I was a shy, brown haired, big eyed girl going to her first tea party. All dressed up in finery, hair (for once) neatly done, and a fluttery heart. When we got my new friend’s house, I saw fancy tables set up, one for the moms and another for the girls. Everyone else was dressed up too, looking slightly stiff, but more at ease than me, since I was the new girl to the group.
As we sat down to our table, one of the first things we ate was Cucumber Tuna Boats. I loved them. I don’t especially remember loving cucumber at that age, but the salty filling paired with the fresh crunchy cucumber was a really delicious combination. True, you did have to use your knife to saw through the cucumber, but it was worth every slice.
I hadn’t thought of Cucumber Tuna Boats in a long time, but I had a few lying around and a can of Tuna and it was meant to be. It was just Elena (my four year old) and I for dinner, so it made, along with some green beans, a light dinner after an afternoon of snacking. We both loved it.
In fact, I especially love this tuna filling. The Bubbie’s pickle relish is especially delicious, along with the crunchy celery hearts. For the mayonnaise you can use this recipe using Mary’s oil Blend, macadamia nut oil, or your choice of oil.
As a side note, how is everyone doing on the challenge? Our weekend went fine, though yesterday we got in our protein but not quite all of the vegetables needed. I am actually glad for the week to begin and to be back on track again! If you are on facebook, “like” me if you want to see what I am eating for each meal. By the way, often my meals look pretty low carb, but that’s because I just happen to be eating carbs more as snacks. 🙂
Cucumber Tuna Boats Serves 2
- 1 large cucumber
1 can of tuna (I used Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna
)2 tablespoons high quality mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon pickle relish (I used Bubbie’s Naturally Fermented)
1/4-1/3 cup finely cut celery from the celery heart with leafs
1) Peel the cucumber, and cut in half. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds.
2) Mix the tuna with the mustard, mayonnaise, pickle relish, and celery. Spoon into the cucumber and sprinkle with any extra celery leaves for presentation. Enjoy.
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Yummmm…. great way to eat up the cucumbers that are so abundant right now. The challenge is going pretty well!
This is an interesting recipe. I may have to try it later this week. I’m curious, though, about your use of albacore. Although I prefer the taste of albacore to other tuna, I’ve stopped buying it because I read that it had much higher levels of mercury than chunk light tuna.
Yum. We love tuna!
The challenge is going well over here. 🙂 Plenty of protein– that is never a problem– but maybe short on the veggies. I did make a Thai chicken soup last night with a lot of cabbage, green beans, onions, and peppers . . . so that helped!
I failed in the protein area on Saturday, trying to use up some leftovers for dinner and too busy to make myself any real snacks throughout the day. Boy did I pay for it on Sunday! It was a good reminder of how much I need this encouragement, and this way of eating.
This recipe looks like a great way to use all the cucumbers still coming in from the garden- looking forward to trying it.
Thanks for the yummy looking recipe! My husband and I are both doing the challenge…protein definitely is easier for us. The veggies we’ve been getting in, although neither of us can believe how much fuller we’ve felt after starting this challenge. I think it’s helping us make better choices in our eating habits, simply because we’re just not hungry as often, we’ve also noticed a change in energy…more of it! Which I greatly appreciate staying at home with 4 kids 5 and under. 🙂 Thanks for the challenge!
The challenge is going well thanks to my lovely garden! I’m taking this challenge as the first step to getting back on track, so I haven’t given up or cut back on sweets. I was trying to really up the protein earlier this year, but I think the protein/veggie combination must be making a better difference because I have been really full. (It’s only been a few days, of course, so I could simply be at a lower-hunger stage of my monthly cycle.) My biggest challenge is eating the meat and veggies first before I let myself at the sweets, which I mentioned I haven’t cut back on yet. But if I do start my day & meals with this good combination, I noticed that my sweet tooth is diminished. So the sweets are probably just an emotinal craving at this point! I haven’t met the challenge every day, every meal, but almost and I’ll soon be past most of these sweets, too!
Oh my goodness, these look delicious! I’ve always loved cucumbers (and tuna), what another great way to eat them! Thanks for the great recipe to help with the challenge!
Kimi,
I noticed you used Bubbies relish. I was wondering if you’ve ever tried any of their other products. I’ve seen them in the store but wasn’t sure if they are traditionally made. I’m terribly allergic to vinegar & would love to buy pickles, relish & kraut that is traditionally made without vinegar. I was wondering if you had any information or your opinion of this brand.
Also, for those of you out there that don’t want to make mayo I find that a smashed avocado & a little lemon juice mixed with tuna salad works really well! Thanks for the cucumber idea!
Rebecca
Rebecca,
Bubbie’s products are naturally fermented, so no vinegar, but since you are so allergic it would make good sense to read the ingredients on the label before buying.
Bubbie’s kraut is amazing, and contains no vinegar, just cabbage and salt. It is so good that at times I crave it, and I sometimes even eat a small bowl as a snack before bedtime (sounds crazy, doesn’t it?). I have not tried the relish, because I am the only one that would eat it and I can’t imagine have bowls of it before bedtime… but I might just go for it to make this recipe! I wonder if I could freeze a part of the jar?
I’ve been making your simple devilled eggs as lunch time protein – so easy to make and delicious….great that you can make a few days supply at one time too! Enjoying eating more greens/vegetables and feeling a bit less tired I think.
That sounds so good!!! I love my tuna recipe with adding little baby frozen peas to the mixture about 10 minutes before serving. Wonderful!
Love the tuna boat idea. It reminds me of zucchini boats we ate growing up. Thanks for the challenge, it’s a great reminder to eat more protein and we are!
I love the combination of cukes and tuna, so look forward to trying this! For years I’ve made a light mayonnaise-based tuna salad that is veggie-heavy with sliced tomatoes (summer heirlooms are amazing!), cukes, grated carrots, parsley, and some pasta that I usually eat over lettuce or arugula. A bit of grated raw sharp cheddar (like Organic Valley) adds a nice touch, and I’ll put avocado on top sometimes if I have it. Simply seasoned with salt, a lot of black pepper, and a dash of cayenne. Can eat it cold out of the fridge, or warm (not hot). I think I need to make tuna this week!
I’m not sure if I missed it or not, but what are you suggesting the amount of protein that we should consume in a day?
We had this for lunch today – it was a huge hit with my girls (2 and 6). Although I did add raisins on top to be the sailors….
we make a variation on that every summer. For those of us who don’t eat much/andy bread it is a great option.
Good idea! I usually make protein boats with red peppers, place under broiler with raw milk cheese.