The latest recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ChooseMyPlate program suggest looking at your plate as four quarters of a whole. Two quarters should consist of fruits or vegetables, another quarter of protein and the final wedge of a healthful whole grain. This might sound like a bit of portioning work, but you could also look at it as a single well-proportioned meal: a tuna sandwich.
Lean Protein
Tuna is rich in protein. A 3-ounce serving of the water-packed canned fish contains only 100 calories, yet packs 22 grams of protein per serving. At around half a gram of fat per serving, tuna also helps you moderate your fat intake. That small amount of fat is full of omega-3 fatty acids, compounds that may help reduce your risk of heart disease. Like many other animal sources of protein, the fish contains iron; a single serving contains nearly 10 percent of your recommended daily allotment of the essential micronutrient.
Healthy Fats
Part of what turns tuna into tuna salad is the creamy sauce. Mayonnaise, the traditional choice, contains a hefty load of fat and calories. Choose a light mayonnaise or one made with olive oil to eliminate some fat and replace the rest with a healthy monounsaturated fat. Add plain yogurt to your tuna salad to enhance its creaminess and sneak extra calcium into your meal without raising the calorie count significantly.
Vegetables
Stuff your tuna salad with diced vegetables that bring plenty of flavor and texture to the mix. Onions, celery and pickles are traditional, but you can go beyond these standards and choose fresh bell peppers and seeded tomatoes to boost the vitamin C content of the sandwich. Roasted eggplant has relatively few calories, but its texture complements tuna salad. Pile your tuna salad sandwich high with romaine lettuce, red cabbage or baby spinach. These leafy vegetables add fiber and bulk while keeping calories low.
Whole Grains
Bread, the staff of life, lives up to its name more fully if you select a whole-grain version over standard white bread. Whole wheat has the nutritional advantage over white bread because of its additional fiber and a richer supply of B-complex vitamins contained in the bran of the grain. If you're keeping carbs low, look for whole-grain wraps or pita breads that hold your sandwich together while contributing fewer grams of carbohydrates than sliced bread.
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