Tuna & Bean Salad in Pita Pockets

From EatingWell: May/June 1996, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004) — Subscribe Now!

Dressing tuna salad with lemon and olive oil lends a bright, fresh note that's a great alternative to mayo. Beans add appealing texture and fabulous nutrition.

Tuna & Bean Salad in Pita Pockets Recipe

2 sandwiches

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, crushed and peeled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 15-ounce can great northern beans, rinsed
1 3-ounce can tuna packed in water, drained and flaked
1 cup arugula leaves, coarsely chopped
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 6-inch whole-wheat pita breads
2-4 large lettuce leaves
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

Preparation

With a chef’s knife, mash garlic and salt into a paste. Transfer to a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice, oil and crushed red pepper. Add beans, tuna and arugula; toss to mix. Season with pepper.
Cut a quarter off each pita to open the pocket. (Save the trimmings to make pita crisps.) Line the centers with lettuce. Fill with tuna/bean salad and red onion slices

Tips & Notes

Ingredient note:
Canned white tuna comes from the large albacore and can be high in mercury content. Chunk light tuna, on the other hand, which comes from smaller fish—skipjack or yellowfin—is best for health-conscious eaters. According to a recent study, canned white tuna samples averaged about 315 percent more mercury than chunk light tuna samples. (The chunk light tunas averaged 0.132 parts per million mercury content, while the white [albacore] tunas averaged 0.412 ppm.)

Nutrition

Per serving: 454 calories; 10 g fat (2 g sat, 6 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 67 g carbohydrates; 29 g protein; 15 g fiber; 782 mg sodium; 842 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (59% dv), Folate (48% dv), Potassium (42% dv), Magnesium (33% dv), Iron (30% dv), Calcium (15% dv), Vitamin C (15% dv), Vitamin A. (15% dv).

3 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 3 1/2 starch, 1 1/2 vegetable, 3 lean meat