Tuna Sandwich sans Bread

This is my favorite portable lunch recipe. Usually when you make a tuna sandwich in the morning, by the afternoon the bread is a little soggy. This completely takes care of that problem! Plus, if you're watching carb or calorie intake, it instantly lowers it! Instead of bread, use half a red pepper and stuff the tuna in. Prepare the tuna how you normally would (with whatever condiments you use) and pack it in. You can eat it like a regular sandwich. Tada! A no-mess, easily portable, non soggy "sandwich"! The best part is that you can make it the night before and it will be great the next day (I usually wrap it in aluminum foil). And half a red pepper is only about 20 calories! To make it more sandwich-like you can top it with some lettuce, sliced tomatos, or even a slice of cheese. My favorite combo is:

• 1/2 red pepper
• 2.5 oz tuna prepared with mustard
• topped with a thin layer of lettuce
• 1/2 a slice of muenster cheese

Although I am generally not usually a fan of cheese on my sandwiches, I found that muenster gives it a lot of oomph. I've also used jarlsburg. Now, I realize the cheese does add more calories (~60) and fat, but it still only brings the above recipe to about 180 calories! And it takes a while to eat because the pepper is so crunchy you can't just gobble it quickly. If you want you can use the other half of red pepper and make another sandwich and your lunch would still be only a bit more than 350 calories. Or you can use the whole slice of cheese on one half. What I don't recommend is low-fat cheese: it deosn't add much flavor (I tried it with light jarlsburg YELCH).

I've used this creation for years and I have yet to get tired of it. I just love that for lunch I can eat this "sandwich" in addition to an array of other items (ie yogurt, veggies, almonds, etc) and although it is an extremely filling meal, it is not that many calories!