Tuna Cakes with Mandarin Orange Salad

Wow! Pregnancy has totally drained my energy and, right along with it, my creativity. I have had almost no desire to experiment with new recipes for the blog. This is where eMeals has been such a HUGE help lately. They do all the work for you, and for less than $5 a month. We currently only have a Dinner Plan subscription, which provides us with seven dinner recipes each week and a corresponding grocery list, but this month they are running a 30% off special on their Breakfast Plan! All of the breakfasts are not Paleo approved, but check out this Free 1 Week PDF Download and you'll see that the egg dishes and the smoothie can easily be adapted to remove any grains or dairy. The Apple Pie Smoothie is definitely my favorite! Click here to sign up now!

Despite my current love for simple meals that involve little to no thought on my part, the urge to create did wash over me this week and I was certainly glad it did! Kevin's first comment after taking a bite was "Are you putting this on the blog?" and I told him that was specifically why I made it, to which he replied "Good. This is awesome!"

I've eaten so many tuna sandwiches in my day that I don't eat it often anymore, but I had some in the pantry and wanted to come up with a new way to use it. These tuna cakes were simple, but full of flavor thanks to the red peppers and dijon mustard. They paired perfectly with the salad of baby spring mix, mandarin oranges, red onions, avocado and a citrus dressing.

Aren't these mandarin oranges so cute!

Spring is just around the corner and this would make a perfect spring meal!

Tuna Cakes with Mandarin Orange Salad
Servings: 4
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

>For the salad:
4 cups baby spring mix
5 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 avocado, sliced

>For the dressing:
Juice of 1 mandarin orange
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp White Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

>For the tuna cakes:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 5oz cans of tuna
2 eggs
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup coconut oil


Directions

>For the salad:
In a large bowl, combine spring mix, mandarin orange segments, red onion and avocado

>For the dressing:
In a small bowl, combine mandarin orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper. Using a fork, stir all ingredients until mixed well

>For the tuna cakes:
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Once oil is hot, add diced bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Place bell pepper in a large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Add tuna, eggs, coconut flour, cayenne pepper, mustard, salt and pepper and use your hands to mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Form tuna mixture into 8 small patties.

Heat coconut oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Once oil is hot enough to sizzle, but not smoking, add tuna cakes to skillet. Cook for three minutes, flip and cook for three minutes on the other side. Tuna cakes should be golden brown and crispy on the outside.

Toss dressing with salad and divide between four plates. Place two tuna cakes on each plate and serve.