Dijon-Cilantro Tuna Salad

I’ve loved tuna salad for as long as I can remember. I was definitely that one weird kid in middle school to bring tuna salad kits (the ones with the mini can of tuna, packet of mayo and relish with some wheat crackers) for lunch. People moaned and groaned about the smell, but I didn’t care. Tuna was one of the few sandwiches I remember liking. I hated peanut butter back then, and I thought my sister's love of ham and margarine sandwiches was a little strange.

In college, I remember arguing with a boyfriend over how to make the perfect tuna salad. He insisted it wasn't tuna salad unless it had celery, and I whole-hearted disagreed. Sweet pickle relish and mayo was all that was required. Besides, I've never been a huge fan of raw celery.

But last month, I found this variation in Bon Appetit and I’ve been obsessed ever since. When I don’t have leftovers to pack, I make this tuna sandwich.

Plain fat free yogurt makes it healthier than using mayo, and it has the sweet relish I love, but also the celery my college boyfriend insisted on. Plus, red onion, cilantro and tangy mustard. Perfect.

The recipe calls for tomato, arugula and whole wheat bread, but this would be great on crackers alone. In fact, I might have the leftovers for snack tomorrow.

Because I liked the accountability of making my food journal public, I think I'll include it again today. If this isn't something you like reading, let me know. I love suggestions to make the blog better.

Breakfast: Ezekiel sprouted English muffin topped with a roma tomato and a slice of 2% natural sharp cheddar. I toasted the English muffin at home, but melted the cheese in the microwave at work. Didn't want to mess with the broiler on the toaster oven in the breakroom. Coworker commented that it looked good. On the side, glass of skim milk and 1 tbsp half and half in my coffee.

Lunch: Dijon Tuna salad on Great Harvest honey wheat bread, baby carrots and an apple

Snack: 2 oz. lean deli ham with 1 tbsp light cream cheese spread on it, rolled around about ¼ of a bell pepper, sliced. Apparently my mom used to make a similar appetizer but with olives rather than bell pepper. Interesting.

Dinner: An Asian noodle dish I might share share later this week, plus sautéed snow peas with chestnuts, and a steamed chicken dumpling I found at Aldi's. It doesn't come close to my favorite take-out steamed dumplings, but I guess it's OK in a pinch.

Dessert: A re-run of the vanilla yogurt with strawberries. Gosh, this is good. My grandma used to serve fresh fruit with vanilla yogurt for dessert. It's comfort in a bowl.