Mayo-free Tuna Salad (with avocado)

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Everyone in my house loves tuna. Tuna is cheap and easy. But, mayo is gross. Actually, I love the taste of "real" mayonnaise, but there is nothing real about the (yummy) gloopy white stuff that comes in the convenient little jars at the grocery store. I think doing away with store-bought mayo may have been one of the hardest real food conversions for me. Homemade mayo is delicious, but the eggs make me worry about sending it in Little Bear's lunch. My solution has been to make tuna salad with olive oil and a bit of vinegar (plus the typical tuna salad accoutrements). It's ok. But, not great. 

How to make it great... Let's try avocado! {spoiler alert, it was amazing!}

Scoop one avocado into a bowl.

Add a few tablespoons of unrefined olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon or lime, and whatever spices and mix-ins you like in your tuna (today I just did salt, pepper, garlic powder and dill).

Smoosh it all together, making the mixture as smooth as possible.

Add tuna and mix with the avocado mixture while flaking the tuna.

Eat.

Yum!

I measured, but tuna is so dependent on the brand, draining, and type that you'll probably have to play with the proportions to make it just perfect. As a starting point, 1 avocado + 2 tablespoons oil should be good for 2-ish cans of tuna or 4 of the single-serve packets.

PERFECT Hair Mask (Yet Another Reason Why Coconut Oil Is the Best)

Hello to everyone visiting from Pinterest!  I'm so happy that you've found my little corner of the Internet :) There's quite a bit here to explore, so please have a look around! Also, I'd love it if you would join us over on Facebook:

It's no secret that I'm in love with about five single-ingredient products: coconut oil, chia seeds, bee pollen, witch hazel, and beer. Wait. Beer... what? I mean... coffee. Yeah, coffee.

Anyway, back to coconut oil. I literally use coconut oil for everything.   EVERYTHING.   Frying, baking, spreading, facial moisturizer, body lotion, after-sun care, nutritional supplement, hand cream, boo-boo cream (I have a 2-year-old, so give me some slack. It's boo-boo and potty and wee-wee for now, ok?).   One of my favorite coconut oil uses, though, is as a hair mask.  I have really fine hair.  When it's healthy, it shines like crazy.   But, when it's dried out, it's crunchy and frizzy.   Not pretty wavy and textured, but crunchy (I know you know what I mean...).  

I figured one day several months ago that if I use coconut oil for everything else, why not in my hair?! Here's how it works:

Start with an unrefined coconut oil (I'm a big Nutiva fan, and it can usually be found for pretty cheap on Amazon).

It'll be a solid in the tub, but will quickly melt in your hand. 

After your shower at night, take between a teaspoon and a tablespoon-sized glob (it's a word) in your fingers, depending on the length of your hair.

Work quickly to massage it through your hair.  You'll want to make sure you've covered all the way from your roots to your ends.  Use extra oil, if needed. 

Find a way to pull your hair up and back so it's not flopping around.  I braid the bottom of my hair and then secure it to the back and top of my head with bobby pins.  For some reason I always feel like Katniss Everdeen when I do this (laugh if you want, but it's the little things that get us through, right?).

Sleep with your hair this way (use a shower cap, if you are worried about greasing up your pillowcase). 

In the morning, wash and condition your hair as usual.  When your hair dries, it'll be super silky, shiny, and soft!  For me, it lasts about a week in turbo hair mode and then starts to wear off. 

Depending on your particular hair type, repeat every week to two weeks, as needed.

Let me know if you've tried this before or if you give it a go for the first time - I love to hear feedback on my favorite things (good and bad!)!