Mediterranean Tuna Salad

I am beginning to realize that my blog is turning into a baking blog, so for this month's RD meeting / pot luck I had to make a conscious effort to make something NOT sweet or baked and blog about it... I attended an awesome nutrition seminar at the CIA in St. Helena where I received some delicious olive oil as a 'party gift' and it got me thinking - of olive oil pound cake! haha

Of course when you rule something out, it's the ONLY think you can think about. Naturally, I could think of a million items I would like to bake, but no 'real food'. I called my cooking go-to-gal (Ronnie) and asked her for suggestions. A few weeks ago, I remembered Ronnie going on a small rant about how terrible it is when people put "weird stuff" in tuna salad - like relish... Ronnie came up with a great idea of making mini tuna sandwiches, but "without anything weird in it". She e-mailed me this great recipe that incorporates my new olive oil!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp olive oil

2tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp oregano

3 oz. tuna fish, water-packed low sodium

5 cherry tomatoes

1/2 cucumber

1 serving of bread of choice

METHOD:

Rinse and pat dry vegetables. Cut cucumber and tomatoes into bite size pieces, and mix with drained and flaked tuna in a bowl. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, and oregano, and toss with tuna-vegetable mixture. Serve with toasted bread or crackers.

I used carrots and cucumbers instead of tomatoes - I personally don't like the seeds, texture, and juiciness of tomatoes in this type of dish.
The oil and vinegar actually held the tuna together better than I expected it would!
I served the tuna on croissants cut in half (so I would have enough) and sealed the deal with a cute umbrella toothpick. The mini sandwiches were such a hit at work that my boss stashed some away for dinner and lunch the next day!