Mediterranean Tuna Salad Cucumber Rolls

Summer's here and what better way to enjoy the day than with a quick and easy lunch! Mediterranean tuna salad (mayoless too!) rolled into cucumber strips make this meal light and healthy =)  

Ingredients:
1 medium sized cucumber
1 can albacore tuna 
2 marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons green olives and pimentos, chopped
1 tablespoon red onion, chopped

Directions: 
1. Use a peeler and peel cucumber into strips. Stop when you get to the seeds and rotate to the other side. 
2. Mix all the other ingredients together into a bowl.
3. Roll tuna salad into cucumber slices.
4. Enjoy!  

Zucchini "Noodles"

(photo taken without basil)

A low carb "noodle" dish that tastes like noodles? Yeah, I was pretty skeptical too, but curious enough to go home and test it out...and boy did they come out surprisingly yummy!! Tasty and filling without the heavy, food coma feeling. Try it out for yourself!

Ingredients:
2 medium sized zucchinis
2 tomatos, diced
1/3 red onion, diced
4 or 5 mushrooms, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped basil (add more or less to suit your taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Using a peeler (or Julienne or Mandoline slicer), slice the zucchini into long strands and rotate to another side when you hit the core. Cut the slices in half if they're too wide. Set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, salt and pepper. Stir occassionally.
3. When the onions start to turn translucent add in the garlic and mushrooms. Lower the flame if necessary in order to not burn the onions.
4. Add in the tomatos and cook until tomatoes soften (approximately 5 minutes).
5. When your sauce reaches your desired consistency add in the zucchini noodles. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the zucchini noodles or they will grow mushy.
6. Transfer to plate, add basil on top and enjoy!

If you try this recipe and put your own spin on it, please let me know how it turns out!

Baked Avocado with Egg

This recipe first caught my attention a few months ago on Pinterest when it kept getting repinned left and right. I decided to give it a go and I have to admit, I wasn't too thrilled with the results.

I decided to attempt the recipe again this past weekend; this time with a few adjustments of my own. Try my take on it and see if it tickles your fancy.

Baked Avocado with Egg

Ingredients:
1 Avocado
1 Egg
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Preferred toppings to taste (I used shredded Italian cheese blend and made a little pico de gallo to put on top afterwards)


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice the avocado in half, remove the pit and place on baking tray. I used aluminum foil and made little rings to keep the avocado halves in place.
3. Cut crisscrosses into each half of the avocado and scoop a little out to make room for the egg.
4. Drizzle a little olive oil (I used extra virgin) onto each half and sprinkle salt & pepper to taste.
5. Crack the egg into a bowl and divide in half, leaving the yolk with one half.

For a more healthy alternative, you can remove the yolk completely. I lightly scrambled it with a fork just to have two end results. Right half is just egg white and left half has some yolk mixed in.

6. Add divided egg to respectve halves of avocado. If there's room, add the scooped out avocado bits back into the center.
7. Sprinkle topping of choice on top
8. Place in oven and bake until desired egg doneness (approximately 15 - 20 minutes for my egg to be done medium/well)
9. Toss on some homemade pico de gallo (recipe below) or any other topping you desire. I would've opted for some crispy crumbled bacon but alas, I was fresh out.


Pico de Gallo

Ingredients;
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1 teaspon finely diced jalapeno
2 cloves minced garlic
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until evenly distributed. Refridgerate for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Voilà! Brunch (or breakfast/lunch/snack/dinner) is served!

Please let me know what kind of spin you put on your baked avaocado with egg and how it turned out!!

Cilantro & Lemon Hummus

One of the easiest recipes I've ever made. Just throw everything into a blender and *poof* HUMMUS!!! 


Ingredients
1- 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup of liquid from chickpea can
Juice from 1/2 a lemon (more or less depending on how lemony you want it to taste)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cilantro sprigs, stems removed, chopped
Take ingredients, throw into a blender or food processor and For a healthier alternative, swap out the pita chips for cucumber slices.