Tuna Salad with Apples, Parsley, Vegenaise, Celery and Jalapeno

I'm pretty sure I could eat this tuna salad everyday for lunch. Seriously, this stuff is so refreshing and has great flavor with wonderful crunch. I like to pile mine high on top of a toasted Ezekiel (sprouted grain) english muffin half and I am one happy girl. The combo of apple, parsley, celery, and jalapeno is a lot like my old standby and favorite tuna salad of years past, which calls for apples, red onion and pepper jack cheese, but this version is a lot healthier which is a huge plus. How is it healthier? Let me splain...

I was shouting the other day that this was basically a vegan tuna salad. Now, I am an educated person and I understand that the notion of a "vegan" tuna anything, is impossible. But it was still rude when my husband yelled back "Krysta, stop saying that! Its like me saying "she is pregnant with a boy girl"... Rude, I tell you but also true. I was assuming he would know that I meant there was no pepper jack cheese like in my usual version, and also the base for the tuna salad was vegan since I used vegenaise instead of the usual mayonnaise.

Psst. Tuna salad is not the most gorgeous of subjects to photograph.

Vegenaise is not just for vegans. In fact, I would choose vegenaise over mayonnaise any day just based on flavor. You should try it-you'll like it. I know the name is a little strange, but vegenaise isn't made up of anything weird. The ingredients are non-GMO expeller-pressed canola oil (you can get versions made with grape seed oil and soy bean oil as well), water, apple cider vinegar, brown rice syrup, non-GMO soy protein, sea salt, mustard flour and lemon juice. It's tasty, egg free, gluten free, low in saturated fat and high in the all important omega-3's. You can use it anywhere you would use mayonnaise.

The quantities of ingredients used in this recipe are based on how I like my tuna, but you can change it up to suit your taste, since tuna salad can be highly personal. Mine is seasoned well with quite a bit of garlic salt, heavier on the lemon, loaded with crunchy bites and just slightly hot. I always end up putting more jalapeno on top, so don't be afraid of it being too spicy.

I like to double this recipe so I have lots of leftovers. I also find that the tuna is better the second day. Another plus!

Make sure to buy solid white albacore when choosing tuna. Anything else will taste pretty fishy. Also, you can make this even better by buying tuna that is organic, dolphin-safe and contains low mercury. Vital Choice or Wild Planet brands are good choices.

Tuna Salad with Apples, Parsley, Vegenaise, Celery and Jalapeno

serves 3-4

1 12-oz can solid white albacore tuna, drained

1/2 a medium granny smith apple, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 tablespoon jarred, chopped jalapenos (fresh jalapenos would be too spicy)

juice from 1/2 a lemon

2 tablespoons Vegenaise

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, plus more if desired

freshly ground pepper ( a few dashes)

Mix everything together in a large bowl with a fork, breaking up the tuna as you go along until incorporated. Taste and add more garlic salt or jalapeno if needed. Pile high on a crunchy cracker on on top of toasted ezekiel english muffins and enjoy...every. single. day. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, tightly covered with plastic wrap.

Take care to not over mix the tuna. You want it to stay in chunks similar in size to the apples and celery. Mushed tuna can get mealy, which is a total turn off.