Joy to the Fishies in the Deep Blue Sea: Vegan “Tuna” Salad

Posted on by Postmodern Rachel

tuna deconstructed

Well, this is a pretty anticlimactic return to the ole blog, but for whatever reason, it inspired me. Lucky you.

I grew up on tuna salad and tuna melts and it was a major comfort food to me, and just one of my favorite things ever. I ate it at least once a week for most of my life. Several years ago at a work event, I had the opportunity to get my mercury level tested for free. I figured it would be high, but it came back at 5 times the “acceptable” high number. Eeks. I didn’t change my behavior too much at that point, but when I was ready to start a family, I went off fish and got tested again and I had brought the level to “undetectable.”

As I moved toward veganism, I knew that tuna salad was one thing I’d miss terribly. So I was thrilled to find easy peasy vegan options. This one is simplified down to the things I like best. While living in the UK for 3 years, I got into the idea of sweet corn instead of celery in the salad and still love it this way.

There are a bajillion vegan “tuna” salad recipes out there, and I’ve tried several. Here’s what I’ve settled on at the moment as my favorite, inspired by the “better-than-tuna salad” recipe in Colleen Patrick-Goudreau‘s The Vegan Table. Amounts are just a suggestion, as this is all very tweakable.

I’ll also mention that my very skeptical husband liked it enough to ask for seconds. Give it a shot.

Vegan “Tuna” Salad

  • chickpeas (a 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
  • mayo (tofu cashew or Vegenaise or my current fave, Just Mayo) (2 – 3 tablespoons)
  • grainy mustard (1 – 2 tablespoons)
  • sweet corn (1/2 cup or so, I use frozen, no need to thaw unless eating it immediately)
  • dulse flakes (2 – 3 tablespoons)
  • Old Bay seasoning (1 – 2 teaspoons)

Method:

Mash up chickpeas with a fork. Throw in everything else. Stir. Chill for a bit. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting but I won’t judge. I’m eating some right now with baby carrots!

tuna mixed

Others you might like:

 

The Best Postpartum Gift

Posted on by Postmodern Rachel
Your friend might be a little odd, but if he wants to bring you a warm meal in his Superman outfit, LET HIM.

Leo is already 3 months old and my return to work is around the corner. I know it is a nauseating cliche, but how time flies! I’m already feeling overwhelmed with the juggling balancing act I’ll have to figure out anew.

Our wonderful friends and neighbors set up a meal chain for us, so we’ve been receiving one or two meals a week for the past three months. Some people cooked elaborate gourmet menus worthy of a Saveur cover story, while others made a simple dish or ordered us some take-out. Whatever it was, we appreciated every bite. How glorious to tuck in to some delicious food with no prep and minimal clean up? I don’t think I could put into words what a huge help this was during the new baby adjustment. We are so sad the meal chain is over! We used a website called Meal Train but I know there are a few others sites that do the same thing– making it easy for friends to choose dates, get a reminder, see your dietary restrictions, address, any other pertinent information, and help out in the best way possible– feeding you.

There are lots of great posts out there about how to best support a family with a new baby. Here are a few that I like.

How friends and family can help:

After the birth, what a family needs

Good reminders for mama:

Planning for Postpartum

A Time to Heal

Think ahead about what will help make the transition as smooth as possible for your family. Lean on friends and family and call in those favors. Make life as easy and simple as possible so you can focus on rest and bonding with your baby as much as possible.

What was the best thing someone did for you as you adjusted to life with a new baby? 

And maybe for fun, what was the worst/most annoying thing?