which protect against heart disease.  So, it is not as unhealthy as one may assume since the oils found in marine animals are high in monounsaturated fats.

The Mediterranean area includes many countries and cuisines.  As you can see from the map, some of these countries are Italy, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Israel.  The foods of the Mediterranean area include fish, fruits and vegetables, especially onion, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, olive oil, fresh herbs, whole grains, which are both delicious and healthy.

                                                                                       

The Mediterranean area.

(map from Wikipedia/Mediterranean Sea)

What exactly is the Mediterranean diet?

The Mediterranean diet is not only a weight loss and maintenance diet, it’s also one of the healthiest way of eating in the world. It’s also called “Mediterranean cuisine” as it is the traditional eating lifestyle of the Mediterranean people.

The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

History of the Mediterranean diet

The history of the Mediterranean diet has millenarian origins. Its principles were already in use from the 4th century under the roman empire. The diet attracted international interest after a study conduced by Dr. Ancel keys at the end of the Second world war. Dr. Keys noticed how the population in the Cilento (southern Italy), was characterized by greater longevity, minor incidence of heart problems and cancer. The Doctor understood that it was due to the alimentary regimen they followed. Then he decided to undertake a study “Study of the seven countries” in order to verify the health similarities of several Mediterranean populations. Ancel Keys lived in a small village of fishermen (Poplars) in the common of Pollica in province of Salerno,Italy for 40 years. It is passed away in November 2004 at 100 years age.
(from www.mediterraneanbook.com/the-mediterranean-diet)

Until I can go to the Mediterranean, I will try to eat some of the delicious foods and cook some of the recipes from the Mediterranean diet.  Enjoy cooking and eating these foods, no matter what part of the world you live!