Low Carb Vegan Tuna Salad

Just 5 easy steps and only 15 minutes to make this easy low carb tuna salad recipe. It's great for moms with gestational diabetes, pregnant moms avoiding meat or tuna, or anyone wanting a healthy meal with no hassle.

Why Low Carb Vegan Tuna Salad?

Not only is meat a common food aversion in pregnancy, but tuna is a fish that is recommended to be strictly portioned or avoided due to its high mercury content.

So this vegan tuna salad recipe is a great tuna salad alternative, especially for moms with gestational diabetes because it's lower carb than what you'll find elsewhere.

If you still would rather have real tuna, check out the updated CDC recommendations for low mercury fish in pregnancy.

Food and Drug Administration

Chunk Light tuna is considered low mercury and Chunk White Albacore is high mercury.

Good Brand for Tuna

Safe Catch has emerged as a "pregnancy-safe" brand because they check all of their tuna for mercury levels and is claimed to be the lowest mercury tuna brand in the market.

Recipe Modifications

Use any kind of lettuce or green leaf you prefer, but because the no-tuna is somewhat heavy, romaine lettuce works best because it has a sturdy stem. However, butter lettuce is pictured.

Nutrition Fact
Chickpeas have resistant starch which acts like a fiber. Eating chickpeas cold increases their resistant starch.

Complete the Meal

Highly suggest adding 1 or 2 boiled eggs for a low carb protein. Slice or chop them up and lay them on top of the tuna.

Bulk up the wraps with low carb ingredients like shredded carrots or cabbage, chopped tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, pickles or something else. Or, you can simply add something on the side like carrot sticks with spinach artichoke dip.

Leftovers & More

You can easily turn this into a vegan tuna melt on 100% whole wheat toast or 100% whole wheat sandwich thins. Either Parmesan or sharp cheddar cheese would be best.

Or try a no-tuna casserole with with vegetable spirals and cream of mushroom soup or low carb carrot soup. If you want to keep the casserole non dairy, replace the cream of mushroom with almond milk. You'll have to par cook the veggie spirals with 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour for 3 to 5 minutes, then add 1 to 2 cups (you be the judge) of almond milk and simmer for 10 minutes. This will thicken the cream.

Don't forget to add a small pinch of salt and/or other seasonings so it's not bland. Combine the no-tuna and creamed veggies in a casserole dish. Top with cheese (Parmesan or sharp cheddar); maybe add some crumbled whole wheat crackers for texture. Then, bake at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Nothing needs to be cooked - this bake time is really just so the no-tuna can heat through and reach the same temperature as everything else. If you don't care about that, just broil on high until the cheese melts.

Make it a Snack

Split the recipe into 3 portions. Done and done-er.

Nutrition Highlights

This recipe is an excellent source of Vitamin K which helps with bone health and directs other nutrients to where they need to go (Real Food for Pregnancy), and Omega-6's are good for brain function and normal growth and development like skin and hair.

Recipe