Tuna Boats | Fast High Protein Meals
Tuna boats are fast, easy, and you can do far more with them than a ho-hum sandwich or drop on greens for a salad. Try “tacos” or boats for fun. Spread this on sweet potato slices for a no-processed “bread” option.
Ingredients:
- 2 chilled 5 oz. cans of tuna (BPA-free lining), drained
- 1/3 cup avocado-oil based mayonnaise*
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, minced
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 1 tbs. lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp. celery salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- Paprika to taste
- 1 5 oz. container butter lettuce
Instruction:
Mix all the ingredients down to the butter lettuce together. For the tuna boats, scoop into butter lettuce leaves for your taco or for boats, serve in scooped out cucumbers. Enjoy a 5-ounce portion of tuna per serving to hit your protein needs.
Flip: Add sliced tomato, microgreens, or broccoli sprouts to boost the nutritional benefits
Flip: substitute canned (boned has more calcium) salmon, or leftover cooked organic free-range chicken
*seek a soy-free, egg-free mayo if you don’t tolerate eggs or are eliminating them
Why High Protein?
Let’s first visit “high protein.” It’s really most likely higher “than you thought.” It’s not “high” protein. Though it may be, relative to the percent of carbs or fats at a certain meal or in your diet. Muscle requires protein. It also requires carbs. So if you’re struggling to gain lean muscle (aka, boost metabolism), and going low to no carb, that’s one limiter.
You’ll also be full for longer if you have adequate protein at a meal.
So to address “adequate protein:” It’s been known in science for 25 years. It’s been slightly more mainstream since 2008. And there’s still a ton of confusion about it.
Your ideal body weight in pounds in grams of protein is what you need. Now if you weight 200 and want to weigh 150, you might think that’s where you want to be. Not true. If you need to LOSE weight to be at your ideal, you need to increase protein by about 10-15% so that while losing weight you KEEP muscle.
Again, loss of muscle means loss of metabolism. That means? The proverbial regain of weight.
Questions? There is an abundance of content in blogs, podcasts here on Flipping 50 to help. Try the Food Flip (open select times a year) for support if you need a real shift in your dietary habits.
