Refreshing, Crunchy and Summery Tuna Nicoise Salad

Fancy a refreshing, crunchy and nutrient dense salad this summer? Well this tuna Nicoise salad might be the one for you! Full of different veggies and proteins, this salad will help you stay full for longer- reducing your need to snack (which I am very guilty of!) It’s the perfect balance of saltiness, to freshness, and it’s super good to make when you’re in a rush, or to take with you into work. It’s certainly one of my favourites!

I love having a combination of cooked and raw foods in my salads. It helps to diversify the tastes and textures, which in my opinion, is what makes a good salad! Personally, I’m bored of having salads that just consist of some lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. Whilst I love the freshness that a salad like this provides, if I want to feel full and satisfied afterwards, I need to have some proper starchy carbs, fats and proteins in my salad! This tuna Nicoise salad ticks all of those boxes, with the egg providing proteins and fats, tuna providing more protein, and the potatoes being that filling carb.

Here are some more ideas of what you could add into your tuna Nicoise salad:

Green olives
Black olives
Rocket
Parsley
Coriander
Avocado (if this doesn’t upset your IBS)
Tuna steaks (in replacement to the canned tuna)
Green beans (if these don’t upset your IBS)
Sweet potato
Couscous
Garlic infused olive oil
Olive oil drizzle

I’ve always been told to “eat the rainbow”. This means that you are more likely to get in a wider range of nutrients and minerals, which will help to support your body to perform it’s functions. I enjoy eating colourful meals, not only because they make me feel good, but because they look good! Seeing a colourful meal makes me excited to eat, compared to a meal that is all one colour. I also feel as though eating foods that have a variety of different colours, help to bring an abundance of flavours to a dish.

Enjoy this tuna Nicoise salad? Here are some other lunch and dinner options you may like:

I find that sometimes a little bit of olive oil, as well as the lemon juice, helps to toss the salad a little easier. Having a salad that has so much flavour within the ingredients often means that you can just have a very neutral tasting dressing. I love using ingredients like olives and tuna in my salads because they have such strong flavours, which means that I can keep the rest of the components super simple. This is my favourite way to cook and eat! I find that simple and easy yet delicious meals are the most sustainable way to keep being motivated to cook on a regular basis.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

2 cups baby potatoes
4 eggs
3 cups spinach
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/2 large cucumber
2 cans tuna
1 cup black olives
1 lemon
Pepper

Method:

Step 1: chop your baby potatoes into small bitesize chunks and boil for 10 mins (until fork tender)

Step 2: boil your eggs until hard boiled.

Step 3: chop up your veggies and put into a large bowl. Add in your drained cans of tuna here too. Toss the salad.

Step 4: drain your potatoes, and set aside to cool (or add straight into the salad). Place your eggs into an ice bath, peel and chop into quarters.

Step 5: add your potatoes and chopped eggs to the big bowl. You can toss the salad again, or alternatively you can serve like this (which I like to do because I think it has a nicer presentation). Squeeze your lemon over the salad and serve!

This salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store in an airtight container.

Please feel free to send me pictures of your tuna Nicoise salads! Tag me on my Instagram TheLazyLowFODMAP or send me your image via DM so that I see them!