Mayo-Free Tuna Salad on Apple Slices, the AIP Way

There is a quiet relief in a meal that asks nothing of the stove. This one comes together in about 15 minutes, cold, with your hands. If you are doing this work right now, you already know that 15 honest minutes spent nourishing yourself well counts for something real.

Tuna carries a clean dose of protein and B12, both involved in making red blood cells and keeping the nervous system steady, and it is a source of omega-3 fats that support a calmer inflammatory tone. The mashed avocado standing in for mayonnaise brings its own monounsaturated fats and folate, and the apple and arugula add fiber and bitter greens that support digestion. This is simply real food doing what real food does when you let it.

This dish carries a small history. It began as a French and Belgian childhood plate, peach halves filled with tuna, and someone reworked it so it could travel alongside a body working Toward Remission. When you lift the tuna from the can, pause for a second with the fish itself. Something lived so you could be fed. Lay the apple slices out on the arugula and build from there.

Ingredients

• One 5 oz can wild albacore tuna, drained
• 2 avocados, mashed
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 8 thick slices
• 1/2 cup diced peaches (canned organic is fine)
• 3 tbsp chopped chives, plus more to garnish
• 1 tsp dill
• 1 tsp salt
• Baby arugula, for the bed

Swaps made: none beyond the source's own AIP adaptation. The original already uses mashed avocado in place of egg-based mayonnaise, which keeps it egg-free and elimination-compliant.

Method

• Flake the drained tuna into a bowl and fold in the mashed avocado, leaving a few soft chunks rather than working it fully smooth.
• Stir in the chives, dill, and salt, then gently fold in the diced peaches so they keep their shape.
• Lay a bed of baby arugula on the plate, set the thick apple slices over it, and spoon the tuna salad onto each slice. Finish with a little more chopped chives and serve right away.

*Adapted from a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen*