Tuna and avocado salad

Growing up, I was a fish.  I think it was in my genes to have a fondness for the ocean.  I remember my Nana "swimming" in the ocean.  She would have her head and feet up out of the water, and with minimal hand motions, she would be navigating huge waves.  She looked something like this:

My favorite summer was the year my mom bought a state pass for the beaches and parks in MA.  Every single Saturday that year (she was determined to get the most for her money!), she would pack up our giant red cooler with sandwiches, snacks, and drinks, and we would head out to Horseneck Beach and spend the entire day there, from the moment the beach opened to when the sun went down.  It was amazing.

One thing I remember about those trips was that my mom could use a single can of tuna to make 6 sandwiches.  I have no idea how she did this.  Her recipe was simple, mayo, tuna, perhaps some diced celery, but that was it.  Somehow, that one can fed us for an entire day. 

I'm lucky if I can get two sandwiches out of a can! Until, I made avocado and tuna salad.  I heard about this on some radio commercial and decided to give it a try. Here's what I came up with:


1 can tuna (I will only eat solid white in water from BumbleBee in the gold cans.  I'm really picky.)
1 small ripe avocado
6-8 baby carrots
1/4 red onion
1-2 tbsp mayo
salt and pepper

After rinsing, mash up your tuna in your preferred method.  Cut avocado into 1/2 inch cubes.  Chop carrots and onion finely.  Mix all together.  The avocado will start to cream a little bit, holding the tuna together.  I like to keep it a little chunky, though, so don't mix too much.  Add mayo, a little at a time, until you get the desired consistency.  Because of the avocado, you won't need as much mayo.  Everyone likes their tuna a little different.  For me, I like it held together, but not wet.  From this, I can get 3-4 sandwiches easy, but the avocado will oxidize a bit, so whatever I don't use right away, I store in a sealed container with plastic wrap pressed against the salad.

One thing you might notice is the green hue to the tuna.  It was a little weird at first, but it tastes so good and you're getting a wallop of nutrients from the avocado! Haha, it makes me think of that old Charlton Heston movie... "Soylent Green is people!"