Protein Packed Tuna Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

Packed with protein this isn’t your average tuna salad, a creamy yogurt dressing gives it the perfect twist!
It’s March and Spring Break is one month away.  You know what that means?!  I am going to have to don my bathing suit, and shorts.  No more hiding under big sweaters, scarves, and my long down parka.  I started on January first logging everything I eat into the My Fitness Pal app, one of the new features (since I used it last) is that it tallies your protein, fat, and carbohydrates.  One thing I know for sure after two months of faithfully logging in, is that I am a carboholic.  I do not eat near the protein that I need to.

I’ve been investigating ways that I can get more protein in,  not only at dinner, but also for snacks and my smaller meals.  Dairy is one of the easiest ways for me to add protein to my diet.  I love it and we always have it on hand.

I love tuna salad, so I decided to put a south of the border twist on it, I was able to pack in the protein without pushing up the calorie count.

I made a yogurt based dressing with lime, cilantro, and spices, added cheese, beans, and swapped out the celery for red bell pepper.  After plugging the recipe into My Fitness Pal I found out this is only 209 calories a serving and has 17.8 gram of protein! Voila!

I love using corn chip or celery to eat this salad for a quick snack and added crunch!  The older I get the crunchier I like my foods, raw celery, carrots, snap peas and always corn chips!

Protein Packed Tuna Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course lunch, Salad

Cuisine healthy

Servings 4 3/4 cup servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 - 4 ounce cans water packed Tuna drained
• 1 - 15 ounce can Black Beans drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup toasted slivered Almonds
• 1/2 cup crumbled Queso Fresco Cheese feta cheese would work as well
• 3 tablespoons minced Onion
• 3 tablespoons minced Red Bell Pepper

Cilantro Lime Dressing

• 3/4 cup plain 0% fat Greek Yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed Lime juice or 1/2 lime juiced
• 1 teaspoon Honey
• 1/2 cup Cilantro Leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper this is more like a hefty dash, or a scant 1/8 tsp

Instructions

 

• Place all the dressing ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
• Add tuna, beans, cheese, and almonds in a bowl and toss together making sure to break up any large chunks of tuna or cheese. Add in pepper and onions.
• Toss tuna mixture with Cilantro Lime Dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before eating. (

Notes

Serving Suggestions: Over a bed of lettuce with avocado and lime wedge for garnish. This salad can also be served in a wrap with lettuce and avocado. I like to eat this salad by using celery as an edible spoon, corn chips are also a great spoon alternative!

Keyword black beans, cilantro, healthy, lime, protein, salad, tuna

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For more healthy protein packed recipes and easy ideas on how to incorporate dairy into your diet you can follow Milk Means More on their website as well as Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook pages!!

Disclosure:  I am very thankful for the partnership I have with United Dairy Industry of Michigan. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Eat2gather possible!  As always all opinions are 100% my own!