Tuna salad was Tom's favorite lunch when he was a toddler. But he did not get it very often. Even if you buy the best tuna available, it will contain toxins. In fact, all fish now contain toxins. It is very sad because fish has been a staple from early times with outstanding health benefits.
We eat tuna salad every month or so. When Tom was a toddler, the United States government recommended that pregnant women and small children limit their intake of tuna to no more than 4 ounces a week due to high levels of mercury. Since I feel GMO crops, pesticide use, and man processing of foods is toxic to all person's health, and the United States government feels all of these things are just fine, it really concerns me when they actually issue a food warning about fish.
The EPA has actually changed their recommendations in the past 15 years. Here are the current suggestions:
By following these three recommendations for selecting and eating fish or shellfish, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury.
- Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
- Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
- Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
- Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
- Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.
Another thing to consider is that there are many petrochemical and other man-made chemicals polluting our waters which end up in the fish we eat. So the intake of toxins when eating fish is actually much more severe than just mercury. If you think you will do better eating farm-raised fish, think again. Farm-raised fish is extremely unhealthy because it is fed man-processed fish food laced with antibiotics, and some fish, such as salmon are genetically modified to enhance their color and speed their growth.
We love fish. Some of the very best fish is freshly caught. When in Maine, we indulged in freshly caught lobster. When in the upper peninsula of Michigan, we indulged in freshly caught walleye. When in Seattle, we indulged in freshly caught wild salmon. When at home, we seldom eat fish and when we do (a few times a year), we only eat wild caught Alaskan salmon or a good quality tuna, such as the Wild Planet, shown in the photo.
Some tuna salads are nothing more than tuna, mayonnaise and some seasonings. But good quality tuna is very expensive and I am trying to limit how much tuna we consume. So I load my tuna with fresh celery and green onions, which greatly enhances the taste and uses less tuna per person. We also typically have our tuna salad in a whole grain tortilla as a wrap to minimize the quantity of bread we are eating.
Don't eat fish often and when you do, eat only the best quality prepared with fresh ingredients. Savor those times you eat fish by waiting for when the best in available.
Ingredients:
1 can good quality tuna with no added water or oil, such as Wild Planet
2 stalks celery, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1 - 2 Tbl good quality mayonnaise (one without soy oil)
1 tsp Gomasio
1 tsp sweet pickle juice (homemade or good quality such as Bubbies)
1/4 tsp dill weed (or 1 tsp freshly chopped dill)
sea salt and pepper to taste
In a medium size glass bowl, add tuna (don't drain - add tuna and any liquid), celery and green onion. In another small glass bowl, mix mayonnaise, pickle juice, and spices. Mix well and stir mayonnaise mixture into tuna.
Place lettuce on a whole grain tortilla, add tuna salad, and roll up to eat.
"So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb." Luke 24:42
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