Mandarin Tuna Salad Roll Ups

I was inspired by working lunch today at my sons school, when the fruit choices were: fresh pears, red apples, green apples, apple sauce and canned mandarin oranges, and half the children 4th through 8th grade chose mandarin oranges.  So I got to thinking, what could I add to mandarin oranges that would be healthy and children would enjoy. Tuna and/salmon came to mind.  Tuna provides powerful  omega 3's and protein, and their is vitamin E in almonds, which acts as a powerful antioxident.  Canned mandarin oranges contain vitamins A, C and E.

1 can tuna rinsed
1 cup mandarin orange
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 sliced almond

mix all ingredients together, serve alone, with whole wheat bread, roll ups.

Green Olive Tapenade on English Muffiin $3.93

Olives have always been for me a guilt free fat food. I know they are fattening, but I also know how healthy they are. 1 cup of green olives contain 4.44 mg of Iron which is 24.7% of DV. Iron helps to enhance oxegen distribution in your body, aids your body in energy production and helps keep immune system healthy. They are also high in vitamin E and Fiber. I can eat them alone, or mix them in my tuna or salmon salad, I love them in pasta and I also love them as a sandwhich spread or simply on crackers.
This tapenade is great served as a dip for crackers, or toasted on bread as I did in this recipe, I added some cheese to give the meal some protein and calcium.

Ingredients
1 cup pitted green olives .99
1 tsp garlic powder .10
1/4 cup olive oil .25
4 slices swiss cheese .60
4 english muffins $1.99

in food processor or blender combine olives, garlic powder and olive oil
pulse briefly, you want to keep the pieces relatively large-dont create a smooth paste

toast english muffins
top generously with olive tapenade
top with swiss cheese and bake or broil
serve

Green Olive, Tuna and Egg sandwich $5.27

This salad combo can be eaten on its own without bread, or as a sandwich. I ate it on its own just to avoid the extra carbs, but there is nothing wrong with whole wheaat bread, and in fact it is loaded with nutrients. What a powerhouse of nutrients this salad packs. There is tons of protein coming from tuna and the eggs, and iron coming from the green olives. Not to mention all the vitamins in eggs and tuna, eggs being especially high in vitamin A, D and is one of the greatest sources of vitamin B12. Tuna is also high in many vitamins especially the B vitamins- niacin, B1 and B6, but is perhaps most beneficial because it provides Omega 3's, which is very necessary for our bodies. Omega 3's are essential to our bodies and cant be produced by our bodies and therefore have to be obtained through food consumption. Omega 3's play a crucial role in brain development. They have also become popular because they reduce the risk of heart diseases. The American heart association reccomends eating fish such as tuna or salmon atleast twice a week.
This salad can serve 4 people
ingredients
1 can tunafish (rinsed) $1.99
1/3 cup green olives(squeezed to remove all the moisture).88
4 hard boiled eggs .60
1/4 cup mayo, or 1 tablespoon olive oil .20
8 slices of bread $1.60
pepper

boil eggs, slice green olives
in a bowl combine sliced boil egg, green olives, tunafish and mayo or olive oil
add salt to taste
sometimes I will had red pepper flakes for a kick(but that depends on the crowd, children may or may not like)
serve alone or as a sandwhich with wholewheat bread

Cuban Sandwhich .85

I frequent many foodblogs and websites and from them I get great cooking ideas all the time. I also learn a lot about healthy cooking and nutrition. One of my favorite sites is http://www.skinnytaste.com/. The recipes are uncomplicated and always healthy because the premise behind the blog is to include weightwatcher points and the blogster Gina is very cognizant to keep the points low, but make delicious, nutritious meals. Obviously, many recipes dont work, if certain key ingredients are missing ie chicken or whitefish, but many can be adapted and many truly contain ingredients that are available at convenient stores.
One day her Cuban Sandwich popped up on the blog, and I have been making them ever since.
she used a french bread, but that isnt always available, so I stuck with my good old wholewheat bread, because I do love all the fiber and vitamins in every bite.
The sandwich also calls for deli meat-ham, turkey or both
cheese
mustard
and the key ingredient that makes it a cuban- pickles

Pickles are actually pickled cucumbers and considered a vegetable. They contain vitamin A, K, iron, protein.
makes 1 sandwhich
ingredients
2 slices delimeat .40
1 slice cheese(cheddar, swiss).15
2 slices bread.20
1 tablespoons mustard .10

Spread mustard on bread, layer bread with deli meat, cheese, and pickle, heat skillet on medium adding a tsp oil to grease the pan
place sandwich in skillet and flatten with spatula
cook on each side for 5 minutes pressing down with spatula the whole time
remove and slice in half and eat!!

Tuna Tomato Wraps $4.97

While I was riding the exercise bike I found a website with tons and tons of recipes with cream cheese. They ALL looked and sounded amazing. They were creamy and sometimes the creamcheese was flavored with various herbs. Lots of recipes can be done from ingredients from my local convenience store. I had a tsste for tuna tonight, so I went with the cream cheese mixed with diced tomato, dried onion, black pepper. The flavor was great. The combination of tuna and tomato is always great because of the lcyopenes in the tomato and the omega 3's and protein in tunafish. I topped it off with cheddar cheese which provides calcium and more protein.

I loved this wrap.
for 2 hefty and nutritious wraps
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cream cheese(room temperature0 1.99
1/4 cup diced tomato .49
1 tsp dried onion .10
1/4 tsp black pepper .05
1 cup tunafish 1.99
1 whole wheat wrap .15
1 slice (2 ounces) cheddar cheese .20

mix cream cheese, tomato and herbs until creamy and smooth
add tunafish
spread on half the wrap
break the cheese in strips and line cheese up ontop of tuna cream cheese mixture
roll wrap and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until wrap begins to brown and cheese starts to melt

Monte Cristo Sandwich $3.34

this comes from my Rachael Ray cookbook. I love to take certain cook/chefs and tweak their recipes so I can put them in my blog. This recipe worked, not only are all the ingredients available at my local convenience store, the recipe was easy and I was able to cup some of the fat and calories, because this is a traditionally fattening sandwich.

spray a cookie sheet with non stick oil
crack eggs in bowl and whisk in water
dip one side of bread of all 8 slices in the egg batter
layer the sandwiches with meat and cheese and close sandwich with top peice of egg battered bread(making sure to keep the egg batter side for the the outside)
heat skillet on medium and place two sandwiches
cover with lid and cook on one side for approx 5 minutes, egg batter should start to form a crust, almost looking like frenchtoast
flip the sandwich on the otherside and cook another 5 minutes.
sandwich is ready when the bread is crusty and the egg is cooked and the cheese is melted.

make 4 sandwiches
8 slices wholewheat bread .80
4 slices swiss cheese .60
8 slices ham 1.60
2 eggs .30
1/4 cup milk .04

Salmon Salad Swiss Cheese Melt $4.15

22

What to do with canned salmon leftovers?? I love to make my skinny salmon swiss melt. I had about 1 cup of canned salmon leftover from when I made my salmon salad develed eggs the other day, so needed to us it up, because waste is no good in my house! I added less hen a 1/4 cup of green olives(chopped into really small pieces) 1/4 cup of diced tomato, tsp of olive oil, dash of pepper and mixed it all together. Topped it on some wholewheat bread, finished it all off with a slice of swiss, and broiled for two minutes open faced.
The result: an awesomem, filling and healthy sandwich. Lots of food groups were covered. Hint: include a glass of milk, the added nutrients will do your body even better.

recipe
1 cup canned salmon $1.40
1/4 cup green olives .50
1/4 cup diced tomato .25
1 tsp olive oil .10
4 pieces wholewheat bread .40
4 slices swiss cheese $2.00

Salmon Tortilla Roll Up $3.58

Quick and easy lunch, and loaded with omega 3's and antioxidents. These can work with a flour tortilla or a flatbread, and ofcourse whole wheat is ALWAYS better.
serves 4
Ingredients:
4 tortillas .40
14 oz can salmon $1.98
1 cup diced tomato .90
2 tablespoons dijon mustard .30
pepper to taste .05

rinse salmon for two minutes to eliminate any excess sodium
mix salmon,tomatoes, mustard and pepper

layout tortillas, evenly scoop salmon salad on each tortilla and roll up. Can be sliced into pieces or eaten whole.

Cuban Sandwich $7.09 ir $1,80 per sandwich

Ham: protein, iron potassium
Whole wheat bread: lowfat, fiber, portein, potassium, copper, zinc, vitamin E and B
Cheese: calcium, protein
Pickles: vitamin A, iron, dietary fiber, vitamin and copper

A while back I found a blog that I liked immediately http://www.skinnytaste.com. The bloggster at one time couldnt find any blogs that combined recipes and weightwatcher points, so she started her own blog. I love her blog because not only do her recipes seem delicious, many of them are very basic and can be made with ingredients from a convenience store, or atleast tweaked to do so.
It wasnt until after I made her recipe for a Cuban Sandwich, did I realize that the sandwich has been around a long time and I have had and made versions of it and didnt know it. I think the key to the cuban is the pickle. The pickle in the middle of the sandwich gives the sandwich crunch, kind of a tart or sweet flavor (depending on what kind of pickle is used), and lots of texture. The sadwichis usually made with ham or turkey, cheese,the pickle ofcourse and bread. Many recipes I found call for fancier bread like ciabatta or frenchbread, but no worries because there is more nutrients in wholewheat, so I wouldnt use those other breads anyway. It needs to be cooked panini style and obviously a panini maker works best, and ive ahd my $10.00panini maker purchased at Walgreens for years, infact they still sell them there for the same price. However, if one doesnt have a panini maker or have access to one, not to fret, the panini can be made in a skillet like making a grilled cheese.
My convenience store puts deli ham, turkey and cheese on sale often but I priced out this sandwich with all ingredients full price to show still how much can be saved making a sandwich from home vs going to a fast food chain. The average cost of a sandwich from a fastfood resturaunt is $4.00-$6.00 a sandwich.
8 slices whole wheat bread .80
10 ounces deli ham $3.99
4 slices swiss cheese $1.70
2 large pickles .60
cooking spray or tablespoon olive oil or canola
brush oil on one side of all 8 peices of bread

layer bread with meat, pickle then cheese
close sandwich and place in panini maker or place in skillet one or two at a time(if two fit) keep flame low and press down on sanwich with a spatula or large spoon, when cheese starts to melt, turn sandwich over to other side, do the same until bread is crispy and cheese completely melted. yum

Tropical Tunafish Sandwhich $2.58

Yes, I had tuna lastnight, well kind-of. I made 8 tunaballs, but had some guest for dinner, and everyone liked, so seconds were given, and like any Italian mom, I was happy to see eveyone eat and enjoy, so I went without...When I tell people after they are done eating that the whole meal came from ingredients from a convenience store the reaction is always disbelief, but I think in time people will believe!! Since I stocked up on Tuna which was on sale, I made a nice tuna sandwhich for lunch. Although I like a basic tuna salad sandwhich once in a while,
I like to funk it up a bit, so today I made it with pinapple to give the tuna so contrast. I truly DREAD cutting pinapple. It is so laborsome and I get lazy, so I dont cut close to the skin and I lose so much fruit which is a waste of nurtrients and money. Also, sometimes the pinapple isnt sweet and I dont particularly like unsweet pinapple....canned is always uniform and sweet, and other then opening the can and draining and rinsing, there is not much work involved. Pinapple gives the right balance of sweet with the tuna and nutrients that compliment the nutrients found in tunafish. Pinapple contains high contents of calcium, fiber, potassium and vitamin C. Vitamin C is important because it is an antioxident that our body needs.

makes 2 sandwiches
ingredients
1 can tuna .99
1 cup chunk pinapple .99
1 tsp olive oil .20
4 pieces whole bread .40
Total:$2.58 per serving $1.29