Reduced Fat Mayo with Olive Oil

I have a extreme love for Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It has a great flavor and it adds a lot to anything that it is cooked with, especially meat and salads. So, when Kraft came out with their Reduced Fat Mayo with Olive Oil I wanted to give it a try. While I was glad to see it was Reduced Fat and not Low Fat (because I don’t think that even EVOO could save low fat mayo), I wanted to look up some nutritional information first. Olive Oil is much better for you, but what did that really mean for mayo?

One serving is 1 tablespoon, which provides 45 calories, 4 grams of fat, 2 grams of total carbohydrates and 95 mg of sodium. Regular Kraft mayonnaise has 100 calories and 11 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of which are saturated. So far, it is looking good. The real question came when I bought a bottle and tried it. I was expecting more of an olive oil taste, but all and all I really liked it. It tasted a lot better than real mayo tastes and provides that healthy alternative for those of us that don’t really like mustard on our sandwiches. I think it is definitely worth a try!

Disclaimer: The writer of this post only eats mayo in tuna fish sandwiches. However, it was still amazing and tasted GREAT!

Speaking of tuna, it is by far my favorite sandwich of all time. Although, I am very very picky about my tuna fish, it has to be JUST so. Everyone in my family is the same way and we all have our own variations of tuna fish sandwiches. For mine, I take one can of StarKist ChunkLight Tuna in Water. I prefer the taste of this brand over any other brand. I also prefer it in water, not oil. The consistency of tuna in oil is just gross. (PS. I apologize for the sideways nature of this photo. It is straight on my camera and in the original computer file. However, no matter how many times I re-upload it, it turns it sideways. I don’t know how to fix it).

Use a can opener to open the can. Make sure it opens all the way and no little pieces are left still attached to the can, but don’t take it out just yet! Use the lid to press all the water out of the tuna can. This will probably take several tries.

After you have gotten as much water out as you can, you can take the lid out and throw it away, but make sure not to cut yourself! Blood is NOT a very good secret ingredient. Then use a fork to empty the tuna into a tupperware dish or anything else that you can mix it in and then store the leftovers.

I use a fork to get it out of the container because once it has been smashed and drained, it kind of turns into one big piece of tuna. The fork separates it into little pieces that are perfect for a sandwich!

Now it is time to start adding the good stuff! First, add 2 tbsp of mayo. In this case, I used the new olive oil mayo, of course!

According to Sparkpeople, you have have 2 tbsp for every half a can of tuna in order to make a balanced meal, however, I don’t like mayo so I only use 2 tbsp for the whole can. I usually eat yogurt with my lunch anyway, so that makes up the extra dairy I am losing by not adding all 4 tbsp. It also helps me to justify adding this next part! 1 tbsp of Mt. Olive’s Sweet Relish.

It is my favorite brand of relish and I love the flavor it adds to the tuna and mayo. Then you just mix it all together and BAM! Deliciousness.

This will make two sandwiches so just store the left overs in the refrigerator. After about a week, it gets pretty gross, so make sure to eat it before then! I enjoy my sandwiches with about a handfull of Sun Chips, Greek Yogurt and about 6 baby carrots.

Pan Seared Anything

My favorite thing to make lately is pan seared anything. Mostly because it is super easy, but another reason is I love the flavor! First, I preheat my oven to 450 degrees. I take the meat and lubricate it in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Then I sprinkle on some salt and pepper. The next part varies depending on the type of meat I am making, but it is completely up to your own personal tastes. There are so many different combinations you could use and lots of other spices as well! Have fun with it!

 

Anyway, the last spice I sprinkle on is always one of McCormick’s Grill Mates Seasonings. I LOVE their spice combinations!! They taste great and they flavor things really well. The Garlic and Onion seasoning is my go to spice for chicken. This is also great to add to the water you cook your potatoes in for mashed potatoes. The potatoes absorb the flavor and you get these really great, subtle garlic-and-onion-flavored mashed potatoes. I love it because then I don’t feel the need to add tons of butter or gravy to my mashed potatoes, so I can keep them as healthy as possible. For steak, I use the Montreal Steak seasoning and for pork I always grab the Barbeque seasoning. I am not usually a big fan of barbeque because it is messy and the flavor is a little overwhelming and detracts from the taste of the meat. However, with this seasoning, I don’t have either one of those problems. If you have used these spices you should definitely check them out, as well as some of the other combinations made by McCormick’s.

 

Anyway, after you season the meat on both sides, you cook it in a preheated skillet on medium high heat. You will have to transfer this skillet to the oven in a minute, so make sure it is an oven compatible. I use a cast iron skillet. Cook the meat for about 2-3 minutes on each side until it is browned and then put the skillet into the preheated oven. I usually cook it for about 10- 15 minutes, turning it over every 5 minutes until the meat is fully cooked.

 

The best part about this is the calories. The only calories added to that of the meat are the 120 from the EVOO and 16 from the pepper. Although, if you use the Montreal Steak Seasoning, add 5 calories as well.

 

Great flavor, easy and low calories. Can’t be any better than that!

 

Electric Knives

We are just going to pretend that I posted this last night, okay??

I am going to make this short and sweet. I love electric knives. Whether you are trimming the fat off of meat, cutting chicken into chunks for chicken nuggets (or the low sodium, baked, not fried, sesame chicken I am currently making) or cutting a fresh pineapple, they work wonders! Hell, you can even use them to cut a turkey at Thanksgiving! So many things to do with one, so little time.

How I survived without one for all these years is beyond me.