January Salad

When I think of January, I think tuna, celery, cucumbers, carrot sticks--anything light. One must-have of mine is tuna salad.

I created this tuna salad with my light favorites, including lemon and orange zest. I like to serve it on red leaf lettuce with pink grapefruit sections, something else I love. Serve a half pita bread to go along with the tuna or spoon the lettuce and salad into the pita and eat it like a sandwich. I also like to spoon this salad on crackers for a quick snack.

Tuna and Cucumber With Citrus Mayonnaise

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 20 minutes plus 1 hour chilling

1 (12-ounce) can tuna packed in water, well-drained

1/2 cup minced celery

1 cup chopped peeled cucumber

2 tablespoons minced white onion

3/4 cup non-fat mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

2 tablespoons sliced green onion

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

Red leaf lettuce

12 pink grapefruit sections

2 whole-wheat pitas

* In a medium bowl, break up the tuna with a fork and stir in the celery, cucumber and white onion.

* In a separate small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon and orange zest, green onion, parsley and salt. Fold the mayonnaise into the tuna until it is evenly mixed. Chill until ready to serve, at least 1 hour.

* Just before serving, divide the tuna mixture evenly among 4 chilled plates lined with a lettuce leaf. Garnish each with 3 grapefruit slices and a pita half.

4 servings. Each serving: 284 calories; 1,140 mg sodium; 15 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 30 grams protein; 0.92 gram fiber.